Dima is a young Syrian woman, a survivor of a bombing in 2012, a refugee, an athlete and an accomplished fundraiser. She now resides permanently in the United Kingdom, where she trains intensively with the goal of joining the British Olympic team in upcoming competitions. Her life story earned her the Arab Woman of the Year Award in 2023, granted by the London-based Arab Organization.
At 31, Dima Atkaa radiates the splendor of the Eastern sun. Her serene face and deep grey eyes carry the quiet strength forged through the hardest battles. Her features and long black hair—typical of Syrian Muslim women—captured the attention of the entire United Kingdom in 2020. Her story went global, and in 2022 the BBC included her among the 100 most inspiring and influential women in the world.
What made her unforgettable was her refusal to remain passive in the face of the vulnerability so many endured during the pandemic. She stepped forward to launch an urgent and necessary campaign—not to promote beauty products, perfumes or luxury fashion, but to raise funds to vaccinate refugees trapped in overcrowded camps against COVID-19.
The initiative was a major success in England, raising around £70,000. The support reached its destination through UNHCR health authorities, helping protect thousands of people whose suffering was compounded by hunger, lack of clean water, inadequate shelter and the absence of a clear future. Entire families living in extreme hardship received vaccines, reducing the severe impacts of COVID-19 within communities already devastated by conflict.
Dima, a Light on the Track of Life
Today, Dima is a successful Syrian-born fundraiser with British citizenship who had to fight her own battle for survival after experiencing life as a refugee. She is now an inspiration to young people and adults alike, admired for her resilience and determination. Dima is also a Paralympic athlete and competed in the 2024 Paris Games.
Her tragedy occurred in 2012, when her family home in Syria collapsed after a bomb strike.
“In an instant, the world went dark—nothing but smoke and dust. I was with my mother. We both survived, but I immediately knew I had lost my left leg,” she recalled.
Running had been her daily joy, her grounding ritual, and she lost it in a single moment. Yet she refused to give up. A decade later, living safely in the UK, she became a rising Olympic-level athlete. Equipped with a specialised prosthetic leg, her former hobby transformed into a passion—and step by step, into a career that led her to compete for the British Paralympic team.
After leading the fundraising campaign to vaccinate refugees during the pandemic, Dima was named an honorary member of England’s alternative national football team, the Lionhearts. Her life story was later featured—and celebrated—in the music video “Beautiful” by British pop star Anne-Marie.
In her limited free time, she enjoys being with her close-knit family or going out with friends. She continues to support refugee-related initiatives and actively promotes peace among communities. In athletics, she advocates for awareness around the inherent strength of people living with disabilities.
For all these reasons, Dima’s life story has already earned—beyond the track—a brilliant gold medal: radiant, powerful and unmistakable, just like her.
