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Thank you, my fatherland |
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For helping me to be totally reintegrated and normalised |
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Only in the world's greatest socialist democracy could one hope to be forgiven for losing temporary sight |
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of the aims and goals of the of the Marxist/Leninist revolution |
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Two years it took me to be cured of my illness |
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Being still a relatively young and fit man |
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I was still in search of fulfilment |
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The memory of Olger, Sergey and my two children |
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Motivated me to seek an occupation |
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That would both repay my debt to my great party |
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And obviously help the way to international socialism |
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I was still unable to resume my lectureship at the sub-nucleonic particle physics |
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And therefore volunteered to help our Afghan comrades |
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In their great struggle for liberation |
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I was readily accepted |
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Into a motorized maintenance unit |
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It was not long before I realised that our support |
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For the liberation struggle of our comrades in Afghanistan |
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Was not viewed at all together unanimously by the local population |
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In fact, we were not allowed outside of the barracks unless we were in large armoured groups |
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During our brief stay in Afghanistan |
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We had discovered some of the very few pleasures open to visitors to this desolate place |
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A local concoction called "hashish" was being increasingly used by our troops |
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And many of the helicopter gunship and tank crews, moreover |
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Would smoke large chillums and joints before embarking on missions around the mountains, surrounding Kabul |
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Every week comrades who had fallen into the hands of the rebels |
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would be found in various states of dismemberment around the camp |
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Those unlucky enough to be still alive |
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Were sent from rehabilitation |
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to the German democratic republics |
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Since this would prevent any undue alarm by our loved ones back home |
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The wisdom of this policy is evidence of our leaders' great care for their people |
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Apart from hashish there was not much to divert or endure the cold mountain nights |
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And increasingly there were signs of the troops acquiring the illness of which I had previously been cured |
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And therefore, my attention was focused more on looking at the few animals that were kept within the military compound. |
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As is often the case between human beings and animals |
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A close bond of affection can develop |
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And I became increasingly close to a camel I named Dimitri |
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Ah, dear Dimitri |
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No one can really understand the relationship between a man and his camel |
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As was the case with the army doctors and my superiors |
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Who sent me to convalesce in the German Democratic Republic. |
