"Count to 10 before you make your next move"
“I started building my future when the world started collapsing.” This phrase is continually repeated by young people in Syria, who find that the stage of their lives where they can be most passionate, bursting with potential and filled with dreams is a never-ending nightmare.
Abd Alhadi is from Aleppo. When he was 12, he had a near-death experience that left him with permanent injuries and affected his mental and physical health.
His mother Arefa recalls that sad day clearly:
“At the time of the accident, we were displaced and staying in a hotel room. All of a sudden, a shell fell nearby. Abd and his brother went to the balcony to see what was happening. Minutes later, another one fell right under the balcony. The explosion caused Abd to fall off the balcony.
“We rushed him to the nearby hospital and when they saw his condition, they almost pronounced my son dead. But they applied the life-saving procedures and thanks to God, my son survived.”
They almost pronounced my son deadArefa
Recovery
Months later, Abd was discharged from hospital in a wheelchair.
“He could not move at all,” remembers Arefa. “Later he underwent many other complicated procedures. One was to put a metal plate in his head to replace the skull bones that were damaged, and another was to put a plate in his pelvis.”
“For three years, we continued with physical therapy, and he is now able to stand on his feet again.”
Arefa was determined to help her son continue his life despite his disability. His education was on top of her list.
“I care deeply about my sons’ education. Abd was in seventh grade when the accident happened, yet after his injury, he took the ninth-grade exams and succeeded. But he was not able to continue his education as he started to experience convulsions and the doctor advised us to not burden him with studying unless he willingly asked for it."
Due to the dramatic economic slowdown in Syria, the Syrian labour market offers limited job opportunities. Young people without education are often forced to compromise by taking jobs that could harm their physical and mental health, with unsafe or uncontrolled work environments, and with a higher risk of encountering sexual harassment, especially for women.
Access to the labour market
Abd lives in a context where there is high degree of inequality for people with disabilities. His mother knew that he was at a disadvantage in getting training and work opportunities, yet she wanted to see her son making friends and learning new things. She started looking for opportunities for Abd.
They cannot make it without our help.Arefa
“My motives are the same as any mother,” says Arefa. “I want my son to become a better person and to rely on himself only. Mothers in Syria must support their children because the living conditions are worsening each day and they cannot make it without our help.”
Then, a friend recommended a vocational training programme offered by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). Arefa enrolled Abd on the sewing course.
“I encouraged Abd to participate in NRC’s training. I wanted him to learn a profession, become self-reliant and prove himself as an active part of this community,” she says.
The vocational training Abd joined aims to build bridges between the labour market and young people who are not in school or work, by teaching them a profession and providing them with equipment to start their own small businesses.
The vocational training lasts six months. The majority of the sessions are dedicated to teaching sewing skills. The participants also learn essential business and project management skills, such as time management and communication. They are also provided with information related to Syrian labour law.
A hopeful feeling
Just a few days into the training and Arefa was able to recognise the positive impact on her son’s behaviour.
“Abd loved the training and I could tell that he was feeling comfortable there,” remembers Arefa. “Each day he was eager to go and came home feeling hopeful. He would take his pills, sleep for a while, and then wake up and share with me and his brothers what he had learned during the day and show us some pieces he’d sewn.”
“Seeing him this way, I cannot describe what my feelings were! It was a beautiful feeling. I felt that I had accomplished something. NRC’s training was a chance for him to socialise with others. He loved his trainer, fellow trainees and the atmosphere they created together. He gained experience and even started to correct the way I used the sewing machine,” says Arefa, giving her son a playful glance.
After the training ended, Abd received a sewing machine to start his own small business. The machine has been adapted for Abd so that it’s easier for him to use with his physical disability.
Arefa knew that her role in her son’s life far exceeded taking him to the doctor, giving him his pills at the right time, and changing his bandages.
“Beating your disability is a great challenge,” she says. “But when Abd and people who have experienced the same as him feel that they are people, they are capable of achieving great things.”
When Abd and people who have experienced the same as him feel that they are people, they are capable of achieving great things.Arefa
Arefa’s husband works in a hotel, but his humble income cannot provide for his family’s needs.
“If we do not support each other, we cannot live. As they say, ‘one hand cannot clap, it requires two hands,’” says Arefa. “If I was not able to work, I would not be able to offer Abd his medication or food. When I visit his doctor, he always emphasises the importance of including high nutritional food in Abd’s diet. He must have good and stable sources of vitamins to get better.”
“I believe in you”
Being able to sew herself, Arefa decided to join her eldest son and Abd to start a sewing workshop in the house where they currently live. They receive orders from merchants and work together on preparing the items.
“I do not want to beg or ask for money, I would rather to work and earn an honest living,” says Arefa. “That way I can feed my family and secure my son’s future. I do not want him to depend on anyone else but himself.”
She looks at her son and says: “Do not rely on your father and me, because when we are gone there will be no-one to take care of you. You must rely on yourself to improve, and you can do that. I believe in you. We are heroes and we can do anything no matter what the circumstances are.”
Being a small business owner in Syria is increasingly challenging. The frequent power cuts and difficult economic conditions limit growth and increase costs.
“The main challenge we are facing is the availability of electricity. It has a huge impact on the workshop’s productivity. Also, the prices of raw materials are soaring. The production costs are doubling and that puts us in a position where we have to increase our prices as well,” says Arefa.
“But thanks to the income we make from working in the workshop, our living conditions have improved a lot. We are now able to secure our needs and pay for my son’s medication. This workshop is not only benefitting us but is also enabling us to serve others in our community and support them with the work that we do.”
Abd loves chess and poetry and is now teaching chess to children in a nearby community centre. He shares with his students a golden piece of advice for playing chess, but also for their lives in general.
“Count to 10 before you make your next move,” says Abd.
More support is needed for people living with disabilities in Syria and other conflict-affected countries so that they can be self-reliant in future.