Yasser Al-Sayed a 26-years-old man who was first year Arabic literature student when the outbreak of the revolution in Syria in 2011. Like thousands of young Syrians, he joined the peaceful movement in his hometown in western Aleppo rural. Following an airstrike in nearby his house, of Abzemo, he got severely wounded and was immediately transferred to Turkey where he underwent a critical operation led to have his leg chopped due to the critical wounds he had from the attacks.
Consequently, Al-Sayyed explains that “when I got back, I realized that there was no medical facility at all to assist people like me out… I had to travel long distances to get my regular treatment.” People of “disability” cling small hope on external assistance to help them overcome the psychological and physical aftermath of their losses.
“the main-stream population lack awareness about our relinquish, about how life is and always, as a result, undermine our capacity to work and live normally.”
Yasser Al-Sayed – Initiative to help the local disabled and special needs people
What is more worse according to Al-Sayyed in addition to the devastating physical lose is how the local community face them with resentment and lack of respect, “the main-stream population lack awareness about our relinquish, about how life is and always, as a result, undermine our capacity to work and live normally.”
According to the Health international Organization and United Nations for Humanitarian Affairs reports regarding war-injured and disable in Syria in 2018, that the estimated numbers of up to 2017 are 3 million Syrian are suffering from physical disability, half of them are permanent once.
After his recovery, Al-Sayed began a new initiative with a group of locals to establish a center to help the disabled and special needs in the village and its surroundings. “I felt responsible, I could not stand and do nothing knowing that there are many who are in my situation and are not receiving any help and are suffering in silence.”
“We work to help those who suffer from losing any of their limbs to get assistance, treatment and psychological help as well to help them resisted and carry on with their lives.”
It is vital for Syria’s future, to embrace and engage effectively to raise people of the disability’s capacity, redress their anguish, especially children who are a high pro- portion of the total numbers of disable-special needs population, “their development must be a priority,” according to Hana.
Hana is 27-years old woman, who manages Gheras Al Amal center for disabled people in Marat Al-Noman. She urges the civil society to be more strategic in directing their funds towards rather what she calls “a big investment in the disable people.”
“While the needs are increasing the support is dramatically minimizing. People of disability, alike all Syrian, need proper education, capacity building, opportunities to work, life, and more importantly be involved in social change and political sphere.”
Manager of Gheras Al Amal center for disabled people
She demonstrates that civil society can utilize their power and harness their efforts to enhance, in the first place, the local awareness concerning the delicacy and manner of talking and working this social segment.
More projects should be established to make them productive, not only provide them with survival tools and care.
“While the needs are increasing the support is dramatically minimizing. People of disability, alike all Syrian, need proper education, capacity building, opportunities to work, life, and more importantly be involved in social change and political sphere.” She said.
Yasser echoes Hana and furthermore that regulation must be installed by the civil societies in their internal policies to include in their project people who were affected by the war. However, Yasser explains that they seek equity and want to diminish inequality and exclusion in the community.
“We want to take part in rebuilding Syria, enabling and advocating for those who lost their lives or parts of their bodies being bombed by internationally prohibited weapons by the dictatorship of Assad and seek, not vengeance but accountability, retribution, and reparation for our rights.”
