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Survivor Stories
Fatehya Abu Zaid Alkeswani - Jordan
Fatehya Alkeswani was only three years old when she was injured by UXO near her home in Jordan. The blast resulted in Alkeswani losing her right leg above the knee. As she got older she continued to work through the pain and ostracism and insisted on attending school and living a full life, over the objections of her parents. When she graduated high school, she worked as many as ten hours a day to pay to go to the university after her parents refused to help her.
After achieving a degree in business administration and accounting, Alkeswani found a job as an auditor at an accounting firm. “I remember other people thinking I was a suffering and useless girl,” she said. “I always hated this attitude, and tried to ignore it and prove my worth.”
Alkeswani soon married a young man from Syria and had five children, whom she calls the light of her life. But because her husband was Syrian, she believed that she was not entitled to any insurance or disability assistance from the Jordanian government. She met Majdi, a Social Worker from LSN, about two years ago. He helped her acquire health insurance from the Ministry of Health, which allowed her free medical care and prostheses.
“The most exciting thing I remember about LSN,” said Alkeswani, “was when they invited me to a support group for female survivors. They showed me role models in other survivors, who I could talk with about struggles in my professional life. Now I play a guiding role for other amputees, who see that I am a successful woman. I hope I am able to make a difference in the other women’s lives.”
View the next profile: Waleed Alnawfleh
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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