Ammar Ali is the captain of Iraq's national wheelchair fencing team. Most of the team members' disabilities are the result of injuries sustained either in the Iraq War or in terrorist attacks.

In 2007, a bomb explosion near his home left Ammar unable to walk. It took him a long time to convince himself that life was worth living again. Wheelchair fencing has given him a second chance. Just a year after joining the team, he won a gold medal at the 2010 Asian Paralympics in Guangzhou, China. It inspired not only Ammar himself but all disabled Iraqis. 

"I believe that Iraq as a country is still alive. There may be those who want to divide us. But we'll find a way of keeping the Iraqi people together," he said.