The mother of the Syrian boy who is suffering from cancer and is in urgent need of a bone marrow transplant said on Monday she’s hopeful she will be allowed to go to Germany along with the rest of her children to help her son.
Rami, who his mother said he is 11 years old and not seven as initially reported, was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma five years ago – just after the start of the war in Syria began. While he was in hospital, his family was displaced from their home in Tadamoun by violence. His father and Rami eventually made their way to Germany via the smuggling routes, where the boy was able to continue his therapy in a hospital.
Speaking at a press conference, his mother Manal Babouli said she submitted a request to reunite the family to the relevant Greek authorities. The family are possible compatible donors for Rami and getting in Germany in time is crucial for saving the life of the young boy.
Speaking of her family’s turmoil in Syria, she said: “I couldn’t take him to the hospital any more so I decided to take him to Lebanon where he continued his therapy for another seven months. But the high cost [of treatment] forced us to leave together for Turkey where Rami was hospitalized for three months until his doctor send him along with his father, at his own expense, to the University hospital in Munich, where he has been treated in the past 4 months.”
Babouli also has three more children aged 3, 8, 14, as well as an 18-year-old nephew, with whom they all crossed the Aegean on February 22. She said she reached Idomeni in a few days and when she realized the borders would not open, she appealed to Greek NGO “Arsis,” who set them up in a hotel in Thessaloniki.
Speaking at the same press conference, the lawyer of the Greek Council for Refugees, Nikos Garypidis said he believed the procedure would be completed in a few days. Until then, Babouli with her children will continue to be hosted at the hotel provided by “Arsis.”
(source: ana-mpa)
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