A Simple E-maill

Among the networks that aired Okkhoy’s story was CNN. And among those watching it was a businessman some 8，000 miles away in Columbus， Ohio， named Aram Kovach.

“Usually we see something horrible on TV and we go， ‘Oh goodness， that’s horrible.’But then we move on，” Kovach says.

But this story， he says， “kept getting progressively worse and worse and worse.”

“You got to the end， and I was like， ‘All right， this is unbelievable. We have got to help this kid. We have got to do something.’”

A few days later， Kovach fired off a simple e-mail to CNN.

“I was so moved by this story that for several days now I can’t seem to get it out of my head，” it said. “My wife and I would like to somehow help his family and their little boy.”

Five minutes of television was about to change the lives of two families.

A Worried Father

Inside the Rapid Action Battalion （RAB） compound， where Okkhoy and his family lives， the little boy passes his days kicking around a 1）tattered soccer ball. He rides about on a 2）rickety hand-me-down bicycle. At morning call， he stands at attention beside the soldiers.

“He visits me from time to time. I also visit him from time to time and we play together and discuss many things，” Sohail， the battalion commander says.“Even after such a thing happened in his life， the boy is still laughing.”

But the family， Okkhoy’s father says， is irrevocably torn.

“But back then， life was good，” Abed says.“Even if we ate one meal a day， life was good. Now there is this fear in my heart. Yes， we’re in 3）protective custody. Yes， they’re keeping us safe. But the fear is always there.”

“They destroyed our lives. They destroyed our family. There is no hope for us anymore，” he says.

Okkhoy has never been to school. He has a single-minded goal： He wants to join the battalion—and see his attackers hanged.

“I want to be a RAB member and nothing else，” he says. “When I grow up， I want to bring them to justice.”

Such talk worries his father.

“My biggest fear is that he’ll start to think， ‘I will find the person who did this to me and I will do the same to him.’ He will live in a world of revenge. I don’t want this. I don’t want to be the father of a terrorist.”

A Nagging Question

It’s late afternoon when father and son， accompanied by their court-appointed guardian Alena Khan， fly into Dulles International Airport. It’ll take another hour in rush-hour Friday traffic to arrive at the townhouse near the Baltimore hospital where the family will live for the next month.

“You’ve been on our minds for about a year or so. So， I’m glad to meet you and I’m glad that you are here，” Kovach says when Okkhoy arrives.

Real life sometimes does not 4）live up to the movies.

There are no scenes of an indebted Okkhoy running up and bear-hugging Kovach. He is delighted at the suitcase full of toys the businessman has brought for him， but he is too tired and jetlagged to show it.

His father， too， is weary from the 17-hour flight—and wary about these strangers’motivations.

The next day， as the Kovachs’ take the family sightseeing， Abed decides to ask the question that has 5）gnawed at him.

“I have only one question： Why are you doing this for us？” he asks in Bengali.

“Because I love him，” Kovach says through a translator. “I felt his grief， I felt his pain and I just wanted to do something. I mean， if it was me， I was hoping somebody else would do the same thing for me.”

As he speaks， Abed quietly listens. Tears well in his eyes.

“Thank you， thank you，” he says in broken English.

The two men hug.

“It’s just what we do，” Kovach says. “It’s just what we do as human beings.”

Tears dried and the tension resolved， Abed relaxes and enjoys the day with his son.

They’ve been through a lot—and a lot more lies ahead.

A Trial Awaits

Back home， a difficult trial awaits—one in which Okkhoy will eventually have to take the stand and relive， second by 6）excruciating second， what was done to him.

“We hope that there will be some appropriate punishment，” says Sohail， the battalion commander. “An 7）exemplary punishment for these criminals so that the rest of the country knows.”

The gang， according to battalion officials， has maimed at least five other children—all of them around Okkhoy’s age.

One of the men who confessed told investigators how the gang kept the kids confined for months in tight spaces， or even in barrels， and deprived them of food.

Then they’d send them out to beg.

Each child would bring back the equivalent of about $7 a day. The gang kept all but 25 cents of each 8）haul.

The kids received mere pennies to feed themselves.

Were it not for Okkhoy， the enterprise would carry on.

“He’s the only witness， the only witness who saw everything with his own eyes，” Sohail says. “Without his statement， without him testifying in court， the case cannot be won.”

The Big Day

It’s the morning of the 9）genital surgery， and Okkhoy is up before the sun. If he’s nervous， he doesn’t show it.

He makes faces at the staff， and tries to impress them with the English he’s learned since arriving six days ago. “1， 2， 3， 4，” he counts， holding up his fingers.

It amazes everyone who meets him.

As he is wheeled into the operating room， Okkhoy flashes a thumbs up. As he is laid on the table， he chants， “Go， let’s go！”

“Be brave，” his father urges. “Don’t be worried.”

“I’m not，” he replies. “I have no fear！”

It’s 9 a.m. and a team of doctors and nurses are preparing for a complicated operation that could take eight to 10 hours.

A Promising Future？

Children are resilient， so Okkhoy’s recovery is quick.

He is discharged from the hospital less than a week after the surgery， but needs to remain in the area for three more weeks so doctors can monitor him for 10）infections.

He is restricted from physical activity—which means， he can’t kick his beloved soccer ball around.

That leaves Okkhoy without an excuse when Khan sits him down to tutor him from a picture book of the alphabet.

“A. B. C. D，” Khan points to the letters and reads aloud.

“A， B， Chi ...，” Okkhoy repeats.

“Not Chi. Say ‘C，’” she corrects him.

Khan wants Okkhoy to be the first person in his family to get an education.

“The dream I have for him is that he grows up and devotes his life to the service of people，” she says. “That he sees to it that no one goes through what he went through.”

It is a dream Kovach and his wife share as well. The two want to set up a fund to help make Okkhoy’s schooling possible.

Before he leaves Baltimore， Okkhoy is asked again what he wants to be when he grows up.

Until now， his answer had been the same： a member of the Rapid Action Battalion to avenge his attack.

Not this time.

“I want to become a doctor，” he says without missing a beat， “because I want to save people. And when I do， I won’t take any money from them.”

A hospital staffer suggests that perhaps one day Okkhoy could come work as a surgeon at 11）Johns Hopkins.

“Wouldn’t that be a miracle？” she says.

“This story is full of miracles，” Okkhoy’s father responds.

Who’s to say there won’t be another one？

一封簡單的郵件

美國有線電視新聞網(wǎng)（CNN）是其中一家將歐可伊的故事播報(bào)出來的有線網(wǎng)絡(luò)。而在那些收看了節(jié)目的觀眾中，有一位商人身在約八千英里之外的美國俄亥俄州哥倫布市，他名叫亞拉姆·科瓦什。

“一般情況下，我們在電視上看到某些可怕的新聞，我們會說：‘哦，天啊，真可怕。’但接著，我們會繼續(xù)自己的生活?！笨仆呤舱f。

但這個(gè)故事，他說：“不停地變得越來越嚴(yán)重，越來越嚴(yán)重?！?/p>

“看到結(jié)尾，我就想，‘好吧，這真是令人難以置信。我們必須要幫幫這個(gè)孩子。我們必須要做點(diǎn)什么?！?/p>

幾天之后，科瓦什向CNN發(fā)了一封簡單的郵件。

“我被這個(gè)故事深深地打動(dòng)，這么多天過去了，我似乎無法將其從腦海中抹去，”信中寫道?！拔液推拮佣枷胍鳇c(diǎn)什么來幫助他的家庭和他們的小男孩?！?/p>

電視上的五分鐘將要改變這兩個(gè)家庭的生活。

一位憂心忡忡的父親

在歐可伊與其家人所居住的快速反應(yīng)營的軍營里，這個(gè)小男孩靠踢著一個(gè)破足球到處跑來打發(fā)時(shí)間。他騎著一輛搖搖晃晃的二手自行車四處溜達(dá)。在清早集合時(shí)，他也在士兵們旁邊立正站好。

“他時(shí)不時(shí)來看我。我也時(shí)不時(shí)去看看他，我們一起玩耍，并討論很多事情，”軍營指揮官索亥爾說?！凹幢阍谒纳锇l(fā)生了這樣的事情，這個(gè)男孩依然在笑著。”

但這個(gè)家庭，歐可伊的父親說，已經(jīng)無可挽回地被撕碎了。

“以前，生活還是不錯(cuò)的，” 阿貝德說。“即便我們一天只能吃上一頓飯，生活也是不錯(cuò)的。如今恐懼在我的心里揮之不去。是的，我們得到全方位保護(hù)。是的，有他們保證我們的安全。但恐懼一直都在。”

“他們摧毀了我們的生活，他們摧毀了我們的家庭。我們再也沒有希望了，”他說。

歐可伊從沒上過學(xué)。他一心一意只有一個(gè)目標(biāo)：他想要加入軍營——看到襲擊他的人被絞死。

“我想要成為一名快速反應(yīng)營成員，沒有別的了，”他說。“等我長大了以后，我想要將他們繩之以法?！?/p>

這樣的言論讓他的父親憂心忡忡。

“我最大的恐懼就在于他會開始想：‘我將要找到那個(gè)襲擊我的人，而我會用同樣的方法對付他。’他將生活在一心復(fù)仇的世界里。我不想要這樣。我不想成為一個(gè)恐怖分子的父親?！?/p>

一個(gè)糾結(jié)的問題

當(dāng)父子倆由他們的法庭指定監(jiān)護(hù)人阿勒娜·汗陪同，飛至華盛頓杜勒斯國際機(jī)場時(shí)，已是傍晚時(shí)分了。在周五高峰時(shí)間的擁擠交通中，還要再花上一個(gè)小時(shí)才能到達(dá)位于巴爾的摩醫(yī)院附近的宅邸，這家人將在這里一直住到下個(gè)月。

“我們心中念想你已有差不多一年了。所以，很高興見到你，也很高興你能來到這里，”當(dāng)歐可伊到達(dá)時(shí)，科瓦什說道。

現(xiàn)實(shí)生活有時(shí)候并非依照電影的橋段行事。

并沒有出現(xiàn)如感激涕零的歐可伊跑上去熊抱科瓦什之類的場面。他看到這位商人買給他的滿箱玩具時(shí)感到很開心，但他太累了，且有時(shí)差反應(yīng)，這讓他無法表現(xiàn)出來。

他的父親也因?yàn)?7個(gè)小時(shí)的飛行而疲憊不堪——同時(shí)還警惕著這些陌生人的動(dòng)機(jī)。

第二天，當(dāng)科瓦什一家?guī)е@家人去觀光時(shí)，阿貝德決心說出那個(gè)一直困擾著他的問題。

“我只有一個(gè)問題：您為什么要為我們做這些？”他用孟加拉語問道。

“因?yàn)槲覑鬯笨仆呤餐ㄟ^一位翻譯說道。“我能感受到他的憂傷，感受到他的痛苦，我只是想做點(diǎn)什么。我是說，如果是我的話，我也希望會有其他什么人為我做相同的事情?！?/p>

當(dāng)他說話時(shí)，阿貝德安靜地聽著。淚水涌出雙眼。

“謝謝你，謝謝，”他用蹩腳的英文說道。

兩個(gè)人擁抱了。

“我們就是這樣行事的，”科瓦什說。“作為人類，我們就是這樣行事的。”

淚水干了，緊張情緒也緩解了，阿貝德放松下來，跟他的兒子一起享受著那一天。

他們已經(jīng)經(jīng)歷了很多——而前方還有更多的事在等著他們。

一場等待的審判

在家鄉(xiāng)，一場艱難的審判在等待著——?dú)W可伊最終將必須走上證人席，度過一秒又一秒的煎熬，再次經(jīng)歷他所經(jīng)受過的一切。

“我們希望會有某種適當(dāng)?shù)膽椭?，”軍營指揮官索亥爾說?！敖o這些罪犯一種殺雞儆猴式的懲治，以警示國人?！?/p>

據(jù)軍營軍官們說，那個(gè)幫派已經(jīng)致使其他至少五名兒童殘疾——全部都與歐可伊年齡相仿。

其中一名業(yè)已認(rèn)罪的幫派成員向調(diào)查人員講述了該幫派如何將這些孩子長達(dá)數(shù)月地關(guān)在狹小的空間里，甚至是裝在桶里，并且不給他們吃的。

然后他們會派孩子們出去行乞。

每個(gè)孩子每天要帶回相當(dāng)于7美元左右的收入。該幫派會拿走所有的錢，只給辛勞的孩子們留下25美分。

孩子們得到的小錢只夠喂飽自己。

如果不是因?yàn)闅W可伊，這種勾當(dāng)還將繼續(xù)下去。

“他是唯一的證人，唯一一個(gè)以自己的雙眼看到一切的證人，” 索亥爾說道?！皼]有他的證詞，沒有他在法庭上的作證，這個(gè)案子贏不了?！?/p>

一個(gè)大日子

生殖器再造手術(shù)當(dāng)天的清晨，歐可伊在日出前就已起床了。如果他緊張，他并沒有表現(xiàn)出來。

他向員工們做著鬼臉，努力用自六天前到達(dá)后所學(xué)會的英文來討好大家。“1、2、3、4”，他一邊伸出手指一邊數(shù)著。

這讓每一個(gè)遇見他的人都感到開心。

當(dāng)他被推進(jìn)手術(shù)室時(shí)，歐可伊翹起了大拇指。

當(dāng)他躺在手術(shù)臺上時(shí)，他反復(fù)念叨著：“上，我們上！”

“勇敢些，”他的父親鼓勵(lì)說?！安灰獡?dān)心?！?/p>

“我不擔(dān)心，”他回答說?！拔乙膊缓ε?！”

那是早上九點(diǎn)，一隊(duì)醫(yī)生和護(hù)士在為一場復(fù)雜的手術(shù)做著準(zhǔn)備，這場手術(shù)可能要進(jìn)行八到十個(gè)小時(shí)。

一個(gè)美好的將來？

兒童的恢復(fù)能力是很強(qiáng)的，所以歐可伊康復(fù)迅速。

手術(shù)后的一個(gè)星期之內(nèi)，他就獲準(zhǔn)出院，但還需要在該地待上三個(gè)星期，以便醫(yī)生們觀察他的感染情況。

他被限制做任何肢體行動(dòng)——這也就意味著，他不能四處跑，踢他心愛的足球了。

當(dāng)汗讓他坐下來，用一本字母圖畫書輔導(dǎo)他學(xué)習(xí)時(shí)，歐可伊找不到理由逃避了。

“A、B、C、D，”汗指著字母大聲讀著。

“A、B、Chi……”歐可伊重復(fù)著。

“不是Chi。是‘C’，”她糾正他說。

汗希望歐可伊能成為他家里第一個(gè)接受教育的人。

“我對于他的夢想是，他能健康成長，并將其一生致力于為他人服務(wù)，”她說。“希望他能盡量確保不會有人再重蹈他的覆轍?！?/p>

科瓦什和妻子也懷有相同的夢想。兩口子希望建立一個(gè)基金會來幫助歐可伊，讓他有可能完成學(xué)業(yè)。

在離開巴爾的摩之前，歐可伊又一次被問到長大后，他想成為怎樣的人。

在此之前，他的回答一直都沒變過：成為一名快速行動(dòng)營成員，為他所遭受的襲擊復(fù)仇。

這次不一樣了。

“我想要成為一名醫(yī)生，”他毫不猶豫地回答說，“因?yàn)槲蚁胍人恕６?dāng)我這么做時(shí)，是不會從他們那里收取一分錢的。”

一名醫(yī)院員工建議說，也許某一天歐可伊能到約翰·霍普金斯醫(yī)院來當(dāng)一名外科醫(yī)生。

“那不就會是個(gè)奇跡了嗎？”她說。

“這個(gè)故事本身就充滿了奇跡，” 歐可伊的父親回答說。

誰又能說以后不會有另一個(gè)奇跡發(fā)生呢？