A 12-year-old Iraqi boy who was maimed during the US bombing of Iraq arrived in Taipei yesterday to receive medical treatment.
Khaldon-Kh-Thiab, who lost his right hand and left foot as a result of US bombing, is scheduled to stay here two months for check-ups and treatment, mainly at the Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, according to a spokesman for the Eden Social Welfare Foundation, which is sponsoring his trip.
Doctors at Far Eastern Memorial are expected to treat the boy's injuries before deciding to fit him with prostheses, the spokesman said.
According to the foundation, the boy was playing with two of his younger brothers in the courtyard of their house when US bombers swept across the skies of Fallujah near Baghdad.
The boys went inside their house during the raid but ventured outside later and found what turned out to be unexploded ordinance. The subsequent detonation killed the younger boys and maimed Khaldon-Kh-Thiab.
Khaldon-Kh-Thiab's family has 28 children. Three were killed in the war. Only eight of them have been able to attend school because their father only earns US$5 a month.
Before the war, Khaldon-Kh-Thiab liked to play football and his dream was to become a driver.
The foundation decided to sponsor a visit to Taiwan for him after receiving a report from the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) in July.
According to the UNICEF report, at the height of the US-led war against Iraq, one of the major hospitals in Baghdad reported the admission of 100 injured people every hour. During the first month of the war, the hospital was forced to amputate the limbs of more than 100 children who had been injured by bombings or shootings.
The Hashemite Charitable Society for Soldiers with Special Needs in Jordan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' liaison office in Jordan have been instrumental in arranging Khaldon-Kh-Thiab's trip, according to the Eden spokesman.
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