 |
| Source |
Mohmand woman and her child in the family wards of Peshawar hospital, 1919.
Lilian Starr writes: "A blind old Afghan begged that enough sight might be restored to him to enable him
to use his rifle. The reason he gave was, that he had not yet avenged the death of his
son, who had been killed some ten years before. With no idea of the value of life, and reckless
of their own, it is their “ honour’’ alone that matters. The Frontier mission hospitals are
out to give a new idea of “honour,” and a practical meaning to the message of the Master : “Love your enemies.” Many a British bullet is removed from Afghan patients. This was
especially the case after the Afghan War of 1919, when the Peshawar hospital made quite
a collection of British bullets. The medical work is in itself a language without words, that
is not misunderstood by the border people ; it is helping in a practical way to keep the peace
on the Frontier, and to undermine the blood-feud system. In 1916, while a British expedition was out against the Mohmands beyond Shabqadr, a woman of that tribe came for
treatment to the hospital. When asked where she belonged, she fearlessly replied: “ I’m
a Mohmand.” And to the question : ‘‘ Do you expect at a time like this to receive treatment
and healing in a British hospital—aren’t we enemies-? ” she promptly answered: ‘‘ Oh, that
does not matter here! ’’ Which was true. The photograph shows a Mohmand woman and
her child in the serai or family wards. "
Recommended Books
No comments:
Post a Comment