Goto main content

One bullet, multiple traumas

Rehabilitation
Occupied Palestinian Territories

Mazen is a 33-year-old father. A bullet passed through both his legs, causing serious injuries. He is now unable to work. 

Mazen is visited at home by HI’s team

Mazen is visited at home by HI’s team | © HI / Abedelrahman Abu Hassanien

An injury with multiple impacts 

Mazen is an ambulance driver. As he was working near the border, where demonstrations are regularly held, he was wounded in both legs by a bullet. He needed to have seven operations. He is now waiting to be transferred out of Gaza for another operation that could allow him to walk again. 
For Mazen, being unable to move around is difficult to bear: he is not just suffering physically, he is sinking into a state of serious psychological distress. 

Physical and moral support

The partner mobile teams supported by HI visit him regularly to change his dressing and make sure his legs are healing properly. The organisation has also provided him with crutches and a wheelchair. A physiotherapist taught him to walk with them and to move from one to the other. But Mazen will take a long time to recover.
He still needs surgery to regain full use of his legs. He is worried about his next operation, and the stress is adding to his depression. HI is therefore providing him with psychological support, helping to restore his hope in the future, for him and his family. 

Where your
support
helps

PRESS CONTACT

CANADA

Jahanzeb Hussain

 

Help them
concretely

To go further

As mass starvation spreads across Gaza, our colleagues and those we serve are wasting away
© A. Osama / HI
Emergency Protect vulnerable populations Rights Supporting the Displaced Populations/Refugees

As mass starvation spreads across Gaza, our colleagues and those we serve are wasting away

As the Israeli government’s siege starves the people of Gaza, aid workers are now joining the same food lines, risking being shot just to feed their families. With supplies now totally depleted, humanitarian organisations are witnessing their own colleagues and partners waste away before their eyes.

« This war violates all the rules of international law »
© HI
Emergency Explosive weapons Rehabilitation

« This war violates all the rules of international law »

Johanne Mauger was in charge of operations in Gaza until last May. She recounts her experience in one of today's most pressing humanitarian crises.

In the DRC, Vanessa, a physiotherapist, helps malnourished children
© E. N’Sapu / HI
Emergency Rehabilitation

In the DRC, Vanessa, a physiotherapist, helps malnourished children

Vanessa, 26, is a physiotherapist specialising in stimulation therapy for malnourished children. She works at HI with displaced people in North Kivu, DRC.