A Palestinian boy arrives in Columbus for treatment after being injured in Gaza

Airports are bustling transport hubs through which travelers from all corners of the world pass, and each one has its own history.

On Tuesday at the international airport. John Glenn Columbus was introduced to the story of a young boy injured in Gaza.

About 100 community members greeted 14-year-old Ghassan Shadi Shouib Aladini at the airport around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday as he traveled from Egypt to the United States to seek treatment at Nationwide Children’s Hospital for injuries he suffered in Gaza.

His trip is sponsored by HEAL Palestine, a nonprofit organization it says websitehopes to provide young Palestinians in Gaza with a better life by providing education, assistance and leadership.

Jenna Sosebee, a first-year nursing student and daughter of Steve Sosebee, co-founder of HEAL Palestine, said Shadi Shouib Aladini is the second Palestinian boy HEAL Palestine has brought for treatment in Columbus after being injured in Gaza. Since the beginning of the year, HEAL Palestine has helped more than 20 injured Palestinian children receive treatment in the United States, she said.

Shadi Shouib Aladini came to the United States as a survivor of ongoing violence in Gaza, Jenna Sosebee said. She said he accompanied a five-year-old girl injured in the Gaza bombing who is being treated in Chicago.

“Ghassan, his two parents, four brothers and two sisters were displaced and living in a tent,” Jenna Sosebee said. “On January 24, an Israeli tank fired at the family’s tent, killing Ghassan’s six-year-old brother and seriously wounding the others.”

Jenna Sosebee said Shadi Shouib Aladini and his family were taken to Egypt for treatment, but his injuries could not be effectively treated there.

“Ghassan was shot in the abdomen and currently has shrapnel in his back that damaged his colon, and bullets in his legs require two separate doctors,” Jenna Sosebee said.

Aroub Shanaah, a family physician and co-chair of HEAL Palestine’s Columbus chapter, said getting Shadi Shouib Aladini to Columbus was a complicated process that required coordination with social workers, volunteers and doctors.

“These children and their families do not pay a cent for travel or treatment,” Shanaah said. “So you have to find a surgeon – in this case two surgeons – who is willing to put in the time and effort and have a hospital that is also willing to do the same.”

Jenna Sosebee and Shanaah said Shadi Shouib Aladini will receive treatment for about two months and when he is not in the hospital, he will live with a host family.

“I can’t imagine being a child traveling alone across the world to a foreign country,” Shaanah said. “It is important that Ghassan – as with all of our cases – receives a family to help him through this exciting but also understandably terrifying time.”

Shadi Shouib Aladini’s host father, Ali Malik, an interventional cardiologist from Lancaster, Ohio, said he was moved by the boy’s resilience and positive attitude.

“Ghassan experienced the unimaginable,” Malik said as Shadi Shouib Aladini arrived at the Columbus airport. “Look at him now; he’s just had a 17-hour day traveling and most of us would run straight to bed, but he’s here, smiling and taking photos with everyone. I just met him and I already know he will be my inspiration.”

Malik said his son is a few years younger than Shadi Shouib Aladini, but he looks forward to seeing their brotherhood grow.

“There really is nothing better than watching kids learn from each other,” Malik said. “Yes, they are raised by their parents, but the most valuable lessons the world has to offer come from the most extraordinary children. The children of Palestine, like Ghassan, teach us all what it means to be human, and I am thrilled to see this reflected in my son.”

Shanaah said that with the ongoing war in Gaza, despite the uncertainty of trying to make tangible changes, the smallest actions can bring hope.

“Everyone feels like they want to do something to help and their hands are tied,” Shanaah said. “It gives us something we can do. This is a drop in the ocean of everything that is happening in Palestine, but it allows us to feel that we can help, we can give and we can have hope again.”

Jenna Sosebee stated that the truth about Shadi Shouib Aladini’s tragic experience is that he is not alone in it.

“Ghassan’s story, while sad, is not unique,” Sosebee said. “Children make up half of Gaza’s population and must endure pain as they try to survive genocide.”

According to Gaza data, more than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023, and another 96,000 have been injured. Related press.

Jenna Sosebee said that while it is difficult to maintain faith, communities must continue to advocate for children in Gaza.

“No child should have to worry about whether they will survive the next day, when they will eat their next meal, or which loved one will die next,” said Jenna Sosebee. “So we cannot lose interest and we must continue to fight for them because we are their voice.”

Jenna Sosebee said that when the dust hopefully settles in Gaza, children like Shadi Shouib Aladini will play a key role in Palestine’s future.

“These children are the next generation of Palestinians who have experienced both physical and psychological trauma,” said Jenna Sosebee. “If Palestine is to be rebuilt, it will be on the backs of these children, so we are trying to help them become the next leaders.”

More information about HEAL Palestine can be found on the organization’s website website.