SHARIA CAMP, Kurdistan Region – Salim Sleman and his fighting spirit are defying the odds. He achieved high marks and this year enrolled in the College of Medicine at Mosul University, despite living in a camp in Duhok province, unable to return to his home in Shingal, and battling blood cancer.
“I did not lose hope while I was receiving treatment,” he said.
His treatment in India, however, is costly. The family has borrowed $60,000 from relatives to cover costs so far, but is worried about being able to pay for further treatment and doctor’s visits.
“His doctor told me if I don’t take him abroad [to see his doctor] within a month, my son will die,” said his father Sleman Seydo.
Reporting by Ayub Nasri
Translation and video editing by Sarkawt Mohammed
