Girl burned by white phosphorus leaves Bagram

Girl burned by white phosphorus leaves Bagram

By Rahim Faiez - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Jun 24, 2009 17:44:29 EDT

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan — A nurse fixed a black wig on Razia’s scarred and disfigured scalp before the 8-year-old took off around the emergency room to bid farewell to the staff who cared for her after white phosphorous scorched her head, face, neck and hands.

When Razia came to the U.S. military hospital four months ago, Capt. Christine Collins didn’t think she would make it out alive. On Wednesday, the little Afghan girl left this military hospital for an arduous journey to her village, a 50-mile drive from Bagram Air Base.

“I am fine, I want to go home,” Razia quietly told Collins and a group of other hospital staff who had come to see her off.

Wearing a pair of blue jeans and a pink-striped shirt, Razia was eager to see her mother — who awaited her at a cousin’s house deep in the countryside still rife with insurgents. The two have not seen each other since shells ripped through their home on March 14 just after breakfast, killing two of Razia’s sisters.

It’s unclear where the white phosphorus came from that disfigured Razia for life — burning her face, now marked with permanent scars. Razia’s father, Abdul Aziz, blames international forces since U.S., French and Afghan troops gathered outside his home just before the shells were fired. U.S and NATO troops use white phosphorus to illuminate targets, create smoke screens and destroy old bunkers, but say they don’t use it as a weapon.

A U.S. military spokeswoman with NATO’s security force said military officials can’t be certain whether it was their own round or an enemy round that hit Razia’s house.
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