VOA新闻杂志2024--Boy Wounded in Gaza Travels to New York for a New Arm

　　Four-year-old Omar Abu Kuwaik is from the Gaza Strip, but in the last several weeks, he has spent time in Egypt, New York City, and Philadelphia before returning to Egypt.

　　Why did he travel so far from home?

　　He came for medical operations on his skin and to receive a prosthetic arm.

　　He is one of the few Gazans to have made it out of the war zone. But his family was not so lucky.

　　Omar was wounded during an Israeli airstrike in December that also killed a number of his family members, including his parents and a sister.

　　‘Anywhere is better'

　　A charity group called the Global Medical Relief Fund found out about Omar and provided for his medical care in the U.S. Elissa Montanti started the organization. She has spent 25 years getting hundreds of children free medical care after they lost arms and legs to wars or disasters, including wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

　　Montanti said she knew she would have to help the Gazan children when the conflict started between Hamas and Israel last October. But, she wondered, "How? How will I ever get these kids out when they can't even get out of Gaza?'"

　　Another group, Rahma Worldwide, a U.S.-based charity, learned about Omar's injuries. The group got him and his aunt into Egypt, provided them with new passports and airplane tickets to the United States in January.

　　Omar was getting only simple medical care in Gaza.

　　Adib Chouiki is vice¹ president of Rahma Worldwide. Chouiki knew his group needed to get the boy to a place where he could get help.

　　"Our view was, anywhere is better for him than being in Gaza," Chouiki said.

　　The United Nations says there are many more men, women and children like Omar waiting for medical care. About 4,000 wounded people and their families – such as Omar's aunt – have been permitted to leave Gaza to get medical help. But the U.N. refugee² agency says there are still 8,000 people on a medical waiting list.

　　Gaza's health ministry³, which is controlled by the territory's Hamas rulers, said 30,000 people have been killed in Gaza, and 70,000 wounded. The ministry said about two-thirds of those killed have been women and children.

　　To the United States

　　Omar went with his aunt, Maha on a flight from Egypt to New York City. Maha left her husband and children behind in Gaza.

　　Along the way, Omar saw the airline pilots getting ready to start the flight and he said, "When I grow up, I want to be a pilot, so I can bring people places."

　　Once in the U.S., the Global Medical Relief Fund sent Omar to Shriners Children's Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for treatment. He received pieces of new skin, called grafts⁴, to repair the burns on his leg. Medical workers also fitted him for a prosthetic arm.

　　As he recovered, he learned how to use his new arm. He stayed in a home owned by the Global Medical Relief Fund in the Staten Island area of New York City.

　　His arm was cut off just below the elbow. As he received treatment, he could see his new arm. He looked forward to learning how to use it. One day, he reached out to touch it. "My arm is nice," he said.

　　Montanti said getting a prosthetic limb⁵ is important for children who have been wounded in a war. Even if they will never be the same, "The kids, they feel whole," she said, "Psychologically, it means so much."

　　The hospital in Philadelphia is currently⁶ treating two children who have been removed from Gaza. One is an American, who was trapped when the war started. Another child, a two-year-old boy, is supposed to come soon.

　　One day after Omar got his arm, he and his aunt got on a plane to return to Egypt. Maha said she was concerned about what would happen to Omar and the rest of her family when they arrived. Their relatives are living in tents.

　　After coming back to Egypt, Omar and his aunt's futures⁷ are unclear; they might remain in exile⁸.

　　For Maha Abu Kuwaik and Omar, there might never be a home to return to.

　　She said she could not imagine going back to Gaza. "What would his life be? Where is his future?" she wondered.

　　I'm Dan Friedell. And I'm Gena Bennett.

　　Words in This Story

　　prosthetic –n. a device meant to take the place of a part of the body that is missing or injured

　　zone –n. a place that is set apart and subject to special rules or restrictions⁹

　　charity –n. an organization that takes donations and usually uses that donations for a cause that is meant to help people

　　limb –n. an arm or leg

　　psychologically –adv. relating to the mind, how it works and how people think about things

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 refugee   

n.难民，流亡者

参考例句：

• The refugee was condemned to a life of wandering.这个难民注定要过流浪的生活。
• The refugee is suffering for want of food and medical supplies.难民苦于缺少食物和医药用品。

3 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

4 grafts   

移植( graft的名词复数 )； 行贿； 接穗； 行贿得到的利益

参考例句：

• He's gone to London for skin grafts on his thighs. 他去伦敦做大腿植皮手术了。
• Her burns were treated with skin grafts. 她的烧伤是用植皮方法进行治疗的。

5 limb   

n.树枝，四肢，枝干，边缘；vt.切断手足，切断树干

参考例句：

• She sat on a limb of the tree and looked down.她坐在一根大树枝上往下看。
• His refusal to agree left him out on a limb.他拒不表示同意，致使自己处于孤立地位。

6 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

7 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。

8 exile   

n.流放，被流放者；vt.流放，放逐，使流亡

参考例句：

• After an exile of eight years her uncle returned to Cairo.她叔叔背井离乡8年后返回开罗。
• Napoleon was sent into exile on an island.拿破仑被流放到一个岛上。

9 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制