After losing his leg, Asem Hasna gained a mission. The 22-year-old volunteer paramedic, only moments after loading injured rebels into an ambulance to take them to receive medical care, lost his own leg to a shell launched by Bashar Al Assad’s military forces. For the first five minutes, Hasna was deafened by the explosion and too stunned to realize he had been seriously injured. The grave nature of his injuries soon became abundantly clear, however, as his leg hemorrhaged and he passed in and out of consciousness.
As Hasna undertook his journey to recovery, he became part of a combined effort between the Red Cross and the State Department to train Syrians as prosthetic technicians. This initiative is of vital importance as the number of those injured in the Syrian conflict continues to mount at an alarming rate. It didn’t take long for Hasna to recognize the enormous potential offered through 3D printing technology.
As he explained in an interview with TechCrunch:
“It was weird. I knew how a 2D printer worked but I wanted to find out more about 3D printers and learnt voraciously on the web using open source software. You just have to practice and use your own hands. There’s practical applications using 3D printers for low cost solutions. My world opened up with open source technology. It changed my life for the better and I want to pass that on to the next generation.”
Unfortunately, the Jordanian government began to crack down on Syrian refugees as it began to feel the strain of having accepted something on the order of a million displaced people, and Hasna had to seek asylum elsewhere. Even more unfortunate is the fact that the journey to do so was one equal in danger to his original flight from Syria. Again finding himself the recipient of a healthy dose of luck, he is currently in Germany awaiting acceptance of his asylum papers…and dreaming of new ways to provide assistance to those in need through 3D printing. Discuss further in the Syrian Technician Makes 3D Printed Prosthetics forum over at 3DPB.com.
[Source/Images: TechCrunch]