Dema.. a Syrian refugee with one leg reminds people of the Syrian struggle

ديمة.. لاجئة سورية في بريطانيا بقدم واحدة تذكر بمعاناة السوريين2

20 October 2021

Dema Aktaa, a young woman who lost her leg in Syria, took part in the Manchester marathon this year to raise money for amputee children.

After leaving her home in Syria, Dema has settled in the UK in 2017, leaving behind her house, her life, and her leg. She had lost her leg in a bomb strike in Idlib, Syria when she was 18 years old.

After the traumatic incident, Dema has started her journey leaving her homeland with her family to join her brothers in Lebanon. She lived in Lebanon for 6 years before the UK opened its doors for Syrian refugees. Living in the UK was an opportunity for her and her family to start over.

New life, New people, New leg

After she arrived in the UK, she had to rebuild her life up from scratch. “It was very hard in the beginning to get used to a new country, a new life, and new people. But we had to adapt and get used to everything; we had no other choice,” the Syrian said.

It was her dream to walk again, and after she moved to England, that dream became reality.

Along with her new life, she had to get used to a new leg too, but Dema has proved to everyone that nothing can stop her from doing what she sets her mind to. She is now majoring in Interior Design. And with all the support she had from people around her, she started undergoing physical therapy, and “I stood on my feet once again,” as Dema says.

A decade after she lost her leg, she decided to run the 13-mile Manchester Marathon to raise money for kids who lost limbs during the war in Syria. “I didn’t really think about joining the marathon,” she says, “I just did! I’m not even used to doing such a long-distance, but I was very excited to do it; to raise money for those children, to put a smile on their faces again, and for them to feel normal in doing simple daily tasks once again.”

All of the support from my family and friends from the Syrian organization has motivated me to join and finish the marathon.

Please click here to help raise money that will go out to help children with amputated limbs.