The athletic Rahmon Zondervan was born in Marken. After completing high school, he enlisted in the military, and starting in 2005, he was assigned to the Sinterklaas cohort and trained as an infantry soldier, anti-tank gunner, and combat life saver. He is ambitious.
Rahmon: “As a 19-year-old soldier, I was deployed to Uruzgan in 2007. We were stationed in the Deh Rawod area. Everything was fairly quiet. From our base, we had a beautiful view of the valley, and we regularly interacted with the local population. We’d often go into a village for our patrols. On July 10, 2007, we set out again. We drove into the village of Deh Rawod, got out, and sought out a local doctor.
I remember it exactly. At 10:13 a.m. local time, I was caught up in a suicide bombing. A deafening, relentless blast sent me flying into the air. Along with three other colleagues, I suffered severe injuries all over my body. I had no idea how bad my injuries were, but I knew right away that it was serious. That same day, I was transferred to Tarin Kowt. A day later, I was transported to Bagram in Parwan Province. Finally, on July 12, I was flown by a U.S. Army aircraft to the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC) in Germany. In the meantime, my parents had already been informed, and my father joined me in Germany. After two days, I was allowed to go to the Military Hospital, and on July 18, I was finally able to go home to recover. My arms and legs were completely bandaged. I had dozens of stitches in my face. The resulting permanent damage included the loss of my right eye and hearing loss.
Reintegration
Back home, I was reunited with my family. Aside from the whole medical ordeal, I’ve come through it mentally just fine so far. I was, however, very curious to see how the people around me—for example, children, friends, and/or family members—would react to my appearance. I was grateful to have survived and refused to feel sorry for myself. I kept myself going by exercising a lot, staying positive, and using self-deprecating humor. A reintegration process began. I could no longer return to my old battalion—which I found very unfortunate, by the way—and was temporarily assigned to the Navy’s medical examination department at the barracks in Amsterdam. In the meantime, I underwent 15 surgeries and earned my Class A and B driver’s licenses. I was facing an uncertain period. What was I supposed to do now? An orientation period for a new training program followed. My family and friends were a great help in helping me cope with my setbacks.
Challenges
The word “if” took on a new meaning for me, too. Where I used to say, “If I ever…,” I now took on the challenge right away. Life is too short, and I took on everything. I went scuba diving. It was incredibly exciting, because with my hearing loss, it had been advised against. “Seeing the bigger picture” also took on a different meaning. But I went on wonderful motorcycle trips through America with my dad and through Europe with a good friend. I’d also always wanted to go skydiving. So I just went ahead and did it. Don’t put anything off: I was incredibly happy when my girlfriend also said “Yes” to my marriage proposal. As for my education, I retrained as a physical therapist and graduated from the Royal Military Academy in 2012. Sports remain very important to me.
Participating in the Invictus Games
I was also immediately excited when I got the chance to compete in the 2014 Invictus Games in London. The Invictus Games are an initiative of Britain’s Prince Harry. I was a member of the Dutch swimming and cycling team. We won a bronze medal in swimming there.
Special Eye Prosthesis
At my request, ocularist Frédérique Bak had created a special prosthetic eye. The prosthetic eye featured the Invictus Games logo. “I AM.” The yellow pupil with the black letters “I AM” made an impression on Prince Harry. A short video was also made of it, and I still enjoy watching Prince Harry’s reaction to it. This year, I’ll be going to the Invictus Games again; the Games will be held in Sydney. In 2020, they’ll be in The Hague. Prince Harry will be there again.
