The Cat Man
From Aleppo

In the midst of war, where children and animals suffer the most, cats and dogs become silent witnesses to the pain. But they are also healers — offering comfort, love, and a sense of normalcy to those who need it most. 
  

That’s why we owe so much gratitude to Mohammad Alaa Al'Jaleel. He not only became a loving “daddy” to countless abandoned cats and dogs but has also given so many children a small piece of their stolen childhood back through his pet therapy. 

He truly has “… a heart of gold in a world torn apart,” as the words in the song “The Cat Man from Aleppo.” say.

 This song is available to share on our YouTube channel. https://youtu.be/kFQ2n7waA1c

(Note: The song „The Cat Man from Aleppo“ was created with the help of AI.)

Recently, devastating fires broke out in the Latakia countryside, destroying 15,000 hectares of forest. This region was one of the last forested areas in Syria to serve as both a natural refuge for local wildlife and a climate barrier against drought.

Mohammad Alaa Aljaleel received distress calls from local residents concerned about animals trapped there. Alaa went to help the rescuers on the ground.

The fire situation was catastrophic. Due to a lack of roads, civil defense teams were unable to contain the fires. Furthermore, the zone was once a front line between the Assad regime's army and the rebels and rescue workers had to deal with mine explosions. Despite a lack of resources, there are no casualties among civilians or rescue workers thanks to coordination and solidarity.

After the fires were extinguished, Mohammad Alaa Al'Jaleel returned to the region to provide food for the residents and to search for owners of the rescued animals.
 

As other fires are hitting several other local regions, we want to equip the shelter with firefighting equipment and other devices, so our rescue team can help people who only have their own hands and a few buckets of water to try to save from the flames their plots of land and a few possessions.

Besides the equipment, funds raised would be used for the fuel for the rescue vehicle and to provide food and water to the volunteer rescuers who are tirelessly working at this critical time in several local regions.

https://gofund.me/221bb6b8 

 

View photos

The book - in English - features 14 short rescue stories that represent only a tiny fraction of the rescue work Alaa has been doing for more than a decade in war-torn Syria. 

This book tells the story of Alaa using examples of his rescue efforts, his work with stray animals and his pet therapy for children, which distinguishes his work from other animal shelters.

Alaa has full copyright and all proceeds are donated to support the shelter.

For those who woukd like to obtain a copy, the suggested price is 
20 €/$ per copy, of which 15 €/$ will be donated to the animal shelter, while 5 €/$ will be considered as a contribution to the total shipping costs.

If you are interested, please use the following link to make your donation:

https://gofund.me/4cbdcb50

Then send an email to [email protected], specify the number of copies and leave your name and postal address.

Every year, the Golden Star Award aims to recognise and celebrate those who have selflessly dedicated their lives to improving the well-being of animals worldwide. The Golden Star Award is a tribute to those remarkable individuals who have made exceptional contributions to animal welfare, veterinary medicine, and wildlife conservation. This award serves as a beacon of hope, shining light on the dedication and compassion that drives these unsung heroes and it's also about inspiring others to join the cause. [Source: www.worldwidevets.com]

This is more than a token of appreciation for Mohammad Alaa Al'Jaleel’s dedication and hard work, this is an important recognition of trust in his mission and we are all proud of him!

Nominator's quote:

"Mohammad Alaa Aljaleel, known worldwide as the “Cat Man of Aleppo” or “Cat Man from Aleppo”, was at one time an ambulance driver and a rescue worker during the siege of Aleppo. In September of ten years ago, while displaced by the war, he started to locate and care for pets abandoned by fleeing owners and also to rescue animals injured during the bombings. He set up a first shelter and sanctuary that was subsequently bombed several times. For this and other reasons, he had to relocate and rebuild his animal sanctuary, a few times, in safer areas.

The world started to hear about him after the first ever international media coverage, a 2014 article in the Daily Mail. Then, his story touched the hearts of millions when his sanctuary featured in a BBC video in 2016. That year, he was a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize.

And as we say, the rest is history… Over the years, Alaa and his work at the sanctuary has inspired documentaries, books, conferences and received international acclaim and attention from the media and the world. His story offers a unique perspective on both war and humanity. And today we celebrate a unique and remarkable humanitarian figure.

To mark his 10th anniversary of rescue mission, Dr Amir Khalil from Four Paws sent him the following message :

"Dear Alaa,

Congratulations on your incredible work for the animals in the past 10 years! You are a hero who gave a personal commitment to bring a ray of light in these dark times. It takes a dedicated mind and a strong will to make things happen. I am delighted to know you in person and I admire your tremendous efforts. Thank you for being such a great person and for everything you do for the animals! For many years ahead, my friend!

Dr. Amir Khalil, Four Paws International"

A few days ago (October 22) the documentary "CATMAN" by film director Seyid Colak was officially launched at the Kayseri Film Festivali in Turkey. It is based on Mohammad Alaa Al'Jaleel's story. It will now tour in international film festivals.

We think that especially this year he really deserves a Golden Star Award."

Although our "Cat Man From Aleppo" did not win this award, this does not mean that his work was not recognised and praised by Worldwide Vets, you can see in below message that was just addressed to Alaa:

“Hi Muhammad,

I want to offer you a huge congratulations for being nominated for the Worldwide Vets Golden Star Award 2023. It has been wonderful to find out more about your work and spread awareness of your cause.

I am delighted to award you with the attached medal, which is a representation not only of the great work you are doing, but also a symbol of verification, which can be proudly displayed on your website or documentation. This image signifies that your commitment to animal welfare has been thoroughly vetted and recognized by our ethics committee. In a world where authenticity is paramount, this serves not only as a badge of honor, but is also a testament to your transparency and high standards of professionalism. It is a mark of trust and confidence that collaborators can rely upon. If you place this image on a website we recommend you put a hyperlink to our site, so people can check the authenticity of the award and even nominate you again in the future. You can use www.worldwidevets.com.

Again I want to congratulate you for this nomination and wish you all the best going forwards.

Kind regards,

Worldwide Vets"

What a way to mark the 10th anniversary of Alaa's rescue mission! 

The documentary "Catman" by Seyid Çolak illustrates the story, kindness, rescue mission and the endless efforts of our Mohammad Alaa Al'Jaleel to save stray and injured cats and to help his community. 

The film premiered on 22 October 2023 at the 11th Kayseri Altın Çınar Film Festival and was subsequently screened at several film festivals.

We are very grateful for the attention and the awareness the documentary is providing to Alaa's mission and we do hope it will continue to be shown at other important festivals around the world.

In the first hours following the initial earthquake that struck Syria and Turkey on 6 February 2023, Mohammed Alaa Al’Jaleel didn’t wait for emergency or humanitarian aid to reach Northwest Syria. With his sanctuary team, they went on the front line in the nearby, affected areas, searching and saving lives, removing rubble, and doing what they could with what they had available.  Alaa has years of experience as an ambulance driver and as a hands-on rescuer in Aleppo, Syria. 

The dangers in searching the rubble of destroyed buildings is not new to him; the only major difference in searching bombed buildings due to  warfare in Aleppo, and searching buildings destroyed by this earthquake is now he thinks about aftershocks, rather than unexploded ordinance and artillery or missile fire. Since the devastating seismic event, they have traveled many kilometres, reaching as many villages as possible. They have, thanks to the support of staff members from his local animal sanctuary group, family, and friends, been able to deliver food, water, necessity products and more to both victims and to rescuers.  

They were constantly assisting with rescue missions, both of humans and animals, and were fortunate to have a used ambulance from the animal sanctuary to assist in everything from transport of people, transport of injured, or lost animals, and transport of needed food and water to those most in need. 

In the wake of the earthquakes, Alaa reconnected with Dr. Amir Khalil and old friends from the highly respected international animal rescue organization Four Paws. He first became known to Four Paws as they worked with him to rescue a group of zoo animals left to starve at the Magic World Zoo in Aleppo several years ago. Four Paws has generously given Alaa a large quantity of bagged pet kibble, which he shared with others in the area who were in need of pet food. They also gave a fairly large quantity of much needed medicines. We feel very honored and humbled by the trust that Four Paws has put in us, and we hope to collaborate with them even more in the future.

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