Morgan BellAhmed Mustafa - the boy with no arms or legs on The Footy Show
July 24th 2008 17:32
Ahmed Mustafa (16) appeared on the AFL Footy Show tonight. Ahmed is a young man who is vice-captain of the Kilmore footy team and scholarship student at Assumption College in Victoria.
Ahmed came to Australia in 2001 when a lady named Moira Kelly adopted him from an Iraqi orphanage. For the first nine years of his life he could not walk due to severe deformities in his limbs that resulted from his parents being exposed to chemical weapons used in warfare - possibly radiation from depleted uranium.
Ahmed essentially has no arms or legs. His deformed legs were amputated when he relocated to Australia and he now walks (and runs, and plays footy) using prosthetic legs. He has no hands, his arms are only about half length, yet he was amazingly "handy" at putting on his own headset when performing a mock footy call for TV.
Moira Kelly in a Melbourne humanitarian who runs the Children First Foundation and has travelled the world helping children from many war-torn and poverty-striken countries. Moira's work was captured in the documentary film "A Compassionate Rage" (2001) by Alan Lindsay. Ahmed and his brother Emmanuel are featured in the film.
Ahmed now lives on the Children First Farm in Kilmore. He wants to become an Australian citizen and remain involved in AFL football, maybe in the media, management or coaching. His favourite team is Essendon.
Photo: Alan Lindsay Photos © Vue Pty Ltd
Film: Australian Film Commission and Cinemedia’s Film Victoria. Produced with the assistance of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Ahmed came to Australia in 2001 when a lady named Moira Kelly adopted him from an Iraqi orphanage. For the first nine years of his life he could not walk due to severe deformities in his limbs that resulted from his parents being exposed to chemical weapons used in warfare - possibly radiation from depleted uranium.
Ahmed essentially has no arms or legs. His deformed legs were amputated when he relocated to Australia and he now walks (and runs, and plays footy) using prosthetic legs. He has no hands, his arms are only about half length, yet he was amazingly "handy" at putting on his own headset when performing a mock footy call for TV.
Moira Kelly in a Melbourne humanitarian who runs the Children First Foundation and has travelled the world helping children from many war-torn and poverty-striken countries. Moira's work was captured in the documentary film "A Compassionate Rage" (2001) by Alan Lindsay. Ahmed and his brother Emmanuel are featured in the film.
Ahmed now lives on the Children First Farm in Kilmore. He wants to become an Australian citizen and remain involved in AFL football, maybe in the media, management or coaching. His favourite team is Essendon.
Photo: Alan Lindsay Photos © Vue Pty Ltd
Film: Australian Film Commission and Cinemedia’s Film Victoria. Produced with the assistance of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
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Comment by S.L.
The Political Brief
Comment by alt_ed
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Comment by S.L.
The Political Brief
Comment by alt_ed
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S.L. you're little more than an old whore!
Comment by RubySoho
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Thought Zone
Unfortunately someone needs to tell your resident lunatic that it was the USA who unleashed depleted uranium on the people of Iraq.
Comment by Morgan Bell
Deep Pencil
Current Business News
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Artist Quirk
seeing Ahmed was an amazing experience, he is quite the little survivor . . . im always amazed at people who overcome adversity and are just so positive and grateful to be alive!
he (and his brother) would have been born with birth defects due to the radiation his parents suffered in the Gulf War back in the early 90s . . . regardless of the politics behind what causes these wars i think using weapons that impact people generations later is extremely irresponsible . . . the babies born in that area between the Gulf War and today really dont deserve this legacy
i was really happy to see how happy he was with his new life!
Comment by Mountain Fog
Infognito
I was bracing myself, when I opened this article, as I feared the Footy Show had dragged some poor kid in to boost its ratings, however, even so, it is inspirational that he survived with such a force to live, and so lucky Moira found him.
As for the ignorance stated above, it does not surprise me! Depleted uranium is having a devastating effect on Iraq, and further afield.
I wrote about DU awhile back, it is horrid and depressing, but, America, Britain, Israel, etc, etc, etc, keep using this horrific weapon, and they know all too well they are leaving a silent killer in the dust for generations.
It is a genocidal weapon, DU, in my opinion. A weapon of mass destruction in disguise.
sad times indeed..
cheers Morgan
fog
Comment by Morgan Bell
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yeah i was pleased to see that the Melbournes AFL Footy Show treated Ahmed really respectfully, i think they really like him because hes a mad keen footy fan and plays really well despite his disabilities . . . i got the impression they were gunna help him along with getting a position in the media as a commentator after he finishes school
feel free to post a link to your article on depleted uranium (DU), it is a little known topic, and i agree it is being used as a genocidal weapon . . . they have scientific studies into the birth defects it causes yet they continue using them . . . we can no longer write it off as an accident!
Comment by postmoderncritic
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