Rasul
DAI team members in the US and the Middle East have been working for months to find help for Rasul, an Iraqi boy shot through both eyes in a firefight in Baghdad. We have just learned that — thanks to the generosity of DAI supporters — medical treatment to help restore his sight may soon be a reality.
Rasul (whose name in Arabic means ‘messenger’) is an eight-year-old boy from Baghdad. Rasul was struck by gunfire as he returned from a candy store in his neighborhood. A bullet from an ongoing firefight entered Rasul’s left eye, passed through his nose, and exited his right eye. As a result, his left eye is missing entirely, and his right eye has been reduced to approximately 20% of full vision.
From Baghdad, Rasul’s mother endured three extremely dangerous trips to Jordan to arrange medical care for her son. In each case, the lack of follow-up care in Iraq resulted in the rejection of the skin-grafts that would repair Rasul’s left eye socket and nose. The scarce resources donated by members of the Iraqi community to cover Rasul’s surgical costs were eventually exhausted.
DAI maintains ongoing communication with Rasul and his mother in Baghdad, where they are awaiting an opportunity to travel for medical care in the US. Tragically, one of Rasul’s close family members was kidnapped and killed in mid-July. DAI has facilitated sending some funds to Rasul to help with basic living expenses, but he and his mother, like all Iraqis in Baghdad, remain in danger.
We have recently learned that a hospital in the American Midwest has agreed to offer free care to Rasul, thanks to the work of a local non-profit organization that specializes in finding medical care for children from around the world. Much of the additional costs for Rasul’s care will be paid by the generous donations of an Islamic community in Cincinnati. DAI staff and volunteers are working closely with Rasul’s family to arrange travel for Rasul and his mother from the Baghdad neighborhood where they now live to the United States. We will post an update as soon as they have been able to travel, for their safety.
Click here to support Rasul and other Iraqi children and adults in need of urgent care.
