YOUNG BOY WITNESSES UNBEARABLE SCENE; RECEIVES PTSD TREATMENT AT UOSSM’S MHPSS
The children in Syria have witnessed too many atrocities in the past five years. No child should ever have to bear witness a scene so brutal, so violent, that it could literally cause one to go into a state of shock from fear and distress. But yet again, a young child has been a part of a horrific, terrifying ordeal.
Omran is a nine year old boy from Dayr al Zour in Syria. One night when he was asleep with his family in his home, armed forces broke into the boy’s home in search of his father, once they found him they took and detained him. Out of fear of the return of the armed forces the rest of the family left the home and ran away to another area nearby.
The scene that left a scar on this child’s heart… the unforgettable scene that caused an unlimited amount of pain, fear, and terror was when young Omran witnessed the same armed forces that had detained his father, cutting off people’s heads and then dumping their lifeless bodies on top of each other, into cars.…
Imagine your child witnessing something so brutal. How would you feel? How would your child feel?
Time would pass and Omran’s father would be released, which led the family to seek refuge in Turkey. After a while Omran’s family started noticing patterns of distress and instability and signs of mental issues. Omran was taken to UOSSM’s Mental Health and Psycho Social Support Center in Reyhanli, Turkey. Young Omran was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress syndrome and has and is still receiving treatment and support from the center.
Time will only tell if Omran will be able to fully get past the violent scene he witnessed but with your help and support, UOSSM’s dedicated staff will do everything they can to help heal this young boy from this terrible ordeal.
ZAINAB AND THE DAY THAT CHANGED HER LIFE FOREVER
This story is one of many… different name same story. Some stories have better endings and many have worse. The problem is still the same though, young children who have lost their childhood to war, death and destruction and are always afraid.
Five year old Zainab is from a small village in the southern suburbs of Aleppo. She comes from a family of six; three girls, one boy and their parents. Just like many families in Syria, they were just trying to survive. In October 2015, their village came under fire. It was so bad that the family had to flee, they stayed at a relative’s home outside of their village in hopes of escaping the bloodshed. But that was not the case, there were so many airstrikes in the area and one struck the home they were seeking refuge in. Everyone in the family was wounded. Aisha, Zainab’s seven year old big sister lost her precious life on the way to the hospital, Zainab along with her mother and baby sister were transported to UOSSM’s Bab al Hawa Hospital, they were all in serious to critical condition. They were all taken into surgery to stop the bleeding from wounds and injuries sustained by shrapnel. After surgery they were taken into intensive care.
The injuries of Reem (the younger sister) were very complicated and she was in a lot of pain. She had to be transferred to a hospital in Turkey for treatment. Her small body could not handle the pain inflicted on her.
Zainab started to improve somewhat after two days. Doctor Firas, a thoracic surgeon at BHH performed emergency surgery to remove shrapnel that was lodged into her small body and inserted a chest tube to remove blood and fluids from her lungs.
After one week, Zainab’s condition started to improve. She always asks about her sisters. She still doesn’t know that her big sister was killed and that her little sister is still in Turkey for treatment. Many would say this story is one of the better ones, after all she still has all of her limbs and body parts, and most of her family is still alive. Maybe that is relatively speaking, is it too much to ask for a child to grow up in a safe environment? This is not just another story, it is the story of Zainab and her family in war torn Syria.
