Video of visually impaired Palestinian boy crying over broken glasses draws global attention

Palestinian boy Ayoub Junaid given new glasses after video of his distress went viral – video Video of visually impaired Palestinian boy crying over broken glasses draws global attention Ayoub Junaid, seven, given new pair but needs surgery as Gaza’s children remain unable to access treatment A video of a seven-year-old Palestinian boy in Gaza who suffers from a severe visual impairment crying over his shattered glasses has drawn widespread attention across social and international media. The footage of Ayoub Junaid has shone a light on the plight of the many visually impaired children in Gaza who, because of Israel’s blockade and the devastation caused by the war, have been unable to access eye examinations, corrective lenses or specialist ophthalmic surgery. After the clip was viewed by tens of millions of people, Ayoub received a new pair of glasses. This good news, however, does not solve the underlying problem, as he urgently needs surgery. Ayoub’s mother, Eman Junaid, 30, displaced in the Gaza City port area, tells the Guardian her son’s problem began when he was two. “Ayoub suffers from very severe nearsightedness after having a fever illness,” she says. A doctor told Junaid that Ayoub’s vision would gradually improve as he got older, but the opposite happened – the prescription he required increased and the lenses he now needs are not available in Gaza. “We were preparing to travel for treatment, but the war started and everything stopped,” she adds. View image in fullscreen Ayoub holding his damaged glasses on 2 June. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images Ayoub rarely leaves his tent, Junaid says. When he wants to play with his siblings or other children, he clings tightly to his glasses and moves with extreme caution. He does not run, jump or move freely. The doctors warned the family not to let him engage in strenuous activities because any fall or blow could cause further damage to his retinas. Ayoub used to ask his mother why he was different from other children. He often asks her: “Why don’t the other children wear glasses like me? Why can’t I move like them? Why can’t I go to school like them?” “At the end of April, while walking with a family member along a road strewn with rubble, he fell and struck his face on the ground, breaking the glasses,” his mother says. “He burst into tears, rolled on the ground and desperately tried to piece them back together. For Ayoub, those glasses were everything. Even with them, he cannot see clearly and often has to hold objects just inches from his face. But without them, he can barely move around at all.” His family says the time Ayoub spent without glasses was particularly distressing. For three or four days, he rarely left a corner of the tent and was unable to move around without assistance. When he tried to walk on his own, he would crouch close to the ground, bringing his eyes near the floor in an effort to make out his surroundings. Relatives said they repeatedly tried to repair his glasses, b