Abdiqadir Salah was seriously injured alongside his two siblings in what a Guardian investigation found was a US drone strike on the village of Jamaame. The attack killed at least 12 civilians, including eight children. Shrapnel from the missile had become embedded in the boy's back, and doctors feared he would lose his ability to walk without an operation.
His mother, Marian Haji Abdi Guled, could not afford the surgery. The family spent 10 months in Mogadishu with growing expenses and no income, unable to return to their village. After the Guardian investigation told their story, a group of readers from around the world raised enough money within hours to cover Abdiqadir's treatment and rehabilitation, as well as medical expenses for his other two children, who sustained less extensive injuries.
“I was so happy when I found out that Guardian readers raised the money needed for my son’s surgery. I didn’t know people like this existed,” Guled said. “The people who contributed to the surgery – I really appreciate their support and how they stood by our family when we needed it the most.”
The surgery took place at Kaafi hospital in Mogadishu. Guled waited anxiously, knocking on the operating room door when the procedure took longer than expected. Doctors successfully removed two pieces of shrapnel but decided that removing the final piece was too risky, as it could cause paralysis. They will monitor his condition.
Weeks later, the boy appeared bright and energetic. “I have one piece of metal still in me, and if they touch it, I might become paralysed,” Abdiqadir said. “I don’t have any problem with the last piece of metal in my body, because I’m no longer in pain.”