Ali Eymen is two-and-a-half years old and suffers with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), a deadly disease that severely limits his movement. Eymen has been connected to a machine for nine months, and needs gene therapy to recover. His family has asked for help from authorities and citizens and has now started an aid campaign for Eymen’s treatment.
Ali Eymen’s Zolgensma gene therapy treatment costs £2m and is not covered by the Social Security Institution in Turkey. While many people in Turkey contributed to Eymen’s, they have not yet gathered the sum required to cover costs, so the campaign has now spread to the UK.
Civil society organisations in Britain campaign for Ali
The Alevi community in Britain and democratic organisations have come together to help Eymen. Representatives of the democratic mass organisations in Britain met at the Enfield Alevi Cultural Centre and began the campaign to raise money.
British Alevi Federation President İsrafil Erbil said children like Ali Eymen were left to die because SMA patients could not receive treatment. Enfield’s Mayor Sabri Özaydın made a speech to draw awareness to the campaign. Enfield’s Alevi Cultural Centre and Cemevi and Dersim Der, as well as the Alevi Faith Committee, called for wide participation in support of the campaign.
