Seeing the bright smiles on Khaldon Abo Shakra, 25, when he danced merrily as a regular with the KL Dance Alliance (also known as KL Social Society or KLSS), one would never imagine that he was a refugee from war-torn Syria, who was living alone in Malaysia without his family.
Welcomed warmly, this soft-spoken, polite lad was super friendly and open, ready to meet and dance with anyone since he joined on 14 May 2023 the KLSS free classes conducted by Meyer Stansberry and Alena (Nina) Abdul Aziz. So bright was his presence that a regular, Joanna (Jo Jo) Lim, began to wonder why he stopped attending after a while – for he was absent from end-August 2023.
While browsing through Facebook feeds, Joanna found the hidden truth when she “stumbled upon a video of a man cliff jumping”. Finding his smile familiar and thinking “What an adventurous young individual full of life!”, she reached out to him via FB Messenger and this led to KLSS rallying to help their adopted family member – affectionally nicknamed Khal.
This Damascus University undergrad had been working as a 16-year-old customer service assistant at Effelin Jewelry in the southwestern Syrian city of As-Suwayda (also spelled Sweida or Swaida) since end-May 2015 till June 2017 – as he had applied to leave his family in Syria to come to Malaysia on a refugee programme and arrived in October 2017.
March 2018 saw him start on a 3-month stint at Jack The Clipper Barbershop in Kuala Lumpur and much later at Bada Hair Korean Hair Salon. But job opportunities were scarce and it was only in March 2021 that he became a lifeguard with swim classes outfit SwimIn21 in Petaling Jaya.
Around mid-July 2023, he shared with some fellow KLSS dancers about having issues with his neck – but even he didn’t know then that was the harbinger of some really bad news. Fellow KLSS dance partner Linda Risha shared with Nina that Khal was having some breathing issues due to a lump on his neck and was awaiting results from medical tests. He shared the neck lump was impending his ability to teach swimming to his students – but how bad its impact was only came in late August when Khal received a shocking diagnosis.
His journey from war-torn beginnings to building a promising future in Malaysia had been abruptly disrupted by the life-threatening diagnosis of T-lymphoblastic Lymphoma / Leukemia. He revealed this bad news in mid-September when Joanna met him for lunch. She was aghast to learn he had been diagnosed with these two types of cancers and was battling these illnesses by himself with no family by his side – and upon reaching out to Meyer and Nina, she persuaded Khal to accept the help that the KLSS community was ready to extend to him.
“Because of the severity of the illness and the treatment needed, he is unable to work and needs funds to pay for his medical and living expenses. I can’t imagine what it must be like – to have battled hard to make a new life for oneself, only to be saddled with yet another major challenge, all in a new land by yourself,” wrote Joanna in a blog post that was supported by both Meyer and Nina to rally the KLSS community to help Khal.
“What began as a minor neck swelling quickly escalated into a life-threatening diagnosis of T-lymphoblastic lymphoma/Leukemia. The bulge in his neck grew, making even breathing a challenge,” Meyer wrote in the KLSS appeal via the GoFundMe Page for Khal set up end-September 2023. The rally raised around RM22,000 – which helped defray costs for the six-month treatment plan, including cycles of chemotherapy and living expenses.
Sadly, Khal breathed his last while with his family in Syria. His infectious smile and being a beacon of hope, resilience, and unwavering determination, he will always be remembered by the KLSS community and beyond.
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Khaldon did not lose his battle with cancer. He lived graciously and courageously with it until the very end.
Just like Meyer said, “let Khal’s grace and his courage be reminder to us all”. The video of Khal cliff jumping with many kinesiology tapes showed that he was suffering in great pain and yet, never did he complain or give up hopes. His bravery and courageous inspiring and teaching us, he won his battle in very important ways.
He was a wonderful role model right to the end.
I am immensely grateful to Meyer, Nina and KLSS dance community for all you have done for Khal. KLSS had played a crucial role in fundraising and emotion support that Khal needed.
It was a meaningful journey we chose to do together to help Khal during his darkest hours.