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On Feb.19, 2011, Mr. Badi, a student, joined the uprising that had begun two days earlier. Despite not having any military training, he and his fellow shabab (or “boys”) in Misrata, a city on the Mediterranean Sea, battled well-armed Gaddafi forces. Mr. Badi’s brother was killed and he was captured after being shot on March 28. He was held until Aug. 20, the day the rebels overtook Tripoli, Libya’s capital.

“I told the men beating me that I wished they would just kill me. I begged them to kill me, but they said, ‘No.’ They preferred me alive so they could keep doing what they were doing.” Electric shock was used on Mr. Badi during his nearly five months in captivity. His nose and cheekbones were broken. His ribs cracked. As he told his story, the 24-year-old with soft, brown eyes often spoke with a shy smile that connoted both incredulity over his ordeal and a sense of resolve that has amazed his new neighbours in Toronto.

“The spirit of these people is unbelievable. They are so uplifting,” said Harvey Brown, a concierge of the building in the Entertainment District where seven of the freedom fighters reside. The Libyans are cheerful and eager to practice their English. “If you have a bad day, all you have to do is look at these guys and think about what they’ve been through and you can’t stay sad for long.”

The Red Cross contributed funds for Mr. Badi’s nine previous surgeries — which included repairing those broken bones — in Turkey and Belarus. The Libyan government is paying for his knee surgery at Toronto General hospital as well as the medical care for the other injured soldiers, some of whom fought in Benghazi, where the revolution began.