JORDAN / IBRAHIM

Ibrahim has suffered too much for an 11-year-old. His mother and brother were killed by a bomb inDamascus, which left the Syrian boy with bad injuries. With the help of doctors in Jordan’s Za’atari refugee camp, he hopes to once more walk unaided. UNHCR

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:04:05
• Production Date: 10 May 2014
• Asset Language: Original
• Corporate Name: UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES - UNHCR
• Subject Topical: REFUGEES; DISPLACED PERSONS; HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE
• Geographic Subject: JORDAN; SYRIA
• MAMS Id: 1016910

Description

STORY: JORDAN / IBRAHIM
TRT: 4:05
SOURCE: UNHCR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ARABIC/

DATELINE: 2 FEBRUARY 2014, 31 JANUARY 2014, ZATARI REFUGEE CAMP, JORDAN

Shotlist

1. Various shots, Ibrahim
2. Close up of Ibrahim’s injured leg
3. Wide shot of Ibrahim sitting inside the tent
4. Med shot, Ibrahim looking out the tent
5. Pan left, crutches
6. Wide shot of Ibrahim sitting
7. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ibrahim, Syrian Refugee:
“On my leg, I lost the bone, the bone. It just disappeared. My shoulder was dislocated. I also I have injury on my thigh. They put these metal bars to hold it in place, it holds the parts together. On my left leg, on the knee, it's just bone, it's very difficult. I thank God, on my right arm, I was also injured by shrapnel, blood vessels and nerves were cut off but, thank God, it's okay.”
8. Wide shot, Ibrahim’s father Suleiman drinking tea
9. Close up, Suleiman
10. Close up, tea cup
11. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Suleiman, Ibrahim’s father:
“We witnessed some very ugly scenes, severed limbs, faces wounded beyond recognition. I couldn't tell my child from others, it was that bad.”
12. Med shot, Suleiman hands picture of Ibrahim’s mother to Ibrahim
13. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Suleiman, Ibrahim’s father (Arabic):
“I couldn't reach him for five days, I didn't want to see anyone. I didn't eat or drink, I didn't sleep. Tears were pouring down. My whole family was lost.”
14. Various shots, Syrian refugees crossing Jordanian border
15. Med shot, Ibrahim is helped onto a hospital bed
16. Close up, Ibrahim
17. Close up, injured leg
18. Med shot, doctors holding Ibrahim’s xray discussing his injury
19. Med shot, Ibrahim entering his tent
20. Various shots, Ibrahim playing marble inside the tent with his friends
21. Close up, Ibrahim smiling
22. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ibrahim, Syrian Refugee:
“Syria will always be my country. Wherever I go, I will always go back to it.”
23. Med shot, Ibrahim walking with his father
24. Close up, Ibrahim’s leg
25. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Suleiman, Ibrahim’s father:
“I pray to God things will get easier for Syrian children. May god protect us and the children of Syria.”

Storyline

The days when Ibrahim could run and play with his siblings are now a distant memory. The crutches he relies on - a reminder of a child who has witnessed too much.

In April 2013, the farm where Ibrahim and his family were hiding was hit. His mother, four siblings and five of Ibrahim’s relative died in that attack.

SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ibrahim, Syrian Refugee:
“On my leg, I lost the bone, the bone. It just disappeared. My shoulder was dislocated. I also I have injury on my thigh. They put these metal bars to hold it in place, it holds the parts together. On my left leg, on the knee, it's just bone, it's very difficult. I thank God, on my right arm, I was also injured by shrapnel, blood vessels and nerves were cut off but, thank God, it's okay.”

During the attack, Ibrahim’s father Suleiman was 2km away getting bread for breakfast. When he heard the explosion he ran back to the farm. The scene was chaotic.

SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Suleiman, Ibrahim’s father:
“We witnessed some very ugly scenes, severed limbs, faces wounded beyond recognition. I couldn't tell my child from others, it was that bad.”

A frantic hospital search followed. Eventually, Suleiman was told that Ibrahim had survived and was in a hospital nearby.

SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Suleiman, Ibrahim’s father (Arabic):
“I couldn't reach him for five days, I didn't want to see anyone. I didn't eat or drink, I didn't sleep. Tears were pouring down. My whole family was lost.”

Early this year, Ibrahim and his father crossed into Jordan. Their journey lasted for months. Now, they live in the world’s second largest refugee camp: Zaatari.

The explosion took away 22cm from Ibrahim’s shinbone. The only way he could walk again is to have reconstructive surgery - transplanting bone from another part of his body into his damaged limb.

It’s a big operation, but Ibrahim is optimistic.
He says he will go back to school and become a bone surgeon. He wants to help other children like him in Syria.

SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ibrahim, Syrian Refugee:
“Syria will always be my country. Wherever I go, I will always go back to it.”

Suleiman has a more modest dream: he wants he son to be able to walk again. Ibrahim is what keeps him alive, he says.

SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Suleiman, Ibrahim’s father:
“I pray to God things will get easier for Syrian children. May god protect us and the children of Syria.”