Afghan villager Dawalat still has his leg thanks to a team of French military medics who have treated more than 1,000 local residents in the space of a few months.
But only one of the patients at the field clinic, located at the Nijrab base northeast of Kabul, was a woman.
The rigours of religion and culture in Afghanistan mean that it is unthinkable for a woman to be examined by a man, creating unique challenges for the French team.
"The only one was so terrified that I had to hold her hand," recalls a female second lieutenant who was called in to help out the all-male squad.
"She even wanted me to do the treatment myself," says Aurelie, who cannot reveal her full name under French military regulations.
"It is true that we do not see women, but one cannot change the mentality of a country overnight," adds the chief doctor, a lieutenant colonel who can only give his name as Bruno.
The patients at the Nijrab base -- located about 60 kilometres (37 miles) northeast of Kabul at the confluence of the secluded Afghania, Nijrab and Tagabare valleys -- are therefore men and children.
There are two medical stations here, staffed by three doctors, three nurses and about a dozen first aid workers.
Their primary mission is to provide medical care to 500 French soldiers deployed as reinforcements to NATO-led contingents in Kapisa province, which is seeing growing levels of insurgent activity.
But at one of the stations, under a khaki tent marked with red crosses on a white background, the French medics treat Afghan soldiers and civilians from the area -- including insurgents.
"In early August, some wounded struck by shrapnel or bullets arrived a few hours after a clash in the valley," says Bruno.
"Identified as insurgents, they were treated and then taken in by coalition security forces -- everyone has to do their job."
But Bruno emphasises that such a situation -- international troops treating the very insurgents they are here to fight -- is rare.
"Normally the insurgents treat their wounded themselves and take them to neighbouring Pakistan," he says.
Medic Jean-Paul is on duty when Dawalat comes in for a check-up on a double fracture to his lower leg.
The first plaster -- applied by a local clinic -- was too tight and the bones were not properly set, causing Dawalat such discomfort that he had come to the French medical team.
"The scar is beautiful but we have to clean the whole thing up and redo the plaster," Jean-Paul says.
The 23-year-old could have lost his leg had the doctors not stabilised him and evacuated him to Kabul for a vital operation. Now he is recovering nicely.
The next patient is Hafiza, a four-year-old girl in a red dress with big black eyes who has an abscess on her cheek. To distract her during her treatment, one nurse makes soap bubbles, while another offers her sweets.
"Yesterday there was a small baby from a very modest family who was dehydrated and suffering from diarrhoea. The father brought us a bag of nuts," says Jean-Paul.
In a country which has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world, this kind of basic care takes on vital importance.
Since the beginning of the year, French medical teams in Afghanistan have given 5,800 consultations.
Besides the humanitarian aspect, says the chief doctor Bruno, the consultations "also allow the international force to be better accepted, which contributes to the process of securing the region."
Source: AFP South Asian Edition
