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Visually Impaired Boy's Tears Over Broken Glasses Highlight Gaza's Medical Crisis
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia /Health & Science

Visually Impaired Boy's Tears Over Broken Glasses Highlight Gaza's Medical Crisis

From Asharq Al-Awsat · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • A video of a visually impaired Palestinian boy in Gaza crying over his broken glasses highlighted the plight of children lacking essential medical care due to the ongoing conflict and blockade.
  • The boy, Ayoub Junaid, received a new pair of glasses after his story gained international attention, but still requires surgery.
  • His mother described the challenges of his condition, exacerbated by the war, which prevents him from attending school or playing freely.

A heart-wrenching video of a seven-year-old Palestinian boy in Gaza, Ayoub Junaid, crying over his shattered glasses has brought international attention to the severe lack of medical care for visually impaired children in the besieged territory.

Ayoub suffers from very severe nearsightedness after having a fever illness.

— Eman JunaidAyoub's mother describes the onset of his vision problems.

The footage, shared widely on social media, shows Ayoub's distress after falling and breaking the glasses essential for his severe nearsightedness. His mother, Eman Junaid, explained that his condition began at age two after a fever. Doctors had predicted improvement, but his prescription worsened, and the necessary lenses are now unavailable in Gaza.

We were preparing to travel for treatment, but the war started and everything stopped.

— Eman JunaidAyoub's mother explains how the war prevented him from seeking necessary medical treatment.

"We were preparing to travel for treatment, but the war started and everything stopped," Eman told The Guardian. The conflict and Israel's blockade have halted access to eye examinations, corrective lenses, and specialized ophthalmic surgery. Doctors have warned the family against strenuous activities for Ayoub, fearing further retinal damage.

At the end of April, while walking with a family member along a road strewn with rubble, he fell and struck his face on the ground, breaking the glasses.

— Eman JunaidAyoub's mother recounts the incident that led to his glasses breaking.

While Ayoub has received a new pair of glasses thanks to public donations following the video's virality, his need for surgery remains urgent. The family's struggle underscores the broader crisis facing vulnerable children in Gaza, where basic medical needs are unmet amidst widespread devastation and ongoing conflict.

He burst into tears, rolled on the ground and desperately tried to piece them back together. For Ayoub, those glasses were everything.

— Eman JunaidAyoub's mother describes his reaction to breaking his essential glasses.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Asharq Al-Awsat in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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