AMMAN:
Having spent most of his life at home due to illness, the love of Jordanian Amer Abu Nawas Rugby It has pushed him to social media stardom.
Offering match analysis from Europe’s leading football leagues to almost a quarter of a million followers, his Facebook page – “HouseAnalyzer” in Arabic – has grew up in what he describes as a “big family”.
The 27-year-old was born with osteogenesis, or brittle bone disease, a rare disease that interferes with the normal growth of bones which means he rarely leaves his home in Zarqa, 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the capital of Jordan to Amman.
“It’s true that I’ve never played football in my life, and I’ve never participated in a game, but for me football is everything,” Abu Nawas told AFP.
With no schools in the country that met his needs, Abu Nawas grew up spending most of his time watching soccer games, researching teams and playing football video games.
“This made me feel like I was being transported from this world to another world,” he said.
His family noticed his passion and encouraged him to publish his research on the internet.
In 2017, he launched his Facebook account, which has more than 243,000 followers.
Recorded on a phone in his bedroom, Abu Nawas’s videos often show him wearing a soccer jersey, showing interest in sports and news from the world of football.
In discussing leagues from England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, he sometimes uses a football scoreboard to explain the technical characteristics.
One of Abu Nawas’s latest videos has reached more than 1.4 million viewers and he has started posting it on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and Twitter.
He said he is thankful for modern technology that has allowed him to communicate with many people.
“From this room, from this small place separated from the world, I was able to cross these walls, reach people, communicate with them, create content, and become who I am now,” he said.
He expressed his sadness that sometimes the attackers see each other in the comments on his posts, saying that his relationship with his followers is “like a family”.
“This family is growing day by day, and I hope it will reach as many followers as possible,” he said. added.
Abu Nawas’ family has done their best to make a happy life for him.
He is the youngest of three brothers and his father is a doctor and his mother is a pharmacist.
In his room there are shelves with a PlayStation, a computer and plastic bags that store things that may be needed.
On his bed are telephones, remote controls, headphones and a long stick used to reach distant objects.
“He has his own world, in a room with a temperature of 27 degrees to avoid cold and pneumonia. He can use anything using the remote,” said a his father Yussef to AFP.
He said his son has friends who visit sometimes.
“When he feels bad, they take him out for a picnic in a minibus,” he said.
Abu Nawas lamented that in Jordan “no one cares” about people with diseases like him, and said he wished he had the opportunity to go to school.
“The situation for people with disabilities is complicated,” he said.
“I can’t learn because there are no special schools for people like me”.
Last year, the organizers of the soccer World Cup invite him to participate in the tour in Qatar.
But due to the difficulty of traveling related to his condition, he arrived late and missed the games he planned to attend.
However, Abu Nawas said it was “the best days of my life”.
“I know my situation, I have learned to be content, and I will stay with it,” he said.
“Disability should not be an obstacle to success.”
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