Days ago, an American soldier was run over by Mine Resistant and Ambush-protected vehicle while he was trying to save a shell cas ings collector girl in the northeast of the country, Laghman province. Mr. Dennis Weichel, 29, was in a NATO convoy, reportedly, saw children on the path of the moving vehicles. Along with other soldiers, he scattered children but a girl went back to road. He ran towards her and grabbed her out of the road, but unfortunately he himself was run over by the moving truck. He got badly injured and lost life few hours later.
Mr. Dennis Weichel was from Rhode Island and had girl friend with whom he was about to get married soon. He fathered three children who in a page set up for Mr. Dennis shared their feelings about the heroic action of their father. They commented as saying "father we are proud of you and miss you forever". He left three of children without father, his fiancé without a caring husband and his parents without Dennis.
It is not clear if any other person encounters with similar situation, how will he react? Will he risk his life for saving, perhaps, a homeless girl?
The sacrifice of Mr. Dennis Weichel should be model for all the people civilians as well as soldiers. If only few percentage of our officials showed sympathy with civilians, suffering terribly from economic miseries, and do not usurp foreign donations for building luxuries and multiple storey houses in or out of the country for themselves, major parts of the ongoing challenges and problems would have come to an end already. And we were not the observer of dying children due to lack of shelters in last year's harsh winter.
Billions of dollars poured into the country by economically prosperous allies, yet common people have not benefited least.
Just trotting in Kabul streets, it can be understood where billions of dollars finally reached. Among dusty and shabby houses, there are amazingly luxurious houses which cost more than half million dollars. Asking the neighbors about who owns the house, similar answers heard—someone working in government or NGO.
A public official earns only few thousand Afghanis per month, so then, how could he afford to spend hundreds of thousand dollars on raising such stunning buildings?
If our officials even try to imitate the heroic action of Dennis, the current chronic problems may not last longer. That is something for sure.