Mohamad is one of thousands of Syrian bombing victims. Paralyzed from the waist down after an explosion in 2012, he has learned to live again, with help from Humanity & Inclusion.  

Mohamad was returning home after work down a crowded street when an explosion suddenly ripped through the air. This is his story, in his own words:

I woke up four or five hours later in a field hospital. The first words I heard from the doctors were: “He has a one-in-a-hundred chance of survival.”

I had surgery, thank God. I lay on my back for six months before I came to Jordan for essential medical care. 

My hip broke as I was being treated and I developed pelvic calcification. My health was very bad at the time. I was very depressed as well. 

I’ve had rehabilitation care and I was given a medical device, a bed, a wheelchair, a walking frame, casts, and a special chair for the bathroom. They’re a big help. But it’s hard to find yourself in a wheelchair overnight. I had problems accepting my new condition. But I've come to terms with it now.

Life was different before my injury. It was great. I worked in the stone-dressing business. I used to go out with my friends. I enjoyed swimming. I also liked riding my motorbike.

I felt I had to work hard to overcome my handicap. I followed a training course in crafts–assembling accessories, creating perfumes, and making candles–and then became a trainer myself. We recently organized an exhibition at the Arabela shopping center in Irbid. We also visited several bazaars. It was a great experience.

Humanity & Inclusion and the Syria crisis

Since the organization began its response to the Syria crisis in 2012, Humanity & Inclusion has helped 1.8 million Syrians in six countries through emergency rehabilitation, psychological support, and supplying prosthetics and other assistive devices. As of December 2020, Humanity & Inclusion provided 14,000 prosthetics or orthotics to Syrians and conducted rehabilitation sessions with 180,000 people. Learn more about our work and the Syria crisis.

Header image: A man named Mohamad sits in his wheelchair in front of his home in Jordan. He is a Syrian refugee. Copyright: Said Khlaifat/HI

Inline image: Mohamad crafts in his home in Irbid, Jordan. Copyright: Said Khlaifat/HI

After a decade of war, Syria has been completely contaminated by explosive remnants on a scale experts have never seen before. When the conflict ends, the complex work of clearing weapons and rebuilding the country will begin. Emmanuel Sauvage, Director of Armed Violence Reduction at Humanity & Inclusion, tells us more. 

What makes contamination in Syria different?

There are two reasons why Syria is a special case when it comes to weapons clearance. The first is the very wide range of weapons used. After a decade of conflict, Syrian soil is contaminated by a complete spectrum of explosive weapons including unexploded bombs, explosive remnants and booby traps, and improvised mines. The second is the fact that urban areas and their outskirts are the worst affected. You find the widest range of explosive weapons in cities. We know from experience that it is particularly difficult to clear urban areas. In Raqqa, for example, where 80% of the city has been destroyed, the ground is littered with rubble mixed with explosive remnants and booby traps left behind by the belligerent parties. In Laos, they are still clearing weapons 45 years after the Vietnam War, so I think it will take at least two generations to clear Syria. 

What are the obstacles to weapons clearance in Syria today?

The variety of explosive weapons used in the Syrian conflict makes clearance complex. Each type of explosive weapon works in a different way. You don’t neutralize an improvised mine in the same way as an unexploded bomb. We need to deploy different experts for different types of explosive weapons in the ground. But since there are all kinds of explosive weapons in Syria, we need many more professionals trained in these types of weapons. 

Mine clearance in urban areas is particularly long and complicated. When buildings and infrastructure are destroyed in cities, the rubble is contaminated by explosive remnants. In some Syrian cities we can almost measure contamination in cubic meters because the ground is contaminated by layers of rubble and explosive remnants. This requires specific resources, professionals trained in this type of contamination, and great care to be taken when clearing and reconstructing cities. 

When we talk about reconstruction, what exactly do we mean?

Reconstruction obviously begins with weapons clearance. The international community must take action to protect Syrian lives from explosive remnants. Some 11.5 million Syrians out of a total population of 17 million are currently at risk from these weapons. Weapons clearance is therefore a priority in reconstructing the country. 

Then comes the actual reconstruction, which is divided into interdependent stages: the reconstruction of infrastructure and housing, economic recovery, but also restoring the link between the different communities damaged by a decade of conflict. It’s a huge challenge. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the early 2000s, apart from weapons clearance, it was important to get the communities talking to each other again in order to plan for long-term peace. Weapons clearance brought people together around a problem and shared risks, and provided a starting point for dialogue and collective initiatives. It marked the first step towards defusing the tension caused by the conflict.

We also have to think about how to support individuals. Syrians have experienced the horrors of war, and they need physical and psychological support. Physical trauma such as amputations, brain and spinal cord injuries, but also psychological trauma need specific care. I think it will take at least two generations to rebuild Syria. 

Humanity & Inclusion and the Syria crisis

Since the organization began its response to the Syria crisis in 2012, Humanity & Inclusion has helped 1.8 million Syrians in six countries through emergency rehabilitation, psychological support, and supplying prosthetics and other assistive devices. As of December 2020, Humanity & Inclusion provided 14,000 prosthetics or orthotics to Syrians and conducted rehabilitation sessions with 180,000 people. Learn more about our work and the Syria crisis.

Header image: Destroyed buildings and other debris.

Inline image: Humanity & Inclusion's Emmanuel Sauvage speaks into a microphone held by a reporter at an event in France. Copyright: Basile Barbey/HI, 2020

Salam was injured by a cluster munition in Syria in 2015. Booby traps, improvised landmines and explosive remnants heavily contaminate Syria. Children are particularly exposed.

One day in October 2015, 5-year-old Salam was in the field with her family picking ripe olives when she noticed a strange piece of metal on the ground. She thought she might be able to use it to carve pictures on rocks. It was a bomb.

The cluster munition had been thrown from an aircraft during the Syria conflict and, by design, had not exploded on impact but would when touched. It was the kind of bomblet that tends to explode diagonally.

The explosion killed Salam’s little brother, who was carrying water back from the well, instantly. Salam, her parent, and four other siblings were also injured. 

The Red Cross rushed Salam to a medical facility in Jordan for emergency surgery. Her left leg and a toe on her right foot were amputated.

A long path to recovery 

Salam was first assessed by Humanity & Inclusion in 2015 in the Za’atri refugee camp in Jordan, near the Syrian border. Separated from her parents in Syria, the young girl spent months alone until relatives living in Jordan were found. 

After surgery, Salam worked closely with a Humanity & Inclusion physical therapist and a psychosocial support worker. To strengthen her injured right leg, Salam began to walk with the help of a frame. Then, she learned to walk with an artificial limb. Five years later, Salam’s prosthetic leg is routinely replaced as she continues to grow.

Salam experienced significant psychological trauma, becoming extremely timid and self-conscious after the blast. She refused to play with other children. Through occupational therapy and psychosocial support, Humanity & Inclusion helped Salam rebuild her confidence and encouraged her to interact with others.

Her new life in Jordan

Salam’s Jordanian relatives welcomed her and continue to take care of her. She now lives in Irbid with an extended family of 10 adopted brothers and sisters. She attends school, where she works hard and is frequently top of her class. She loves drawing princesses. Her adoptive father is grateful for Humanity & Inclusion’s support.

“We used to carry her to school before receiving the prosthetic leg and now she can easily walk to go to school,” he says. He has also seen a big difference in Salam’s confidence and happiness when playing with friends.

Salam dreams of becoming a doctor when she grows up and says she would love to make artificial limbs for other children.

Back in Syria 

Too traumatized by what happened, Salam does not want to return to Syria, even to reunite with her parents and siblings. Her birth family believes she has better access to treatment and education in Jordan.

March 15 marks 10 years in conflict in Syria. Over the last decade, explosive weapons have been massively used in populated areas contaminating land across the country. Major cities like Raqqa, Aleppo and Homs have been destroyed by large-scale and intense bombing. Many of these weapons leave dangerous remnants or fail to explode on impact, remaining dangerous years after combat. 

Today, 11.5 million people in Syria live in areas contaminated by explosive hazards.

Between 2011 and 2018 there were 79,206 recorded casualties from explosive weapons, 87% of which were civilians. While all population groups are at risk, children - especially boys, agricultural workers and people on the move are particularly vulnerable to being injured or killed by an anti-personnel landmine or explosive remnant of war.

Humanity & Inclusion and the Syria crisis

Since the organization began its response to the Syria crisis in 2012, Humanity & Inclusion has helped 1.8 million Syrians in six countries through emergency rehabilitation, psychological support, and supplying prosthetics and other assistive devices. As of December 2020, Humanity & Inclusion provided 14,000 prosthetics or orthotics to Syrians and conducted rehabilitation sessions with 180,000 people. Learn more about our work and the Syria crisis.

Header image: A young girl named Salam smiles at her home in Jordan. Her leg is amputated. She is a Syrian refugee.

Inline image: Salam sits on a table while a physical therapist fits her with a new prosthetic leg at a rehabilitation center in Jordan.

In the six months since an explosion rocked Beirut and traumatized an entire population, Humanity & Inclusion has helped almost 1,000 families.

Since the explosion in Lebanon on August 4, 2020, Humanity & Inclusion and its local partner, Mousawat, have conducted door-to-door home visits in Al Basta and Carantina, two areas affected by the Beirut blast. The teams have provided psychological first aid, rehabilitation care, and supplies.

Coping with trauma

Humanity & Inclusion has a team of 20 people providing in-home psychological first aid, which involves listening to people, acknowledging their experiences, and adopting a kind and attentive attitude to their distress.  Each time members of the team visit a home, they encourage people to talk about their personal experiences.

The team works to normalize each person's situation or reaction to help relieve additional stress. For instance, if a person says that they feel too anxious to leave home, the psychologist explains that is a normal reaction and many people feel the same way. Since August, the team has conducted more than 1,500 psychological first aid sessions.

“Since August, we have seen a rise in poor mental health amongst the populations we support and work with," says Caroline Duconseille, Humanity & Inclusion's Head of Mission in Lebanon. "People have been deeply affected by the explosion that occurred in Beirut on August 4. This came at a time when people were already struggling.

"Since 2019, the country has been ravaged by a severe economic crisis," Duconseille explains. "One-third of the employees have been made redundant and half of the Lebanese population live below the poverty line. The cost of repairing damaged homes following the blast has created an additional burden for many households. Basic services such as health services and specialized services for people with disabilities, like rehabilitation centers are becoming increasingly unaffordable. Families are having to reduce the number of meals to feed their families each day. Violence and abuse is erupting throughout the population and is often targeted at the most vulnerable population among them persons with disabilities."

Providing care and distributing supplies

Nearly 350 people physically injured by the blast have received rehabilitation services from Humanity & Inclusion and its partners. More than 250 caregivers have been trained on how to help their relatives living with injuries or disabilities.

Humanity & Inclusion has distributed 170 assistive devices, including 34 mobility assistive devices like wheelchairs, canes, and walkers, as well as non-mobility assistive devices like urinary bags, short-term catheters, gel cushions, and toilet chairs.

100 wound kits were also distributed by Humanity & Inclusion and its partners to people caring for less serious injuries that did not require a hospital visit. Nearly 200 households received 720 hygiene and dignity kits. Everyone Humanity & Inclusion has worked with has learned about ways to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

The teams are also helping to identify the needs and priorities of blast victims, guiding them to local services to meet their basic needs. More than 350 people have been referred to other organizations for help with food, shelter, cash, and medical assistance.

"In response to the explosion on August 4, we continue to prioritize providing people with mental health support and advising people where to find appropriate local services," Duconseille says. "Now, more than ever, we are focusing on responding to the consequences that the blast, the COVID-19 crisis and the economic crisis are having on the most vulnerable populations.”

Header image: A woman from Humanity & Inclusion takes notes while speaking with a victim after the Beirut explosion. Copyright: Tom Nicholson/HI

Inline image: A man holds a crutch while sitting next to a toilet chair he received from Humanity & Inclusion after the Beirut explosion. Copyright: Tom Nicholson/HI

Thanks to his willpower and rehabilitation sessions with Humanity & Inclusion's physical therapists, Fazlu, 6, is back on his feet after his village was bombed.

An air raid on his home village in Afghanistan’s Badghis Province claimed the lives of Fazlu’s brother and sister. Fazlu was severely burned and his right leg was injured. The resulting muscle contractions and scarring caused muscle weakness and pain, significantly reducing Fazlu’s range of motion. It ached when he made any kind of physical effort and he found himself unable to move.

Fazlu, his parents, and his six remaining siblings sought refuge after the bombing at a camp for displaced people in Herat. The family is extremely poor and live in a small mud house.

Humanity & Inclusion’s mobile emergency team in Herat visits the camp regularly to provide support to especially vulnerable people - like Fazlu and Juma, another air strike victim - at their homes.

When Humanity & Inclusion's mobile team first spotted Fazlu, it was three months after the bombing, and he couldn’t walk. The team began his treatment immediately.

Making progress each day

Just months later, Fazlu’s life is returning to a new normal. The mobile team provides him regular physical therapy session at home.

“Session after session, he has made real progress," says Abdul, the mobile team's physical therapist.

It didn’t take long for Fazlu to understand the importance of his rehabilitation exercises. He is determined to get better and his hard work is already paying off. Now, he can walk and even run around with his friends.

“My son’s life is back to normal,” says Fazlu’s mother. “He can do the things he was doing before, and he's much better! I am really grateful to the physical therapists at Humanity & Inclusion for their help.”

Although Fazlu would like to go to school, conditions in the camp make that impossible. Still, he is enjoying his newfound freedom and loves running around and playing games with his friends.

Header image: A young boy named Fazlu does exercises with a physical therapist outside a mud house in Afghanistan. Copyright: O. Zerat/HI

Inline image: A young boy named Fazlu sits in a circle with other children playing a game in Afghanistan. Copyright: O. Zerat/HI

Humanity & Inclusion landmine clearance continues in Colombia despite the Covid-19 crisis and an upsurge in violence.

In the first half of 2020, mines killed or maimed 181 people in 14 departments of Colombia, according to figures from the International Committee of the Red Cross.

In Colombia, the second most heavily mined country in the world after Afghanistan, Humanity & Inclusion has led mine clearance operations since 2017. Teams focus their work on three departments plagued heavily by internal violence: Cauca, Meta and Caquetá.

Thanks to the generous support of the United States of America via the U.S. Department of State’s office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, the Swiss Embassy in Colombia - Swiss Development Cooperation, and donations from thousands of individual donors, Humanity & Inclusion’s Colombian team takes a holistic approach to mine action.

Teams teach civilians to understand the risks posed by mines and what to do if they come across these deadly devices. Explosive ordnance technicians clear mines. And specialists assist victims of explosive devices to regain their strength and independence with physical therapy, psychological support, and access to inclusive employment.

Adapting to new challenges

Humanity & Inclusion continues its efforts despite growing internal violence and population displacement, the emergence of new illegal armed groups who plant explosive devices to protect coca crops and deter rivals, and the Covid-19 crisis.

Despite this complex situation, Humanity & Inclusion continues to adapt its work to ensure safety of staff and civilians. The organization developed a safety plan to continue working while implementing personal precautionary measures against the Covid-19 pandemic and trained more than 100 staff members and volunteers as "community focal points" to raise the mine risk awareness of fellow villagers.

Releasing safe land

Humanity & Inclusion released more than 15 acres of cleared land to allow farming in hazardous mined areas, enhancing the safety of more than 30,000 people.

In the town of Inzá in the Cauca department, teams implemented surveyed villagers on the whereabouts of local mines in order to identify mined and unmined areas. Humanity & Inclusion also worked to ensure that locals understood the risks of mines, and released another four acres of land.

Supporting government officials

In November 2020, Colombia’s deadline to meet its commitment under the Ottawa Convention to clear areas of the country contaminated by explosive devices was extended to 2025. Humanity & Inclusion has provided the Colombian government with technical support to revise and update national standards, including the development and revision of the 2020-2025 demining plan.

In 2021, Humanity & Inclusion expects to completely clear the municipalities of Cajibio and Puracé in Cauca of mines and to release more safe land in Vistahermosa in Meta, Inzá, Páez and Santander de Quilichao. The organization also hopes to expand its footprint soon, working in close coordination with the Colombian mine action authority which coordinates clearance across the country.

Providing victim assistance

Humanity & Inclusion continues to assist mine victims with disabilities and their caregivers, providing physical rehabilitation sessions, psychosocial care, legal assistance and employment support to find gainful jobs in inclusive work environments.

Mines terrorize civilians worldwide

In 2019, more than 5,500 people – 80% of them civilians – were killed or injured by anti-personnel mines and explosive remnants of war worldwide. Of the civilian victims, 43% were children.

Image: A woman wearing protective gear kneels on the ground as she works to clear mines in Colombia in 2017. Copyright: J.M. Vargas/HI

An air strike struck the Afghan home of Juma, 14, leaving him with quadriplegia. Regaining his independence is his top goal, and Humanity & Inclusion is right by his side to reach it.

One night in October 2019, the lives of Juma and his family were rocked by a terrible explosion. His family’s home was targeted in an air strike that killed his 3-year-old sister and injured his father. A severe injury to his brain and spinal cord left Juma with quadriplegia, and difficulty speaking.

Terrible price

Displaced, mourning and permanently injured, Juma and his family are paying a heavy toll for an air strike in a conflict they know nothing about. Following the tragedy, Juma’s family fled their village in central Afghanistan's Ghor Province, and took refuge in a camp for displaced people near the city of Herat, where they live in a small mud house in extreme poverty.

Juma's father was left disabled by a shoulder injury, and can no longer work. Isolated and without income, the family’s main concern is how to meet their basic needs.

Before Humanity & Inclusion arrived at the camp, Juma hadn’t received any help. Unable to move, the teenage boy spent most of his time in bed. Sometimes his mother would take him outside to enjoy the sun and fresh air.

'Hope returned'

Everything changed when Humanity & Inclusion's mobile emergency team first traveled to meet Juma in September 2020. The team visited his home and provided him with rehabilitation care and taught his parents exercises to do with their son. The team also gave the family advice about coping with everyday problems. Juma continues to receive regular follow-up care.

"When Humanity & Inclusion came to our home, hope returned,” explains Juma's mother. “It was really hard for me to carry my son all day. He couldn't move at all and he was depressed.”

Juma’s mother says she is already seeing her son make progress.

“The team started his treatment right away and gave him a wheelchair and equipment. I also learned how to do his rehabilitation exercises with him,” she says. “He can move his hands again, he is feeling better, and he can do certain things by himself. I am really grateful to Humanity & inclusion for their help."

Support for the whole family

In addition to providing physical rehabilitation to Juma, Humanity & Inclusion is also providing psychosocial support for his entire family. The family talks with the mobile team’s counselor, sharing their feelings, discussing their problems, and brainstorming solutions together. This psychosocial support makes it easier for the family to cope with the trauma they’ve endured and the challenges they face. They are not alone.

As for Juma, he has regained some of his mobility and his morale is improving.

“I would like to walk again and go to school, just like the other children,” he says.

Juma is a brave boy and continues to do his rehabilitation exercises with his mother. His beautiful smile has returned, giving hope to the whole family.

Header image: A teenage boy named Juma sits in a wheelchair surrounded by other children in Afghanistan. Copyright: O. Zerah/HI

Inline image: Juma laughs during a rehabilitation session with a member of Humanity & Inclusion’s team in front of his family’s mud home in Afghanistan. Copyright: O. Zerah/HI

Ali was out grazing his family's goats one day in March 2020, when he took a step that would change his life forever.

He stepped on an explosive remnant of war, one of the many weapons left from war that contaminates his village in Afghanistan. 

The 9-year-old boy was seriously injured and rushed to a hospital. Doctors there had no choice but to amputate Ali's leg below his knee.

"Ali couldn't walk after his accident," says the boy’s uncle. "We were desperate. We couldn’t leave him alone. Without his leg, he needed help from dawn till dusk. We were all stressed and really upset."

Plagued by conflict, poverty, explosive weapons

Ali lives with his parents and five siblings in a village in Afghanistan that is mired by conflict. Villagers face extreme poverty, cut off from vital resources, their farmland contaminated with explosive weapons. Ali's father, who used to work as a day laborer, can no longer find work.

Ali was caring for his family's goats – their only means of survival – when the blast stole his right leg.

Road to recovery

Soon after Ali's operation, the Humanity & Inclusion team began working to fit him with an artificial limb at its rehabilitation center in Kandahar. Humanity & Inclusion teams have worked in Afghanistan since 1987.

"I’m really grateful to the Humanity & Inclusion team for doing their best to make Ali's prosthesis so quickly, and for helping him do his walking exercises," says Ali’s uncle, who accompanied his nephew at the rehabilitation center. "He can walk now and he’s really hopeful about the future."

Ali began physical therapy in April and was fitted for his first artificial limb soon after. During six, daylong sessions with the Humanity & Inclusion team in May, Ali learned to walk again and final adjustments were made to his prosthetic.

Within two months of the tragic event, Ali went home to his family with a new artificial leg that helps him be the same active boy he was before. Since then, Ali has returned a couple of times to Humanity & Inclusion’s rehabilitation center for follow-up care and minor repairs to his artificial limb.

"The first time I visited the center, my uncle had to carry me," Ali explains. "I couldn't walk. But now I can go home on my own two legs and play with other children again. I feel happier since I got my new leg."

Dreams beyond the region's conflict

Ali is a fighter and a lover of cricket. But even with his new leg, Ali's life is not back to normal.

Conflict continues in the region where he lives. The threat of Covid-19 is ever-present. Schools are closed. Survival is uncertain. Still, Ali dreams of a peaceful future in which he can return to the classroom.

"Now I have a new leg I can go back to school and get an education," Ali says. "I could do anything I want. I like drawing a lot but what I really want to do when I grow up is to be a doctor so I can help people!"

Header Image: A Humanity & Inclusion team member, who is wearing a mask and medical scrubs, squats on the floor of a rehabilitation center in Kandahar, Afghanistan. He is fitting a prosthetic leg on a young boy named Ali, who is sitting on a bench. The boy is smiling at the man.

Inline Image: A young boy named Ali sits on a bench outside in Afghanistan. His left leg is amputated below his knee. Copyright: Jaweed Tanveer

A message from Jeff Meer, U.S. Executive Director of Humanity & Inclusion:

President-elect Joe Biden has an opportunity to send a clear message to civilians caught in conflict that America cares about their fate.

The United States has long been out of step with its allies and the broader global consensus to ban landmines and cluster munitions. The Biden Administration can reset U.S. policy and finally join the Mine Ban Treaty and Convention on Cluster Munitions. Further, the Administration should fully support the diplomatic process towards an international agreement against bombing in populated areas.

Cluster munitions have recently been used in the Azerbaijan-Armenia war. Landmines still cause around 6,000 casualties annually. These two indiscriminate weapons remain a clear danger to civilians. 123 States have joined the Oslo Convention that bans cluster munitions, and 164 States are parties to the Ottawa treaty banning anti-personnel landmines. Meanwhile, the use of heavy explosive weapons in urban areas has become common in modern conflict, with civilians making up 90% of the victims.

The Biden Administration should quickly ​recommit ​to its campaign pledge to limit using antipersonnel landmines ​except in Korea, announce an intention to eventually stop using or transferring landmines, forswear use of cluster munitions, and commit to the diplomatic process that will lead to an international agreement against heavy bombing in populated areas. We hope the administration will eventually ratify the Ottawa Treaty, completely banning the use of anti-personnel landmines.

Image: A man conducts mine clearance in Lebanon in 2018 as part of a project funded by the United States Arms Removal and Reduction Office and the U.S. Department of State.

Check out these photos of the demining and first aid training exercises in Colombia: