A DOUBLE amputee riding his wheelchair from Glasgow to Gaza to highlight the horrors in the territory has raised more than £6000 in the first stage of his campaign.
Having faced poor weather while trying to get from Dunbar to Coldstream across the Lammermuirs in his wheelchair, Shaho Qadir set off from Henderson Park on the next stage of his journey to Alnwick on Saturday.
Qadir lost both legs when he was 13 years old, when Saddam Hussein bombed his hometown, Halabja, in the Kurdish autonomous region in Iraq.
Now, 50 years old, Qadir said, watching Israel’s war on Gaza makes his “heart so sad”, as he sees little kids without their legs or arms due to the ongoing genocide.
Watching the devastation unfold in Gaza over the past 23 months, Qadir previously told The National that he can no longer sit by without taking action.
He plans to wheel from Scotland to Palestine in a bid to spread awareness about the ongoing catastrophic situation, and to try to prevent any more children from suffering loss of limbs.
Starting the second stage, Qadir has already raised £6000. After journeying through England, he will wheel through France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Monaco, Italy, Albania, North Macedonia, Greece, Lebanon and Jordan to reach Gaza in 7 months time.
Qadir is raising money for aid projects across Gaza and also the Gaza Sunbirds, Palestine`s Para-cycling team of amputee athletes. He is also being supported by Solidarity Rising – the International Human Rights organisation.
Qadir has been guided across the Borders and from Coldstream to Alnwick by local cycling volunteers.
Supporters from across the Borders gathered on Saturday to give Qadir an enthusiastic send off from Coldstream, with one stating: "On his long journey we have to hope he does not have another day like the one he had in the Borders on Friday."
