Iyad, a 17-year-old Palestinian, laughs as he passes a football back and forth with his friend Hossam in the physiotherapy room at the Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) hospital in Amman, Jordan.
“It helps me a lot when Hossam joins,” says Iyad. “We joke a lot, but we also support each other a lot. Physical pain goes away when you have someone to laugh with.”
Iyad met Hossam, a 21-year-old Iraqi, at the hospital where both were undergoing treatment at MSF’s Reconstructive Surgery Program. The two have become close friends in the months since, and spend their time playing football, sharing meals, and challenging each other on PlayStation.
“Last time we played PlayStation, I beat him 6-2,” laughs Hossam.
Iyad comes from the Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza and was critically injured after Israeli forces shot him in the leg while he was out looking for food with friends. “There was sudden gunfire,” he explains. “It came out of nowhere. My leg got hit. Everyone started running. I was so scared.”
