Lower thirds:

00:02 Report by Aya Ibrahim
00:14 Rayaan | Landmine survivor
00:58 Alyaa | Rayaan’s sister
01:37 Mostafa | Landmine survivor
02:20 Rayaan | Landmine survivor
03:08 Mostafa | Landmine survivor

SCRIPT:

00:00
Every step Rayaan takes - is moving her forward into her new life. 
She is just 12.

 +++ SOT, Rayaan, Landmine survivor, Arabic +++
I feel a lot better after I got the prosthetic. I can even go on very long errands, it is much better than having to rely on others. I can do it myself. It brings back memories of how I used to get things for myself. When I use crutches, I feel incomplete. With the prosthetic, I feel whole again.
Rayaan’s old life was shattered on December 8 last year. 

That was the day the Assad regime fell — but she and her sisters will always remember it as the day their parents were killed and the day she lost her leg.

+++ SOT, Alyaa, Rayaan’s sister, Arabic +++
We were returning on the Aleppo road, riding motorbikes along a rural path.
The landmine exploded underneath my parents. 

Mostafa, who is 16, has a similar story. 

After the fall of the regime his family rushed home to their village. They had spent years in a refugee camp near the Syrian-Turkish border. 

Their joy at returning was short-lived. A few weeks back home, Mostafa stepped on a landmine in a field near their house.

+++ SOT, Mostafa, Landmine survivor, Arabic +++
When I stepped on the mine, the explosion was so loud I couldn’t hear anymore. I started crying and screaming.

Save the Children says landmines killed or injured at least 188 children in the first three months after the collapse of the Assad regime – that’s about two children a day.

Aqratabt hospital in the northwest is one of the few places in Syria that can provide the survivors with prosthetics. 

But the first steps are not physical. 

+++SOT, Fatima, Physical Therapist, Arabic +++
In the beginning, children like Rayaan do not need prosthetics, they do not need treatment, they need to trust us. They need to feel safe, they need our affection, we win their trust and make them feel they are coming to see us, so that they can be happy getting their treatment. After a while, I explain what it means to have a prosthetic. At that point, I became a friend to them, not just a therapist. 

That approach has helped children like Rayaan and Mostafa see a pathway to an independent future. 

 +++ SOT, Rayaan, Landmine survivor, Arabic +++
I don't like being in the hospital, but I like coming here just to see Dr. Fatima 

+++ SOT, Mostafa, Landmine survivor, Arabic +++
The doctor would tell me ‘Don't feel overwhelmed. You'll get a prosthetic limb and everything will be fine. You'll be able to go out and walk.’’He showed me pictures of people who have done it already. They could sit. Walk, play football and even work. 

After the explosion, Mostafa’s family went back to the refugee camp. His father sees no prospect of returning home any time soon.