Alma, a revolution icon died alone and hardly found someone to bury her

(Translation by Yusra Ahmed)

Alma Shahhod, who was considered an icon for the Syrian Revolution, as amazing stories were told about her courage and dedication in her work in relief and helping the wounded, died days ago in Amman, alone and ignored.

She spent in Akela Hospital 9 months, lying down because she had had spine injury and got paralyzed, she needed lots of analgesics and her skin had deep ulcerations because of long period of lying down. She wished to go back to al-Ghouta to die there, but her wish was not possible to fulfil, according to Mahmood Sadaka, the activist who helped Alma in getting her official paper from UNHCR.

She was pregnant at the time of injury, when she gave birth in hospital; her new born baby was kept away from her.

Sincere and deep condolences were written for her, one of them from Moaz al-Khatib, the former head of the National Coalition, who said that she was s one of the greatest women of the Syrian revolution and what happened to her was hard to believe. She suffered a lot, but kept fighting, she helped a lot of people and many of them supported her, while other let her down and neglected her, to die after life full of courage and dignity.

Rawya al-Aswad, a facebook user detailed the neglect and ignorance that Alma faced after her death, as she found no one to bury apart from her nurse and 3 other people.

Abo fahed Ghadir, an activist worked with Alma, confirmed to Zaman Alwasl that he went to the hospital where Alma used to stay and met Om- Ratib, the nurse who used to look after Alma, confirmed to him Alma’s death and told him that only her, a lady relative to Alma, another young man used to visit Alma and a Jordanian old man who buried her only. Om-Ratib confirmed that she called all people who came to visit Alma before her death, but no one helped her, besides no one from the coalition or the Interim Government called her.

Abo Fahed explained the ignorance of Alma’s death and not participating in her funeral saying: “unfortunately, most people looking for fame at the expense of wounded and injured, and when they need their support, they leave them. In her last days, Alma was very depressed and refused eating, I told relief agencies and workers, but nothing had been done, to die in the end”

Abo fahed added that in Akela hospital, where Alma spent 9 months, many stories of injured Syrian people, who served the revolution and devoted their lives and processing, in the end they have been treated with neglect, ignorance and no one there to support or look after them. “Despite all captions we see on facebook for committees to help injured and the needy, but no one is found in reality” ended.