3/3’‘I am so blessed because despite of everything I married the love of my life. We have three children and two grandchildren. Having a disability here in Lebanon is not easy. There is still a lot of prejudice and many public facilities are still unaccessible for people in wheelchairs and other disabilities. I even advise the local authorities on matters concerning the disabled. However, I am still very optimistic about the future. I taught myself how to read and write. I even wrote two books about my life. I learned that in life it is not about what happens to you but how you respond to it.“
(Beirut, Lebanon)

2/3 “I have always been really insecure about dating. I have always wanted to find my other half but I felt that with one arm, I can not offer a woman what she deserves. I can’t even give her a full hug because I only have one arm to hold her. One day I was walking down the street and I saw a girl with long wavy hair and a beautiful nose. She agreed to go out with me. After a while she introduced me to her parents. They did not accept me. They asked her how she could even consider a boy with one arm that was selling newspapers. Instead of listening to her parents she defended me. She said that all she cared about was that I am a good person. The way she defended me, right there in front of her own parents made me realize that she was the one that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.”
(Beirut, Lebanon)

1/3‘’At sixteen, I was working with my dad in our wood workshop when I got into an accident and I lost my arm. I come from a very poor family so I never had a proper education. I never learned how to read or write. When I lost my arm, I had no diploma to fall back on. During the war there was a great demand for newspapers so I became a newspaper boy. Every day I would finish my shift at 4PM and then I would study the paper of that day. I wanted to be able to read about the things everybody was talking about. I would study word for word. That way, I taught myself how to read and write.“
(Beirut, Lebanon)