Beyond the blast: Survivor tells story of emotional, physical scars

"I still have shards and shrapnels from the blast embedded in my bones."

Explosions have become commonplace occurrences in Pakistan and casualties are often reduced to mere numbers, only to be soon forgotten. But what happens to the victims who have to live with the aftermath of such tragedies?

How often do we think of the human face behind a death count, a living story behind a grieving survivor?

Swat's Akhtar Ali, who lost an arm and a leg five years ago in a blast at his friend's funeral, survived to tell his story.

It was a Friday on February 29, 2008.

Akhtar Ali, a successful trader in the area, had already had his share of grief for the day . His friend Javed Iqbal, the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) in Mingora had lost his life in a remote-controlled bomb attack by the Taliban in Lakki Marwat in the morning.

Recalling his friend, a melancholic Ali remembers thinking, "He's gone now, by God's will. His time was up."

Ali had set out with a group of people for the funeral. They had arrived at the funeral site, said their prayers and were just about to step out when the deafening noise of an explosion reverberated across the neighbourhood.

"We lost our bearings and couldn't realise what had just happened. On resuming consciousness, we found ourselves in the hospital," says Ali.

"Lying on the bed, I told my brothers and my father to bid me farewell. Then the doctors conducted the operation and amputated my right arm and leg," he remembers. "I had really wished at the time that I'd be spared of both my legs at least."

"Someone who is born handicapped may not know what a blessing these things are - how precious it is to have legs, or arms, or eyes - as he has never experienced their worth. But for someone who had all their limbs and then lost them, it is...hard," Ali says. "I am dependent on others for every little thing."

The physical pain was immense to begin with, but the emotional torture - the attempt to make some sense of what happened and why it happened - is endless.

"I had seen all the people torn to pieces in the blast. Why did they deserve such a fate? Those who were left handicapped, how was it their fault?" he wonders. "I don't ask for anything from life now. I'm just living for my children."

For this particular survivor, his body will never be free of the tragic memories of that fateful Friday:

"I still have shards and shrapnel from the blast embedded in my bones," he reveals.

Akhtar Ali's story is just one from the 45 people killed and 100 injured in the suicide blast at the funeral.

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This film is part of Black Box Sounds production, an initiative specializing in production aimed at social and development issues, behavior change communication and mass awareness since 2006. For further information, you can visit their website or Facebook page.