LEBANON / AUTISTIC REFUGEE BOY

STORY: LEBANON / AUTISTIC REFUGEE BOY
TRT: 2:40
SOURCE: UNHCR
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT UNHCR ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: ARABIC /NATS

DATELINE: 9 SEPTEMBER 2018, BEIRUT, LEBANON

SHOTLIST:

1. Various shots, Samer standing on the balcony
2. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Catrina Youssef, Samer’s mother:
‘’He looks at people passing by, waves at cars and looks at other children playing. He shouts at them and laughs. It is his own way of playing with them.’’
3. Various shots, Samer on the balcony
4. Various shots, Catrina washing Samer’s hands
5. Close up, Catrina and Samer walking on a street
6. Wide shot, Catrina and Samer crossing a street
7. Close up, Samer playing with ball
8. Med shot, dancing and playing inside community centre.
9. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Jessica Frem, caseworker, Caritas:
‘’When the family told us about its main challenge, which was to help her son adapt, we told them about the activities we provide at the centre.”
10. Med shot, Samer inside community centre playing with small ball.
11. Med shot, Samer and his mother sitting on the floor surrounded by other kids.
12. Med shot, Samer sitting alone on chair inside community centre.
13. Wide shot, Samer throwing ball to other children.
14. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Jessica Frem, caseworker, Caritas:
‘’Gradually, the children got used to Samer and are now more familiar with his ways of interacting. They’re becoming friends.’’
15. Wide shot, teacher introducing games to the children and Samer.
16. Wide shot, children holding hands and jumping to song.
17. Various shots, Samer and his mother walking on the street.
18. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Catrina Youssef, Samer’s mother:
‘’I feel very happy when I see him play and laugh. This calms him down and it makes me very happy.”
19. Close up, Catrina looking outside the window
20. Close up, Catrina on the balcony
21. Med shot, Catrina and Samer on the balcony

STORYLINE:

Ten-year-old Samer was born with autism in Mosul, Iraq. Struggling with his disability and needs for special care, Samer lived in isolation for years before a community centre in Lebanon offered him a chance to connect with other children.

This balcony is Samer’s window to the world.

SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Catrina Youssef, Samer’s mother:
‘’He looks at people passing by, waves at cars and looks at other children playing. He shouts at them and laughs. It is his own way of playing with them.’’

At the age of two, Samer was diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder, a condition that impairs his social communication and interaction skills. He needed a special schooling and care to help him improve. But during the war that consumed Mosul, for years, there was no school for children with special needs and the family couldn’t afford to send him to other schools in Iraq.

Eventually forced to flee the violence in Mosul, the family went to Lebanon. It’s there that Samer found an opportunity to attend a community centre where, for the first time ever, he is learning how to interact and play with other children.

SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Jessica Frem, caseworker, Caritas:
‘’When the family told us about its main challenge, which was to help her son adapt, we told them about the activities we provide at the centre.”

Being the only child with autism at the centre, things were hard for Samer at first. But slowly, he is adapting.

SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Jessica Frem, caseworker, Caritas:
‘’Gradually, the children got used to Samer and are now more familiar with his ways of interacting. They’re becoming friends.’’

Funded by UNHCR and managed by its partner Caritas, the community centre organizes activities that include education, games and workshops to help children learn communication skills, and engage with one another.

SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Catrina Youssef, Samer’s mother:
‘’I feel very happy when I see him play and laugh. This calms him down and it makes me very happy.”

In Lebanon, there are 111 Iraqi refugee children with specific needs. 13 of them have autism.