Man with disability excels in profession in Syria’s Qamishli

By Muhammad Habash

QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – From his house yard in the city of Qamishli in Northeast Syria, Renas Issa, 40, talks about the medical error he experienced and his journey of struggle to heal again.

The man’s misery started when he was a child, as he experienced a medical error when his family took him to be vaccinated. The medical error paralyzed him.

Medical error

Issa’s mother, Amina Malak, recalls the incident when her child was still one year old, saying, “My son took his first vaccination at the center. My husband believed that the vaccination may be expired, as my son had a fever for two days.”

Then, we took him to a doctor who vaccinated him for another time. After that, the child could not move his legs.

The family took the child to doctors in Aleppo to treat him, and he was subjected to five surgeries.

“All doctors in Aleppo assured us that the child was paralyzed due to a medical error. Since then, I restrained from vaccinating my children or grandchildren,” the mother said.

Hard childhood

Issa’s childhood was harsh, as he was different, watching other children moving freely and he is unable to move his legs.

“I did not live my childhood like other children. I did not know anything about my medical situation until l enrolled in school, as I saw children playing and running, while I could not,” Issa told North Press.

Due to his medical situation and psychological barriers, Issa dropped out of school when he was 14. “I left school because of my disability and then I started a new journey in my life,” he said.

“I will do a lot with one hand”

“I met someone who has the same disability due to a medical error, but he was using a device that helps him in walking,” Issa said.

Then Issa stopped using a walking stick and started using a new device.

Then, I had one hand that I had nothing to do with it, so, I decided to “do a lot with one hand.”

The man then entered work market and tried different professions and then he started fixing mobiles and had a four-month training workshop. Finally, he, along with his friend, opened a center for fixing mobiles.

Once his life became stable, he got married and later fathered four children, as well as, he became a trainer for mobile fixing, as he provides courses for young people who want to get a profession.

Issa concluded his story saying, “The crippled is the one who surrenders to his disability, and I did not surrender.”