New limbs, new life for little Mustafa

A Syrian child born with no arms or legs after his mother was caught in a gas attack during pregnancy has been flown to Italy to receive four prosthetic limbs, after a fundraising campaign.

Thanks to donations of €114,000 (NZ$192,000), Mustafa alNazzal, 5, will be treated at the world-class INAIL prosthetic centre near Bologna. ‘‘It will be a complicated job, but we aim to allow Mustafa to live an autonomous life,’’ said Gregorio Teti, the centre’s technical director.

Mustafa’s condition has been blamed on the toxins his mother inhaled while pregnant when the Syrian army dropped gas on Idlib province in 2016.

The family fled to Turkey, where Mustafa was photographed being hoisted into the air by his father, who lost a leg during a bomb attack in Syria. Despite their handicaps, father and son were smiling with delight.

After the photographer won a prize in the Siena International Photo Awards and the photo drew worldwide acclaim, the awards organisers launched a charity appeal for Mustafa.

‘‘We feared that after the attention to the photo died down, the boy would get no help,’’ said Luca Venturi, the founder of the awards.

As money poured in for new limbs for Mustafa, and a new leg for his father, the Italian government helped with visas to bring the pair, as well as Mustafa’s mother and two younger sisters, to Italy.

Before the family flew to Italy, Mustafa’s father told Italian media: ‘‘Mustafa is really happy. He has said he will finally be able to walk, hug me and go to school on his own.’’