Do you remember the story of the Cat Man of Aleppo? This Syrian man, named Mohammad Alaa Aljaleel takes care of over 100 cats who were left behind in the war. He even built a sanctuary “11 Gattaro d’ Aleppo” for these homeless creatures and a playground next door so children could play and visit the cats.
But all that has changed earlier this week. His cat sanctuary was bombed on November 16. Several cats and his guard dog named Hope was killed in the explosion. Many of the cats were badly injured. The situation turned from bad to worse yesterday, when there was another attack with chlorine, and now all the sanctuary animals need to be moved completely.
Aljaleel isn’t giving up on these cats even in the hardest times. Now, the cat shelter needs to be relocated as soon as possible. Although it’s hard to send help and supplies to Syria, Alaa does have an angel, Alessandra Abidin, who helps him through the sanctuary’s social media. She owns a private Facebook group, when you can offer your help and donate. Thousands of people have been killed in Syria in the airstrikes from either Russian or Syrian fighter jets. The last airstrike that hit the cat sanctuary also hit a children’s hospital and a blood bank, and since now 32 are reportedly dead.
It’s heartbreaking when you hear how many innocent souls suffer in war, especially children and animals. Mankind must put an end to war!