Despite all the ugliness in the world, one can still be inspired by how much love and care the human relationships hide, that’s the moral message we took from Ibrahim and Bashar’s partnership.
Ibrahim Alkhouli was born in 1967 in Al Zabadani town. When he was only 14, he started to work as a blacksmith then when he got older he opened his own workshop, where he shared work with his childhood friend Bashar, even after Bashar got married, he kept working with Ibrahim and they shared good days as well as their life and work challenges.
However, When the war broke out in Al Zabadani, the town was daily hit by dozens of mortar shells in addition to the armed conflict. Ibrahim and Bashar witnessed the brutality of war and were forced to flee out of the area under bombing and shooting to save their lives leaving everything behind. They went to Bloudan where they stayed for two years, where they spent all the savings just to afford their basic living needs. They were informed that their houses and workshop were destroyed completely with all the possessions and equipment.
As a result, Ibrahim decided to move to Damascus and start working in any field so he could support himself, he stayed at his nephew’s house in Jaramana and worked as a blacksmith in different workshops then Bashar followed him and they once again spent countless hours working together and shared living expenses; especially that Bashar’s daughter Dalaa was suffering from diabetes and needed high-cost treatment every month.
“We suffered a lot, lost everything we worked for, started from scratch to fight for our daily food, but God manage our life with his great mercy every day” Those were Ibrahim’s words.
Indeed, God’s hand reached out to the two friends, and through the Micro-project, they were supported with machines, equipment, tools, and electric generator so they could start over their blacksmithing workshop and have a second chance in life.