Some days, we see that the world is filled with hate and bad people, but other days we hear things like the story of Alaa which give us hope for a better world. This man has earned the respect of thousands for his actions...
Dozens of abandoned cats
Mohammad Alaa Aljaleel lives in Alep Syria. You are probably aware of how badly the country has been devastated by war and violence. Many people have left the city in the hope of finding safer places to stay. But for Alaa, it is not as simple. He can't bring himself to leave knowing how many lives depend on him.
Alaa looked after a few dogs and over 170 cats. All these cats were abandonned after the departure of the citizens of Alep. It was therefore natural that all these cats came to Alaa, who fed them and cared for them.
Alaa, cat savior
The courageous actions of Alaa spread around the city. When families wanted to leave the country, they left them systematically in the hands of Alaa, hoping that he would take care of them.
A little girl that had had her cat since birth left him to Alaa. Her parents wanted to leave the city and it was impossible to take the cat with them. The girl begged Alaa to send her photos of her cat. Alaa, touched by the little girl's love for her cat, promised to send photos as often as possible. "Do you think that I could get my cat back when I come back?" cried the little girl.
The group of cats started at 20 but then grew to over 100. Trying to find a home for all these cats, Alaa founded the sanctuary that he named Il Gattoro d'Aleppo.
This man is clearly the cat savior we all needed. Every day, he risks his life under the bombings in order to look after his new family.
For Alaa, liking people also means liking all living beings. And animals make up a huge part of that. This is why he takes the time and the trouble to save animals - they are equal in value. As he explained in his interview with the BBC, the bombings are his new normal, so he does everything he can to help the cats and add just a little bit of happiness to the world.
Here is the interview that Alaa gave to the BBC about what he does every day for these cats:
What do you think of this story? What would you do in Alaa's shoes?
Sources : Facebook Nobel Peace Price to Alaa