A resident of Kashmir's Sopore area, Firdaus was flown into the national capital after receiving pellet injuries in his eyes. The 25-year-old has lost vision in both eyes.
In ward No 3 of the Eye Casualty section at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Firdaus offered Friday prayers on his bed, while two of his cousin brothers sat beside him watching his every movement intently. A resident of Kashmir's Sopore area, Firdaus was flown into the national capital after receiving pellet injuries in his eyes. The 25-year-old has lost vision in both eyes.
"He (Firdaus) told us to leave everything in God's hands (Pushrav Rabas)," Firdaus's cousin Aqib told dna on a Friday afternoon, two weeks ago. Firdaus, an auto-driver by profession, was injured when he had gone out to purchase vegetables for his family in his hometown, which saw massive demonstrations following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.
"We heard the curfew was lifted from Sopore for a few hours. He, being the oldest of the siblings, went outside to purchase food and other essentials for his family. That is when all this happened," said Firdaus's cousin Aqib.
While the 25-year-old pellet victim reposes faith in God, his family is hoping for an eye transplant. "Doctors say both his retinas are damaged. How will he live from here on? He has a sister and two brothers aged five, seven and nine, respectively. His parents are old, what is my brother supposed to do now," Aqib said in low voice to avoid disturbing his cousin who was offering namaz.
Another room of the same ward houses three other patients, a 16-year-old from Khanabal, a 17-year-old from Qazigund and a boy aged eight, who were brought in from Kashmir over a week ago. All of them have lost vision in one eye. While the teenagers are yet to undergo surgery, eight-year old Asif has been operated on twice already, according to his father Abdul Rashid.
"I have told him (Asif), if your eyesight has to come back it will and if it doesn't I am always there for you," Rashid said, while Asif stared at his father's tired face. "He keeps on telling me that he wants to go back to our home.
Hospital is no place for a young boy," adds Rashid before he pauses, holding back his tears. When asked if his eye was hurting, the eight year-old responded, "A little". Rashid observed, "He says that so I don't get worried."
Rashid's son was hit by pellets while he was on his way to his relative's home in Khanabal. Similar to Firdaus's case, this incident according to his family also happened when the curfew was lifted.
To keep Asif company and lift the eight-year-old's spirits, the other two Kashmiri teenagers with pellet injuries, spend most part of their day telling him stories. Both teenagers have lost vision in one of their eyes. "I am losing sight in my second eye too," said one of the youths, a 10th grade student of a local school in Khanabal. "We are waiting for doctors to operate upon us but truthfully speaking I don't know what is to come," he added.
When dna asked the second teenager whether he was hopeful about getting his eyesight back he responded, "It's a sin to be hopeless. If I get my eyesight back then it's good. If I don't, it will still be fine. There are 650 brothers like me in Kashmir who have been hit by pellets. I am not alone."
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