Let’s abate the pain on this Earth

Alikhan was given 80.000 rubles (about $2.600) for rigging up an artificial limb surgery. The surgery is scheduled for October. You can also make donations for other charges of Tamara Lakayeva’s charitable organization  “Zabota” (Care). War is not a frontline separating enemies. War is rather a line that divides a life into two totally different parts: before and after. Soldiers keep mounting an attack at night. Mothers keep waiting for their      missing sons. So it is not for nothing they say that wars never end.

For Alikhan the war is not over yet. In 1996 he – a boy at the time – was blown up by a mine. He is one of those who fell victim of sappers’ hellish job. Alikhan was left one-legged. His right leg is gone. He seemed to put up with the loss. But… two years ago he got married and realized that he simply couldn’t appear before his wife’s kinsfolk as he was – a one-legged helpless cripple.

In a Baku clinic he had been amputated his leg to save his life. But now he seems to be ready to give his life itself  to get back  his leg.  But he has got no money for the surgery and for the artificial thing. He has only got the 3349 rubles of disability pension.  It is about 110 dollars or a barrel and a half of crude oil.

Alikhan’s is just one story of a war that is not over. Tamara Lakayeva, head of Dagestani charitable organization “Zabota” (Care) knows many more. She is in it since 1996. Since when her son died under mortar fire. It has become her salvation – helping the victims of war, all those who have known the pain and horror of a loss.

She has got 40 children of war who lost their parents during the combat actions. There are some parents-orphans too – they have lost their children. Tamara tries to find them all over the world – in her lists there are 10 missing children.

Apart from that in her custody 4 families in dire need who have neither home nor documents – nothing. Actually they are not in the lists of  the alive. And it is also legacy of war.  55-years-old Ronaldi dying quietly in a derelict school in Khasavurt. “Tamara, help him to find his relatives, too. He must have somebody somewhere,” – people asked her. Ronaldi was Georgian, he came to the North Caucasus  to earn money in the 90-s.  After he had had an apoplexy his employers simply kicked him out into the street and Ronaldi went to die into the derelict school. One  day there broke a fire there and they had to take the fused willies off Ronaldi’s feet on a patient plate. Since then he hasn’t stood on his feet.

Tamara found his relations in Georgian village Aragvispiri. She dragged Rolandi literally on her back across three borders – Russian, Azerbaijanian and Georgian. On a bench by Rolandi’s house sat a little babushka about 80 years old, her head covered with a white headscarf.  “Come up to the car, – Tamara asked her through a translator. – Look who is there.” The old woman hesitated at first, but when she saw her son she started to cry and to stroke his feet, Tamara recollects.

She has already found the parents for five children of war. She found in Belgium mother of 15-years-old  Igor  from a Makhachkala boarding house. The children were 1,5-2 years old in 1995 when  they were moved to Makhachkala from a children’s house in Grozny, Chechnya, to save them from bombardments. Most of them didn’t have any documents, their personal records were lost in the hustle. Not all of the 36 infants survived. That was what Tamara told one of the Internet-editions. Natalia Lukhanova who had emigrated to Belgium saw Igor’s picture on that site. The boy had an  inherent pathology – he lacked forefingers on both hands.  By that mark she recognized her son.

Last year Mufti Council offered Tamara to go to Hajj for free: within charitable quota. She got confused. “I am not ready yet. I haven’t yet done all I can to be able to go to Mecca. I just have to cure Alikhan up a bit. Then I’ll be able to go to Hajj.”

Now you probably understand why we have told you about Tamara and Alikhan. For ethical reasons we do not give Alikhan’s full name. The surgery is scheduled for this autumn. That is if manage to collect the money – $2600. Then he will be able to go and see his wife’s relatives without any remorse, and without his crutches.

And Tamara will commit her long-awaited Hajj.