When Raed Saleh heard the impact of the mortar shell near his house on October 23, he hoped that his son, Sabhaan, had not been allowed out to play, as he had been all summer.
“There’s an area next to the house where he and four other kids spend the afternoons, and the bomb came, detonating near where the kids were playing,” said the father of three.
The impact and shrapnel from the ISIL shell injured all five of the children, aged six to eight years old.
“The other children had broken bones, shrapnel wounds, scrapes and cuts. My son’s left arm was severely injured and we were unable to treat it in Iraq,” said Mr Saleh, who is from Al Dhuluiya.
Sabhaan, along with other civilian casualties of the continuing turmoil in Iraq, were flown to the UAE from Erbil to receive medical treatment provided by the UAE Government.
“He’s a lion, he’s been very brave. I think the only thing he is afraid of are needles, but aside from that he’s a great boy,” Mr Saleh said of his son.
The six-year-old is now being transferred to a UAE hospital to begin intensive rehabilitation and treatment of ligaments in his left arm. “He was supposed to start school this year, but of course all of that had to be postponed because of the fighting,” Mr Saleh said.
Many people have overlooked the fact that the war has put a halt to everyday life, and his compatriots in Al Dhuluiya have left their work to defend their homes, according to him. “From the start ISIL tried to come in but we didn’t let them, and we’ve been fighting them for about four months,” said Mr Saleh.
The fighting against the Islamist militants has caused 100 deaths and 750 injuries, but ISIL has yet to penetrate their defences.
As for Sabhaan, the shelling had made him more skittish but did not change his playful nature, said Mr Saleh.
nalwasmi@thenational.ae
Who is Tim-Berners Lee?
Sir Tim Berners-Lee was born in London in a household of mathematicians and computer scientists. Both his mother, Mary Lee, and father, Conway, were early computer scientists who worked on the Ferranti 1 - the world's first commercially-available, general purpose digital computer. Sir Tim studied Physics at the University of Oxford and held a series of roles developing code and building software before moving to Switzerland to work for Cern, the European Particle Physics laboratory. He developed the worldwide web code as a side project in 1989 as a global information-sharing system. After releasing the first web code in 1991, Cern made it open and free for all to use. Sir Tim now campaigns for initiatives to make sure the web remains open and accessible to all.
Correspondents
By Tim Murphy
(Grove Press)
Top 10 most polluted cities
- Bhiwadi, India
- Ghaziabad, India
- Hotan, China
- Delhi, India
- Jaunpur, India
- Faisalabad, Pakistan
- Noida, India
- Bahawalpur, Pakistan
- Peshawar, Pakistan
- Bagpat, India
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Famous left-handers
- Marie Curie
- Jimi Hendrix
- Leonardo Di Vinci
- David Bowie
- Paul McCartney
- Albert Einstein
- Jack the Ripper
- Barack Obama
- Helen Keller
- Joan of Arc
Ovo's tips to find extra heat
- Open your curtains when it’s sunny
- Keep your oven open after cooking
- Have a cuddle with pets and loved ones to help stay cosy
- Eat ginger but avoid chilli as it makes you sweat
- Put on extra layers
- Do a few star jumps
- Avoid alcohol
