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My family is all I have left

In 2012, in Syria, 60-year-old Moheileh’s house was hit by a bomb. She arrived in Jordan shortly after and now lives in the Zaatari refugee camp. After having one leg amputated, Handicap International fitted her with a prosthesis and she is now able to walk independently.

Moheileh_echo

Moheileh in a rehabilitation session. | © E. Fourt / Handicap International

"I have been living in Zaatari for four years," explains Moheileh when we meet her in her caravan. "Life is hard, but at least we are safe." When asked about her day-to-day life, she replies, "I don't have anything to do with my days. I lie down, I sit down, I stretch out on this bed. Sometimes, when it's nice outside I get up and go out. If it's cold I stay indoors, I think things over a lot. I really wish this war would end and that I could go home."

With sadness in her eyes, this Syrian grandmother tells us about what happened to her before she arrived in Jordan. "We were sat at home when the tanks rolled into the neighbourhood and started bombarding the houses. I was hit in the leg." Shortly afterwards, Moheileh came to the Zaatari refugee camp, "That was when I heard about Handicap International," she explains. "Somebody told me about the organisation and I went to see them. They first gave me a walking stick and a walking frame. A little later on they fitted me with a prosthesis. They also helped me with the physiotherapy. I do my exercises regularly, it makes my life in the camp much easier and fills my time."

Moheileh's laughing grandchildren attend the rehabilitation session. She looks at them, and says, "My family is all I have left. I left Syria with only the clothes on my back. Nothing else. But we are not all here. Lots of them are abroad, others have stayed in Syria, the war has separated us. I hope that one day we will all be together again."

 

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