Fatema Safar

Fatema Safar was hit by the stray bullet from an AK-47 rifle during a gunbattle near her house in Kabul as the Taliban fought for control of the country eight years ago, according to Aid for War Orphans in Asia.

The Tokyo-based non-government organization has helped to raise ¥8 million to bring her to Japan for the operation.

The girl has suffered from chronic headaches since she was shot, according to a Web site run by the NGO, but did not know that a bullet was in her head until May, when the group helped her family get her an X-ray examination at an Afghan hospital.

The bullet, which is inside her skull just below the left eye, has corroded, and Afghan doctors have said she might only live two to three more years if it is not removed, according to the Web site.

Safar had to come to Japan for the operation because no neurosurgeon was available in Afghanistan.

The Japan Times Weekly: July 31, 2004
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