Traumatized by the War in Syria, and Recovering

Omar Al Balkhi, 29, was injured in a bomb blast in Daraa, Syria, and treated first in a field hospital. He was later transferred to the Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) war trauma surgical project at Al Ramtha hospital in Jordan for multiple surgeries, physiotherapy and counseling. Watch a video about Al Balkhi.

"When I go back to Syria, I aspire to find work there, to have private projects that a person can implement there, because of my injury." Omar Al Balkhi, 29, was injured in a bomb blast in Daraa, Syria and treated at first in a field hospital. He was later transferred to the MSF War Trauma surgical project at Al Ramtha hospital in Jordan in order to undergo multiple surgeries.

Ali Saadi/MSF

"I live in a rented house with my family, in the north of Jordan." Omar Al Balkhi, a 29 year-old Syrian war-wounded patient who sustained his injuries due to a bomb in Daraa.

Ali Saadi/MSF

"When I was able to use my prosthetics and walk, I decided to go on visits to several hospitals, where there are people like me: they had injuries the same as mine; they had amputations similar to mine. Many of them have fear. And I encountered people who do not leave their rooms at all. People who do not move, who do not accept any of what happened to them. And so when they saw that I have this injury and I am walking, their daily conduct entirely changed. They started going out and moving around, started eating, started drinking, started seeing a smile on their. They are more accepting of the need to be treated." Omar Al Balkhi, 29, was injured in a bomb blast in Daraa, Syria and treated at first in a field hospital. He was later transferred to the MSF War Trauma surgical project at Al Ramtha hospital in Jordan in order to undergo multiple surgeries.

Ali Saadi/MSF

"Before my injury and on a personal level I had very high ambitions. But presently, sometimes I feel that there is a lot of emphasis on like the issue of prosthetics. To try and get a new set of prosthetics, because the ones I already have in bad condition." Omar Al Balkhi, 29, was injured in a bomb blast in Daraa, Syria and treated at first in a field hospital. He was later transferred to the MSF War Trauma surgical project at Al Ramtha hospital in Jordan in order to undergo multiple surgeries.

Ali Saadi/MSF

"My daily routine starts with having breakfast, working out for a bit, surfing the net, and socializing with family and friends who live close by." Omar Al Balkhi, 29, was injured in a bomb blast in Daraa, Syria and treated at first in a field hospital. He was later transferred to the MSF War Trauma surgical project at Al Ramtha hospital in Jordan in order to undergo multiple surgeries.

Ali Saadi/MSF

"Usually when I feel down, or a bit depressed, I try to write poetry. Before the crisis in Syria I used to write about friendship and love. Nowadays there is only war to write about." Omar Al Balkhi, 29, was injured in a bomb blast in Daraa, Syria and treated at first in a field hospital. He was later transferred to the MSF War Trauma surgical project at Al Ramtha hospital in Jordan in order to undergo multiple surgeries.

Ali Saadi/MSF

"I left home for the first time after a long period of treatment in the hospital. There were good and not so good moments. Not so good, as in I still felt that I did not lose my limbs. Good moments being the first time I get out, or walk, or depend on myself since more than seven (7) or eight (8) months." Omar Al Balkhi, 29, was injured in a bomb blast in Daraa, Syria and treated at first in a field hospital. He was later transferred to the MSF War Trauma surgical project at Al Ramtha hospital in Jordan in order to undergo multiple surgeries.

Ali Saadi/MSF

Omar Al Balkhi is one of the Syrian war wounded patients, who was treated in MSF War Trauma surgical project in Al Ramtha hospital. Since opening in September 2013, MSF offered mental health consultation sessions to 1764 war wounded patients.

MSF/Ali Saadi

Traumatized by the War in Syria, and Recovering

We speak out. Get updates.

How we use funds

Traumatized by the War in Syria, and Recovering

Share

More news and stories