“When I was a child, I remember wondering why other children looked completely different than me. They had legs and hands and life seemed so much easier for them,” says Ali (name changed). It took the 25-year old a long time to accept that he was born with a disability. As a child and teenager, Ali mostly stayed at home, trying to avoid having to engage with anyone apart from his immediate family. He did not have any friends and dropped out of school. “I only went to school until the sixth grade. This is something I will probably regret my whole life.”
When the war started, Ali’s life was turned upside down. His family’s house was destroyed by an airstrike, killing his brother and severely injuring his father. “My father and my brother used to be the breadwinners of the family, but after the airstrike everything changed,” says Ali. The family had to flee, which was a difficult undertaking. “I could not move fast or help carry anything. My mother and sisters had to help my father and did whatever they could to assist me.”
Ali’s family found refuge in a small village, and, for the first time in his life, Ali started working. “I had no choice but help my family survive. It was a big change for me, but I am so glad I am not hiding at home anymore.” Every morning after breakfast, he goes to a shop close by to help the owner, mostly by delivering groceries to people.
In the beginning it was very hard for Ali, but step by step, he learned how to make it all work. “I needed to adjust my working environment to my disability. I had to be very, very patient.” When he received his first paycheck, he felt as if his life had entered a new chapter. “When I started earning money, I felt so proud of myself. It feels so good to be able to help my family get through this difficult time.”
One day, he hopes he can return to his hometown and open his own grocery shop.
Ali’s family is among more than six million people who have been displaced within Syria. Almost nine years after the beginning of the Syria crisis, an estimated 11.7 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance.
