Jul. 29, 2015 Refugee boy beaten for selling tissues at Turkish restaurant galvanizes nation

Jul. 29, 2015

Refugee boy beaten for selling tissues at Turkish restaurant galvanizes nation

اقتباس :: Ahmet's story is one of millions of Syrians. Forced to flee to Turkey because of his homeland's civil war, his family lives in a two-bedroom apartment without electricity and running water
LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The bloodied boy, crying in despair, burned in a nation's eye, prompting people to act. Ahmet's family of 12 recently enjoyed a three-day stay at a luxury hotel and a search is on to find work for his unemployed father.
Ahmet's story is one of millions of Syrians. Forced to flee to Turkey because of his homeland's civil war, his family lives in a two-bedroom apartment without electricity and running water. His mother suffers from a heart condition. His father is an unemployed TV technician whose brief employment in Turkey ended with him going unpaid.
Thousands of residents have been killed amid never-ending clashes between the Syrian regime, terror groups such as Islamic State and local rebels. Half a million Syrians have abandoned their homelands for good.
Turkey is already sheltering over 1.8 million Syrian refugees. Ahmet's family finally settled in Izmir, where they were evicted from their first home because they could not afford the rent.
To make ends meet, Ahmet and another of his siblings got a job selling tissues on the street to cover the Ł70-a-month rent at their current hovel.
Photographs of the bloodied Ahmet quickly spread around the world. Most shockingly, Ahmet hid underneath a table while the restaurant owner, stool in hand trampled over him. The incident is reportedly a "routine event" in Izmir.
"They pulled me aside and hit me. They stepped on me," Ahmet told a news Web site.
"Syrians on the other side of the road rushed and poured water on me and I gained consciousness only then."
The restaurant owner said the boy was disturbing his customers. The grown man continued to beat Ahmet even as he resisted and passers-by came to his aid.
"His mother reportedly found out about the attack when police visited her home to see if the family wanted to take legal action, but she refused to file a complaint," according to the Daily Mail.
"I did not file a complaint because of this incident... I believe God will punish those who beat up my boy.'"
She thanked Turkey's Prime Minister and President for gifting them their first ever vacation.
"We've never had a vacation or been in a place like this... My children are very happy. It wipes away the marks of the war.
"What we want is to live a proper life. We want to educate our children . The home we're staying in now is very bad."