At the currency exchange booth, it became clear that Fatima would come up $5 short of what she needed to obtain the tests, and the testing center did not accept credit cards. The desk clerk pointed the siblings in the direction of the testing area of the airport, so they began looking for the testing center.įatima knew she would have to pay for the tests, but would first have to change her money to Turkish money. With the help of Evelyn translating what the siblings were saying from Arabic to SACH representatives who were prepared to speak in English to people in Istanbul, Fatima began walking throughout Istanbul’s massive airport, trying to find a Turkish Airline information desk.įinally, at the information desk, the team learned that the next flight to Casablanca was not until Sunday, three days away. The team tries urgently to help the siblings On the other end of the line, Simon Fisher and Tamar Shapira brought Evelyn Shriki into the call, as well as Orna Kahane, a SACH travel agent. Within seconds she was able to connect with SACH via WhatsApp. Meanwhile, in the airport, Fatima was buying a SIM card for her phone. A team of people started making calls to contacts in Istanbul, from the airport to police and rescue teams. SACH knew that Fatima and Youssef had not boarded their flight, but had no idea what had happened. SACH searches desperately for Youssef and Fatima They had not eaten in hours and had almost no cash. They had no working telephone and could not speak Turkish or English. As they struggled to understand what was happening, the airport authorities told them to go into Istanbul to find a place that did blood-based testing and return with the results.įatima and Youssef sat down sadly in the lost-and-found in the baggage claim area. Morocco had imposed additional requirements on people entering the country, and they needed a blood-based COVID test to board.įatima and Youssef did not have blood-based test results. Youssef and Fatima made it to Istanbul in time for the connecting flight home, but were stopped at the gate to the flight. Stopped at the departure gate in Istanbul Little did everyone know, the two young people’s journey was far from over. After six months, it looked like Youssef and his sister would finally be able to go home. SACH knew that Youssef and his sister would need COVID-19 test results, so they were taken for nasal swab tests the day before the flight. Every time SACH tried to arrange a flight to Morocco, it was cancelled.įinally, SACH was able to book a Turkish Airlines flight to Morocco, connecting through Istanbul, departing Augfrom Ben Gurion airport. Suddenly Youssef was stuck in Israel indefinitely.Īs the weeks stretched into months, a Christian organization in Jerusalem, Shevet Achim, offered to house and feed Fatima and Youssef and show them around the city. Countries, including Israel, began closing their borders to keep out the virus. Out of open-heart surgery and into a global pandemicĪround the same time as Youssef’s surgery, the novel coronavirus was sweeping the globe. The surgery was successful, saving his life. In March 2020, he underwent open heart surgery. In February 2020, Youssef traveled to Israel for surgery with his older sister Fatima accompanying him as his guardian. Together, they connected Youssef’s family to SACH, which decided to bring him to Wolfson Medical Center for surgery. Evelyn knew about Save a Child’s Heart through her friend Uri Kertes, a SACH board member. One day, the family met a woman who had a friend living in Israel, Evelyn Shriki, a Moroccan Israeli living in Haifa. But his family had no access to or money for heart surgery, which is expensive and largely inaccessible in many parts of the world.Ĭonnections across countries open doors for Youssef Youssef was born in Casablanca with a congenital heart disease, a condition common to children with Down Syndrome. Through it all, they made it to Israel and back home with the help of people ranging from friends to strangers located in places from Morocco to Israel and Turkey, speaking Hebrew, English, Moroccan, Arabic, Turkish, and French, and from faiths including Jewish, Muslim and Christian. Along the way, they faced unexpected and extraordinary challenges. Youssef’s story is the story of an 8-year-old boy with Down Syndrome from Morocco, who embarked on an incredible international journey with his sister Fatima in 2020 for life-saving heart surgery. From Morocco to Israel and back, against all odds.
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