Afghan Family's Kidney Travails

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 14 February 2018)


Out of Afghanistan, but their rough journey continues...

The 7-member Afghani Rahmatı family that lives in the Fevzi
Çakmak neighborhood of Yunus Emre district, Manisa province, is
struggling with kidney problems.  The Rahmatıs came to
Turkey via Iran 2.5 years ago and mother Nazıfeh, along with her
two sons Rahman (27) and Javad (25), get dialysis treatments 3
times each week.

Only the family's eldest son, Muhammed Reza, works, to keep
food on the table.  Daughter Mercan (18), who speaks Turkish,
explained that "my older brother Rahman has been getting
dialysis for four years, Javad for two years and my mother for
2.5 years.  In Iran, we had to pay 250 TL (about $60) per dialysis
visit so the doctors there recommended that we come to Turkey."


Rahman's t-shirt sums up the family's grit.

Rahman's condition is the most serious so father Abdulgani will
give him a kidney soon at Izmir Training and Research Hospital.
But Abdulgani is sad that he can only give his kidney to Rahman,
while wife Nazıfeh and his other son Javad need transplants, too.
He lamented that "it's no problem for me to live with one kidney.
I just want my son to get better.  I want to give my other kidney
to my other son.  We're in a difficult situation so I'm asking for
help from everywhere. I want my wife and my other son to be
freed from dialysis with kidney transplants."