From Street Struggles to Hope The Touching Story of a Syrian Father Whose Photo Changed His Life
In the age of digital technology, social networks develop at a rapid pace, which can turn an unknown person into a star in the blink of an eye but also bring a lot of trouble. However, it is still undeniable that thanks to social networks, many difficult lives are found and helped. It is the touching story of a man named Abdul Halim al-Attar, a refugee from Syria.
It all started in 2016, a photo of Abdul carrying his sleeping daughter in his arms around the streets to sell ballpoint pens for a living. Abdul’s facial expression at that time attracted attention because it showed despair, along with tearing eyes that were about to cry as if a pile of ballpoint pens in his hands were all that his father and son had.
I’m really desperate, we’re not this miserable in Syria. How could I carry my daughter around the streets like that? I should have sent her to school instead of dragging her around to earn a living with me. I was heartbroken when I saw that photo,” Abdul shared.
Abdul said he fled fierce fighting between rebels and the Syrian army in the Yarmouk camp.
“The missiles bounced down without us knowing where they came from. I feared for my daughter’s life. Every time she heard the sound of the plane, she became panicked. I had no choice but to leave the refugee camp,” Abdul said.
It is known that Abdul used to work at a candy factory in Damascus, Syria. He has struggled to find work in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, a city that is also saturated with refugees who, like him, are desperately trying to make ends meet.
“I can’t leave my little girl alone. I tried to apply in many places but they wouldn’t accept me because I kept carrying her. So the only way for my father and son to be together is to sell ballpoint pens on the street,” Abdul shared.
This job selling ballpoint pens only brings an income of a few dollars a day for Abdul’s 2 fathers and sons. The person who took the photo that helped change the lives of 2 fathers and sons Abdul said that even in difficult circumstances, this man never gave up the smile on his face, carrying his daughter, Reem, in his hand for many hours.
“Everyone keeps asking me why I laugh all the time. I replied, ‘Then what do you want me to do now? Or do I have to cry? God gave me a smile like this,'” Abdul shared.
At that time, Abdul was no different from children selling flowers on the streets or beggars that were not difficult to see on the streets of Beirut, until one day, a stranger took a picture of him.
“I didn’t know I was being photographed. I was very surprised when many people came to me with my photo phone. I asked them what they wanted,” Abdul honestly said.
What all these people want is to give Abdul 2 fathers and sons a beautiful ending.
