Dua’A Al Areer and her son Joud, who is bound to a wheelchair, were brought to the US by the Palestine Children Relief Fund so that the little boy can get surgery at Shriner’s Hospital.
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There were cheers at Boston Logan International Airport on Saturday as a young boy and his mom from Gaza arrived in the United States for life-changing medical care.
Dua'a al Areer and her 4-year-old son Joud, an amputee, were brought to the US by the Palestine Children Relief Fund so the little boy can receive surgery at Shriner's Hospital after losing his leg in an airstrike -- an airstrike that killed his brother.
The mom-son duo traveled from Gaza to Cairo, Egypt, after losing their loved ones. Areer's husband was also recently killed in the Israel Hamas war. Areer left behind her daughter, a warzone and a life that in ways began to feel lifeless.
“They practically lost everything. Between having to leave their homes, their homes being destroyed, having to endure so much loss," a worker with the humanitarian medical relief organization told NBC10 Boston of the family. "She lost her husband, the same day that Joud got injured her other son died as well she lost him. She was injured, her other daughter was injured. Since November she hasn’t had all of her children around her. So it’s a big, big loss that’s unimaginable."
Areer and Joud, who was given some new toys and a Boston Red Sox backpack at the airport, will stay with a host family for three months, during which time both can hopefully begin to heal from their wounds -- ones that extend beyond any physical pain.
“With this warm welcome she feels like she has a lot more freedom, a lot more hope and to her this is the beginning of the treatment for her son.”
Areer and Joud will return to Palestine some time after the boy's surgery.
