Five-year-old Malak, a Syrian refugee living in Jordan’s Zaatari camp with her family, laughs joyfully as she kicks a football back and forth with Mohammed, her Humanity & Inclusion Physical Therapist. Mohammed is teaching the girl how to use her new prosthetic leg. It’s difficult to imagine now, but in December 2015, when Malak first met Mohammed, she did nothing but cry.

This month, I hope to call your attention to something that means a lot to me: the fates of millions of people with disabilities and injuries caught up in the Syrian crisis. March 15 marked the 5^th anniversary of the conflict, which has injured more than 1 million civilians, leaving thousands of them with a  disability for life as a result of  the loss of limbs or spinal cord injuries. Countless people who already had a disability or illness are left in a desperate situation.

Qusay is 14 years old, but he’s already an adult in the eyes of many. In the past two-and-a-half years, he’s survived a bombing in Syria and the loss of both legs, adjusted to life as a refugee in Jordan, and fought to regain the ability to walk—all with stoicism.

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