Alaa and Yasser served the people of East Aleppo during the siege and bombardment of the civilian population. Both have sustained injuries during their humanitarian work but never have they considered leaving their fellow Syrians behind if they could help.
Alaa has had shrapnel wounds, has been gassed, and had his home bombed when his family were inside. Mercifully, they were okay. Yasser lost a portion of his left leg during a “double tap”– as he and his team drove an ambulance to a place that had just been bombed, the Russian pilot circled around and bombed the area close to the ambulance again. The bomber then headed to the hospital where they took Yasser.
Both were evacuated from Aleppo City in December 2016 and after some rest, and Yasser having a prosthetic leg fitted, in Turkey, they both returned to the liberated section of Idlib and part of Aleppo countryside close to the Turkish border. Yasser is now a regular ambulance driver and helps at a hospital and Alaa is still doing some work for Sourys Charity in Idlib while he and his family area in an IDP camp near Afrin, in the northern Aleppo.
Because he lives alongside the displaced widows, orphans, elderly–those who like him have lost homes and more, he sees where the large NGOs cannot meet the demand. He asked me how he could get hope and I said we could try to raise money and send to him so he can purchase food and clothes and bedding for those worse off than others. Yasser can let us know if there are hospital patients who need help with bills or expensive medication.
As for me, I am Carol Murchie, a retired librarian living in New England, USA. I have different skills that I can still do, like social media and websites. My work is donate free. I do not take any payment of any kind for myself, nor does Alaa and Yasser. This is purely a labor of love for the ones who need our love and care.
Put it all together with people’s donations, and “Together We Care”.
Photos from aleppo city and from work in the camps
