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Show Recovering from wounds Freedom fighter tells war story By GARY R. BLODGETT News Editor Afghanistan is a far-away country coun-try that has little meaning to most Americans. But to 21-year-old Abdul Matin it's home. ABDUL, IF THAT is his real name, is residing temporarily with the Alan and Carma Bradshaw family in Bountiful. But he dreams of the day he will return home -- to once again help his people, and to serve his country. Abdul is a home-bred Freedom Fighter - and proud of it! IT SEEMS nothing can stop this spirited young man. Midway into the seven-year war with the Russians Rus-sians -- while still a teenager --Abdul --Abdul was critically wounded when schrapnel from a land mine tore into both his legs and did damage dam-age to most of his body. A few years later, another bomb j -- planted by the Russians along a heavily traveled mountain road --ripped --ripped off his right arm just below the elbow and part of his left hand was blown away. ! ABDUL IS in America, living in j Bountiful, to receive the plastic ' surgery and other treatment that is so badily needed. Abdul is one of the fortunate few. "Most of the wounded are dragged drag-ged behind the rocks or into a cave to receive medical aid -- as crude as the treatment might be." he explains ex-plains in his broken English. SPEAKING very softly, and choosing his English words carefully. care-fully. Abdul tells of the most recent bombing experience: "1 had been fighting for 12 days and nights with very little to eat and Continued on page two i PHOTOGRAPHYGary Blodgett DESPITE LOSS OF his right arm just below the elbow and most of his left hand, Abdul Matin -- Freedom Fighter from Afghanistan -- is a masterful artist. i Freedom fighter tells war story r-pr n-Mi 4r3 jests;5 St iVtelrfMl ... .a r of men, women and children is slightly more than half that number. num-ber. Nearly half the population has been wiped out by the Russians. FOR THOSE who remain, living conditions are poor - even for the women and children. Medical supplies are almost nonexistent. non-existent. Sickness runs rampant and there is no help for the wounded. wound-ed. The Russians refuse to allow medical supplies into the country and the most seriously wounded and sick must be "smuggled" out of the country for medical assistance, assist-ance, Abdul explains. WARM CLOTHING, food and pure water also are badly needed. A few months ago, south Davis County residents donated several tons of clothing, bedding, food, etc., but much more is needed. Abdul says he is very happy to be in America and living with the Bradshaw family in Bountiful. "They (all Americans) have been good to me, but 1 still grieve for my own people and my homeland." HE SAID that before the invasion, inva-sion, Afghanistan was a free country. coun-try. "I used to spend weeks living with the animals in the mountains. Now there are very few animals left alive," he said. We watched a video tape of the beauty of that country before the invasion -- and what is going on there now -- the maming and killing of women and children through such crude tactics as poisoning the only water supply and placing bombs in toys to cripple or kill innocent in-nocent children. ABDUL SAYS he can never go back to his home, village -- where ever that may be -- as long as the country is occupied by the Russians. Rus-sians. If you ask him if Abdul Matin is his real name, he will only answer with a big smile. (This writer found a picture he had drawn and he had written his name Maten, with an "e" instead of an "i"). Asked about ab-out this, he only grinned. HE ADMITS to using other names, but Abdul Matin is the name on his legal passport -- and that's the name he goes by in America. PHOTOGRAHYGary BLodgett ABDUL MATIN HAS learned the art of karate. He was critically wounded in Afghanistan conflict with Russia and is in Bountiful to receive plastic surgery. Continued from page one almost no sleep. I could go on no longer, and 1 sat to the side of the road to rest. LAM) MINDS were planted everywhere. I saw one nearby and defused it. A second bomb was buried beneath the first one, and I defused it also. The Russians had never before planted land mines three bombs deep. But this was an exception. After defusing the first two, 1 leaned forward for-ward in a squating position and with the pressure of my hands on the ground, the third bomb exploded. ex-ploded. MY RIGHT arm was left dangling dang-ling by skin and only a part of my left hand was still in place. 1 was dragged to a nearby cave where my dangling arm was cut off so that the rough ends could be crudely sewn together. There was no medication not even an aspirin -- but 1 never lost consciousness. To do so. 1 probably prob-ably would have died." ABDUL WAS "smuggled" out of the country and because he had the money that was demanded, he was flown to the United States. "Not many are so lucky as me." he says. "Most of the injured die." DR. ROBERT L. Youngblood is doing the plastic surgery and rehabilitation re-habilitation for Abdul -- and his results re-sults are almost miraculous. Abdul's left arm has been reformed re-formed into "pincher-like" fingers that enable him to hold or support many things. His right arm is a mechanical pincher device. BUT THIS doesn't stop Abdul from eating, dressing himself and even shaving. He's learned karate and most impressive, he is an outstanding out-standing artist. His artwork -- mostly with crayons but he's learning water coloring -- is very detailed with eyelashes and other minute detail. ONE THING he has not yet accomplished is to button his shirt. So Abdul has learned to slip his already-buttoned shirts over his head. It's a struggle, but he has even learned to tie his own shoe laces. "We've had to learn a lot of . things together -- and it's been a real struggle -- but the results are almost unbelievable." says Mrs. Bradshaw. "Most of all. it's a delight de-light just to see the day-to-day progress he is making." ABDUL HAS been with the Bradshaw family for about six months, and there's no way of knowing how long he will stay. "I'd like him to stay forever, but 1 know how he feels about his people peo-ple and his country. He is dedicated dedi-cated to going back as soon as he can," she says. ABDUL TALKS about his homeland home-land with pride and openly admits his love for his country and his people. He doesn't talk with hatred about ab-out the Russians, but his dark eyes express his feelings. All he wants is for his people to be left alone. HE TELLS of the Russians invading in-vading Afghanistan with planes, bombs, rockets, tanks and big guns. "All we have is what we steal from the Russians. We don't have anything else to fight back with," he says. ASKED IF that seemed fair, Abdul grinned and shook his head sideways. "But that's the way it is." he replied. Abdul says the only method the Afghanistanians have for retaliation retalia-tion is to conduct raids on smaller Russian units -- to kill, to steal their weapons and food, and return to the mountains. "WE (FREEDOM Fighters) live in the mountains -never staying in the same place very long," he said. "I have traveled back and forth across my country many times, always al-ways living in the mountains with only rock formations and caves to provide shelter against the bitter cold and year-around snow." Not only was there danger of being shot when they went into the village, but booby-trap mines were placed everywhere they knew the Freedom Fighters would go. ft BOMBS WERE connected to doors, under seats, along the road side, and even on dead or wounded bodies. Seven years ago, Afghanistan was a country of about 15 million population. Today the population |