Energetic Bashar Al-Mousa urges fellow refugees to face obstacles

(Zaman Al Wasl)- Ten months ago, Bashar Al-Moussa, the Syrian refugee who suffered walking difficulties due to a sniper bullet, started running for over 5 km daily in London seeking to encourage other young refugees to face the social and psychological obstacles in their new communities.

Al-Moussa’s interests vary from sports, to art and radio, prompting the Cardiff Theater to show his story.

Al-Moussa fled his hometown in eastern Raqqa province to Turkey and from there to Britain, crossing Libya, Algeria, Italy and France.

On July 15, 2014, he settled in England, where he overcame the difficulties of movement and walking, with the help of British doctors, to overcome the difficulties of movement and walking. He explained that he felt safe for the first time and assimilated into British society, learning the language without enrolling in any courses. He also joined the UFC club for kickboxing, entering tournaments in Cardiff and winning a number of prizes under hiscoach and world champion Denzil Lawrence.

More than 17,000 Syrian refugees live in Britain. The latest statistics, published by the British Home Office last August, indicate that Scotland has received 2,937 refugees, while the Yorkshire and Humber region received 1,801 the largest number of refugees in England.

After moving to London, Al-Moussa worked in the Arabic radio station, “Shufi Mafi” for a period, and created a series of videos supporting young people living in the shadow of war. In addition, he had an acting experience in Orwa Alahmad’s experimental film, The Film, as well as with Iraqi actor Thaer Al-Shaya.

Last April, Al-Moussa decided, as a challenge, to run for a full year on a daily basis for at least 5 km, to motivate young refugees to restart their lives and persevere despite the hardships they had experienced. Completing this challenge, he will be the first Arab athlete to run for a whole year without stopping. His initiative was encouraged by those around him, and he concluded that, “The two most difficult tests in life are: being patient and having the courage to achieve our goals and to trust the people we encounter.”

Zaman Al Wasl