Amputated by a mine, Khaled was unable to work and feed his family
Yemen is a poor country. Most people live off the land. When they become victims of landmines, like Khaled did, their lives are turned upside down.
Khaled at the rehabilitation centre | © Saja for Advertisements / HI
The tragedy when coming home
Khaled Mohsen Mohammed Al-Nashef is a 42-year-old farmer from Faradh Nihm, a village on the outskirts of Sana’a. He is a farmer, working on his land and tending to his sheep.
In May 2022, when Khaled returned home to take the sheep out to graze, his three-year-old daughter stood by the door and suddenly ran a few metres ahead of the house, into an area known to be contaminated with landmines.
Panicking, Khaled rushed after her. As he drew closer, there was a deafening explosion. Everything went dark. He could hear nothing but the sound of his wife screaming and his children crying.
Khaled had stepped on a landmine
When Khaled regained consciousness, he realised that he could not stand up. His left leg was badly mangled. He had stepped on a landmine.
A neighbour quickly loaded him into a truck and drove him to the military hospital, but they refused to treat him as he was not a soldier. He was then taken to the Saudi German Hospital. Villagers paid for his emergency treatment. The doctors gave him blood transfusions and wound cleaning, but after three days, his leg turned black due to a lack of blood flow. In order to save his life, the doctors had no choice but to amputate his left leg below the knee.
How to move with crutches
From that day on, Khaled faced a new struggle. He could hardly walk with crutches, which caused severe pain and fatigue in his arms. Even using the bathroom became difficult and humiliating. The rough, hilly terrain of his village made movement exhausting. He could no longer farm his land, which slowly withered before his eyes. Most of his sheep died from landmines. Only three remained.
Khaled was constantly worried about how he would feed his children.
An artificial leg that changed everything
Khaled attended a mine risk awareness session in his village, organized by HI last year. Knowing his case, HI team immediately referred him to the Physical Therapy Unit at Al-Kuwait Hospital.
There, he received new crutches, a toilet chair and transportation support to access services. When he was medically and physically ready, Khaled was referred to the Physical Rehabilitation Centre.
Within a few days Khaled was fitted with a prosthesis. He did various training sessions on the use of his prosthesis, like walking on different terrains, sitting, using stairs for up and down movements and walking up and down the slopes. Soon after, Khaled received his finalized new prosthesis along with instructions and awareness sessions on how to use and maintain it. As Khaled put it:
“After receiving my prosthesis, I felt like I had returned to my old self. I was able to go back to my land and start working on it again, and now it is flourishing once more.”
Released from the pain
The improvements were physical and emotional. The prosthesis relieved the pain in his arms and the toilet chair restored his comfort and dignity. Khaled reflects on this with gratitude:
“When the HI team first collected my details, I never imagined that I would receive such assistance. Three years of suffering were erased in just one month. These services have truly brought me back to life, reminding me that I am a human being with dignity and worth.”
