Motasem, eight, says with tears in his eyes, “I waited for Ali to come back home every day. I loved him the most of all my siblings. He always bought me my favourite sweets.”
Motasem and his sister Mena lost their older brother Ali in the war and have since suffered intense emotional trauma.
“Motasem’s smile was what I loved the most,” his mother says. “However since the death of his brother he has become depressed and weepy. I couldn’t help my children with their grief. I needed someone to help me to get over the desperate circumstances that surrounded me,” she continues.

Motasem’s mother points out that her children’s behaviours had changed significantly after the incident. “Motasem was a lot calmer then he is now and he was clever at school. However, the death of his brother made him more aggressive towards his classmates, and his educational attainment deteriorated.”

She reached out to Islamic Relief who she knew implemented projects on psychosocial support, in order to help her children through the emotional and mental distress.
“I like to go to Islamic Relief along with my mother and sister weekly. I meet the therapist, and we play together,” says Motasem.

Motasem has recalled most of the events that scared him. “I feared the bombardments and explosions, so I used to hide myself wherever Ali was, and Mena used to stay with my mother. We were so scared, as the ceiling had crumbled over our heads due to the intensive explosions.”

Motasem lives with his family in a deteriorating home; its ceiling is made of asbestos, and the walls are cracked due to the bombardments.

But regardless of recent events, Motasem has dreams of becoming a businessman. He says, “the Islamic Relief therapist encourages me to study hard in order to achieve my goals so I can become the businessman that I envision in my future.”

Motasem’s twin sister, Mena, has recently overcome her night-time panic attacks. Her mother noted, “Mena’s problem has started after her older brother’s death, as she kept waking up at night, hysterically weeping, and having nightmares.” She changed dramatically and got worse, until she received psychosocial support services from Islamic Relief.

“My hopes are to dispel these newly found fears towards life, so that no child gets frightened like me, as I fear even cats,” Mena said when talking about what she learned in her psychosocial sessions.
Their mother praised Islamic Relief is efforts in helping them heal. “Islamic Relief has revived us again and made us feel happy through much needed support. My children have found a place where they can play, be children again and heal from their trauma. Thanks to Allah, we have found people who have stood beside us and helped,” she concluded.