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PESHAWAR, Oct 26: Mohammed Abdullah may not have the blood of a militant flowing through his veins, but he hopes one day his blood will flow through someone who is fighting for his country.
Abdullah and dozens of other young Pakistanis lined up outside a mosque here near the Afghan border on Friday to donate blood for a Jihad against the US-led coalition.
Other youths his age have gone further — across the frontier to take up arms for Taliban against the US-led coalition that is hunting Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda network
But Abdullah cannot be a martyr — yet. His parents won’t let him. He is only 16.
“I want to fight for Afghanistan. I want to fight against the United States,” he told Reuters as he waited outside Spin Jumat mosque for his turn to give blood.
“But I cannot at this time. It is important to finish school, then I can also use my head. My parents said so.”
Giving blood is his contribution instead.
The blood bank, set up two weeks after the US-led bombing began on Oct 7, has so far drawn over 650 donors, according to the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI) which runs it.
THE HERO: “Osama is our hero,” said Abdullah Ashraf, next in line to lay down for 15 minutes on a narrow cot on the pavement of University Road while a pint of blood was drawn from his arm.
“Look what he did to America — he fought back for the Muslims, for the Palestinians.”
Pressed to explain in what way the 5,000 people killed or missing from the Sept 11 attacks in New York and Washington may have deserved their fate, the boys stumble — and go on the offensive instead.
“America must stop the bombing of Afghanistan. Innocent people are being killed,” said Ferooz Khan Attar.
“I came here from school,” said Abdullah, tossing a cricket ball from hand to hand as he spoke. “I always come to the mosque on Friday. My friends all decided to give up some blood so I joined them. It is for a good cause. It is for the Muslim cause.”
Mauwli Rafinullah, one of the blood bank organizers at the mosque, said there was no shortage of donors.
“Young people, old people, all want to give blood, even the ladies,” he told Reuters. “Afghans and Pakistanis both. Even some others have given.”
POLICE WATCH: Policemen with riot shields and helmets stood outside the mosque on Friday, sharing cigarettes as they watched the procession of donors.
“It is small,” said one. “They just think they are martyrs by giving blood. They don’t know what it is like to hit somebody, to fight.”
Rafinullah said the blood is collected at over a dozen mosques in the Peshawar area and taken to a central storage point to be tested for hepatitis A and B and HIV before being transported across the border.
After making their donation Abdullah and friends headed off to play cricket — something they clearly seemed more keen on doing than fighting in Afghanistan.
But they kept their shirt sleeves rolled up, proudly displaying the plaster across their vein like a badge of honour.—Reuters
