Maher has been blind since a rocket impact © D. Dombrowski

In December, ISHR member Dieter Dombrowski visited Syria and met 14-year-old Maher Hussein Al-Bustani from Homs, a victim of the Assad regime. Maher lived in Homs with a stable family. However, living conditions had become increasingly difficult since the end of the Arab Spring in 2011. From 2013 until the end of 2017, the Assad regime’s forces besieged the city, cutting it off from essential services. The central hospital, with 475 beds, was destroyed by the military, leaving the population of the city of millions with only 27 hospital beds. On September 15, 2014, Maher and his family’s lives changed drastically: His father was taking him to kindergarten as usual when a rocket struck nearby. Both were hit by shrapnel. Because no medical resources were available, the father was paralysed. Maher was struck in the face by shrapnel and went blind. The father died in 2025 after suffering a stroke.

Penniless, Maher’s mother moved with him and his four siblings to live with relatives. Due to the medical aftercare required and the larger family size, the entire family’s financial situation is strained. There is no government support whatsoever, as Syria’s National Bank has been insolvent since the former dictator Bashar al- Assad fled to Russia with the equivalent of 30 billion US dollars. The Syrian Medical Association examined Maher several months ago and determined that he would lose one eye permanently, but that the other could be restored through surgery. Because Maher has further fragments in his head, the necessary operation cannot be performed in Syria. After returning from Syria, Dieter Dombrowski appealed to the ISHR (International Society for Human Rights):

“Maher doesn’t deserve to grow up blind; despite his disability, he is full of hope and plans. Maher should be able to see. Please help!”

The Cottbus Human Rights Center is working to arrange for the boy to be examined at the Charité Eye Clinic in Berlin. The German Embassy in Syria has promised to assist with the formalities required for his stay in Germany for surgery.

ISHR supports this effort by helping to draw attention to the boy’s situation and by backing the steps needed to make his medical treatment possible.