Gaza people to be helped by 3 brothers all who are doctors

Dr Firas Diab, Dr Ahmad Diab, and Dr Nawras Diab have been increasing their skills on a course hosted by the University of Bolton, to prepare for the type of injuries they may be dealing with.

This can include anything from bomb blast and gunshot wounds to severe crush injuries caused by collapsing buildings.

Dr Firas – who is a GP and paediatric surgeon, said: “It’s a new experience for us to deal with such cases and it doesn’t matter where it is whether it’s in Gaza or somewhere else; it’s another category of patients.

“These are patients who really need help.”

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More than 27,000 people have been killed and 66,000 wounded by Israel’s offensive in Gaza, the Hamas-controlled territory’s health ministry said on Thursday.

And as a father the conflict made the situation even more real to Dr Ahmad, who says he feels for the parents who can’t see their children, and he cries at the sight of his son because of how grateful he is.

Dr Ahmad said: “One of the reasons I want to go to Gaza is because of my son who is three years old.

“Every day when I wake up and go to sleep and see him and he’s still breathing, I cry because many parents can’t see their children.

“And I discussed this with my family, and they support me.

Dr Nawras Diab (Image: Newsquest)“And even when I look in my child’s eyes, I am so grateful that he is still alive.

“I feel for the parents as a father, so I am not going to stay here, I have to help people.”

Dr Nawras who is a heart surgeon has seen the war in Syria, which is where he was born, and wants to do whatever he can to help the situation.

Whilst his brothers are also from Syria, they did not witness the war.

He said: “Our purpose here is to learn how we can help people and to save lives, and Gaza is a conflict area and the people there need serious help.”

Being a plastic surgeon, Dr Ahmad says that he sees many cold cases, but people in Gaza have a high medical need at the moment, and he says it is his pleasure to go there.

Dr Ahmad: “As a plastic surgeon we work with many cold cases, but after this war, you see many victims in Gaza especially, and they have many problems with their medical needs there.

“There are only a few doctors, a few surgeons, and a few specialists, and their equipment is not prepared for this kind of surgery.

“So, it’s our pleasure to be here and to deal with real life situations to help train us.

“Our aim is to help people in Gaza and to deal with those injuries with simple techniques and instruments, as we do here.”

Dr Firas added: “It gives you another meaning and another perspective to your job.

“In our daily life, we get up and go to cold cases and finish them, and maybe with some complications, but you go back with a cold feeling, and you don’t have any stress.

“But when you go there and really save a young person, or a baby, or just another person, you have another feeling for your job, and maybe you will look to yourself as a doctor and say ‘okay, I did a really good thing today’.”

Dr Ahmad says that they do not need any connection to the people in Gaza, other than an understanding that they are human.

The brothers say that they dreamed of becoming doctors to help people regardless of where anyone is from.

Dr Ahmad said: “We don’t need to have any relation with these people, because they are human.

“And as our doctors our promise is to help people regardless of what they are coming from, and now the need in Gaza is number one because many people’s lives have been destroyed, and they have no food, or any medical help.”

Dr Firas added: “As a child we dreamt of being doctors to help people, and now we have the opportunity to help these people.”

During the hostile environment surgical training course, doctors from different hospitals and as far away as Sri Lanka and Denmark, learned about every field of trauma surgery.
Dr Nawras has travelled from south Germany, Dr Firas travelled from mid-west Germany, and Dr Ahmad came from Sweden.

Doctors practised their techniques on ‘Heston’, a one-of-a-kind human war wound simulator, 3D-printed kidneys, silicone hearts, blood vessels, tracheas and bones.

Dr Firas said: “We have learnt a lot of new things here with our colleagues, and PalMed and The David Nott Foundation who organised this, which is amazing.”

Dr Ahmad added: “The things we learned here, and the things we are going to do in Gaza are an honour to us.”

After extensive conversations with their families, they have given them their full support.

The David Nott Foundation is the only humanitarian charity delivering surgical training to doctors working in countries impacted by conflict and catastrophe.

The four days of training was led by the David Nott Foundation in partnership with PalMed Europe.

Each of the doctors has made their own plans to volunteer in Palestine through different organisations.

In December, other facilities in Bolton were used by the Foundation in conjunction with the organisation PalMed to upskill 42 doctors, many of whom also planned to travel to Palestine to offer their help.

Professor George E Holmes, DL, President and Vice Chancellor, said: “This exciting partnership between University of Bolton, Greater Manchester, and the David Nott Foundation underscores our unwavering commitment to addressing the needs of the diverse communities that we serve.

“As we look forward to seeing our new undergraduate medical courses approved by the General Medical Council this year, this collaboration is highly valued.”

If you have a story and something you would like to highlight in the community, please email me at jasmine.jackson@newsquest.co.uk or DM me on Twitter @JournoJasmine.