The innocent Syrian boy in a well-known picture begins a new life in Italy | Syrian War News

Six-year-old Mustafa El Nezzel received medical attention after the photo he received of the award stimulated interest in raising money.

Munzir El Nezzel’s award-winning photo of Mustafa, whose son was born crippled, has given the couple a glimpse of a new life as a bitter symbol of the Syrian war crisis.

A stunning but romantic photo taken by Turkish artist Mehmet Aslan, called Hardship of Life, painted a love affair between a man and a child whose bodies were maimed by a violent argument.

Six-year-old Mustafa was born with a congenital defect caused by medication that his mother took during pregnancy. sick with respiratory failure. His 35-year-old father was amputated after a bomb blast in Syria.

Announcing the annual photo at last year’s Siena International Photo Awards (SIPA) and headline in Italy, it sparked a massive crowd of $ 100,000 ($ 114,000) for the father and son to find hidden organs.

The organizers then asked the Catholic diocese to take care of paperwork, financial aid, and visas to obtain a visa for practical reasons in accordance with Italian requirements.

Mustafa arrived at Fiumicino Airport in Rome on Friday, accompanied by his father, mother and two sisters, aged one and four. The family will be relocated to Siena, a city in the central Italian region of Tuscany that is well-known for its ancient brick houses and the home of the iconic festival.

In a video message filmed before departing from Ankara for Italy, Mustafa expressed his gratitude. “We’re coming, thank you,” he said. “We love Italy.”

In an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica before the couple left Reyhanli, on the Turkish-Syrian border, El Nezzel said he appreciated the opportunity to send his children to school.

But she said her biggest wish was one day to see her baby standing with artificial legs.

“I look forward to receiving her hug, even hugging her with a prosthesis,” El Nezzel said. “This is what is really important to me.”

Prosthetic specialists at Centro Protective Inail in Vigorso di Budrio, northern Italy, have developed artificial limbs to help Mustafa move, According to The New York Times.

At the moment Mustafa cannot walk on his own and will need long-term care to become self-sufficient. Experts quoted in the American newspaper stated that while there may be some difficulties in treating a child, the father may be able to recover within a few weeks.

The Diocese of Siena will be responsible for welcoming families. “We look forward to Mustafa and his family,” Cardinal Paolo Lojudice told local reporters.

Luca Venturi, the founder of the Photography Award and launched a public awareness campaign, was expecting the couple at the airport in Rome.

“When we were convinced he had arrived, we shouted for joy,” he told La Repubblica. “We never thought we would see this day.”