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Survivor Stories
Omar Mohammed - Jordan
Omar Mohammed is 36 years old and lives in Jordan. In 2004, he was working as a truck driver in Amman. The war was raging in Iraq, and someone was needed to drive into a village there and deliver some much needed water. Omar offered to go. He was attacked before he got there. Some Iraqis stole everything he had and shot him multiple times. They left him by the side of the road to die. But Omar didn’t die. Some strangers came, and took him to a nearby clinic. There was no room and he was sent further away to another hospital. But this hospital had no medical supplies, so they recommended he return to Amman for treatment. By the time he got to Amman, Omar’s wounds were deeply infected. The pain was intense, and made even worse when the doctors told Omar and his wife that, to save his life, they had to amputate his leg.
“One day, the cycle of my life stopped. All ambitions and hope were gone from me. How could I live on one leg? How would I feed my kids? How could I even see other people? There were many questions and I could not find answers.”
After a month or so, in March 2004, Omar was referred to LSN. He hesitated to go, because he was ashamed of his wounds. “At LSN, they asked me about my story. My voice was very low, my hands were shaking and my eyes were crying.” When LSN Jordan Director Adnan Al Aboudi came into the office, he listened to Omar’s story, and heard his shame. “And then Adnan told me, ‘You have lost one leg. What I have to say to you is, myself, I have lost two legs!’ I had looked at Adnan like he was a non-disabled person. His eyes gave me a light that day. It was like peer support was a gift he gave to my soul.”
After months of follow-up visits from the LSN Outreach worker, Omar now wears a prosthesis. He can walk. He even got help to buy a car. Now, he is driving again. “LSN improved my life. LSN changed my eye’s inspiration.”
View the next profile: Oqab Mahmoud Nasser
Less than 10 percent of landmine survivors have access to proper medical care and rehabilitation. Please visit our Donate Now section and see what you can do to help landmine survivors around the world.
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