Disabled in regime attack, Syrian man struggles to cope

IDLIB, Syria

A Syrian man disabled as a result of an attack by Syrian regime forces is struggling for something like normalcy in the wake of his extensive injuries.

Now 49 years old, Diyab, originally hailing from Khan Shaykun, a town in the northern Idlib province, lost his both arms, an eye, and the ability to walk as a result of a 2014 airstrike.

Though his children and relatives did their best to help him, Diyab badly needs prosthetic arms to carry out many tasks in his daily life.

Telling how after the airstrike he got medical treatment in nearby Türkiye, he praised Turkish doctors’ professionalism and interest in his case.

Underlining that he mostly got used to living without arms, Diyab said he uses his nose to make use of his cellphone.

“I need prosthetic arms to be more self-sufficient and so put less burden on the shoulders of my loved ones,” he added.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million have been displaced, according to UN figures.

* Writing by Ahmet Gencturk