Syrians at home, abroad help two abandoned girls
DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – Last week, an incident where Syrian hungry girls who were found alone in front of a hospital in the Syrian capital Damascus sparked an outpouring of empathy among Syrians at home and abroad.
The incident was discovered when a doctor saw the two girls, who seemed tired and exhausted, sitting on a seat after their father had left them alone in the reception department in al-Razi Hospital in Damascus, according to social media users.
On his Facebook account, Dr. Sa’eed Jawish, who was the first to find the two girls, released details about the incident urging social media influencers to share it widely.
The father left his two daughters with a letter in which he wrote, “in need of water and food, because they have not have food, please forgive me…please,” according to the doctors’ post.
“A father abandoned his two daughters, who are shown in the picture, on a seat and ran away, leaving a letter in which he spoke of his poor condition and needs; however, I did not got anything from the letter except that two children are hungry and thirsty,” the doctor said in the post.
The doctor described this scene as “tragic….cannot be described.”
On June 26, UN aid agencies warned that Syria is facing an unprecedented food crisis.
The World Food Program (WHO) stated at the time that more than 9.3 million people need adequate food at a time when the outbreak of the coronavirus in the country may accelerate, although it appears to be under control now.
However, the efforts of the doctor and influences of social media were not in vain. Many Syrians at home and abroad contacted the doctor and offered to help the father to support his children financially, while others offered to raise the two girls and provide them with education, according to Jawish.
Later, the doctor pointed out that the issue of the two girls was solved, as they returned to their father after their issue shook Syrian public opinion at home and abroad.
“As I was informed, the issue of those two girls was completely solved and some good people contacted the father to find a way to support the girls and return to their father after securing a job for him,” the doctor said in a separate post.
“I think, this is the positive role that social media has to play….luckily, I had the courage to publicize the issue, and thank God it was received positively and rescued two girls’ lives and futures,” he added.
The representative of the WHO in Syria said in a press briefing in June that after nine years of armed conflict, more than 90% of the Syrian population lives below the poverty line.