For two decades, his job and purpose in life was to heal people. But Dr Mohammed Abu Mughaisib also wanted to stay alive. So, when he could no longer even look after himself, and the hunger was too much to bear, he took a rare chance to leave Gaza. I would never have imagined starving, the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) medic said. But my head hurt and I had pain in my stomach from starvation.
Dr Abu Mughaisib, who had worked non-stop at hospitals throughout Gaza over the past two years, was evacuated to Ireland in mid-September, along with students taking up scholarships. Safe and fed, he reflects on his experiences working in increasingly dire conditions as Israel's offensive destroyed critical infrastructure. The decision was very difficult, he told me, sitting in a peaceful park in Dublin. The contrast between the two worlds was almost overwhelming for him.
I'm physically here but my heart and soul are in Gaza, he said. It's very strange seeing people living a normal life, and it will take time to get used to it.
Dr Abu Mughaisib was in charge of operations for MSF in the Gaza Strip, and described the dire consequences of the past two years of war. Hospitals were overwhelmed with casualties as medics themselves struggled with starvation: At one point, among doctors and nurses, the only topic of conversation in the hospital was food, and the desperate hunt for it. Starving doctors were treating malnutrition, he said.
He shared stories of patients lying on the ground, so overwhelmed were the facilities. In the intensive care unit, they wait for someone to die, to admit another critical patient.
As he recalls his experience, he expresses sorrow over leaving colleagues behind, some of whom have lost their lives in this ongoing conflict. I'm happy that I'm a survivor, he explained, but I'm sad that I left behind my colleagues and my people.
The devastation in Gaza is palpable. Dr Abu Mughaisib described the overwhelming destruction and the suffering of both staff and patients in hospitals due to lack of resources and continuous bombings. The international community, he urges, must provide support to heal the deep physical and emotional wounds left by this conflict. Everything is lost, he lamented. Healing will take a long time, and the people will need the support of the world to heal them.\
Dr Abu Mughaisib, who had worked non-stop at hospitals throughout Gaza over the past two years, was evacuated to Ireland in mid-September, along with students taking up scholarships. Safe and fed, he reflects on his experiences working in increasingly dire conditions as Israel's offensive destroyed critical infrastructure. The decision was very difficult, he told me, sitting in a peaceful park in Dublin. The contrast between the two worlds was almost overwhelming for him.
I'm physically here but my heart and soul are in Gaza, he said. It's very strange seeing people living a normal life, and it will take time to get used to it.
Dr Abu Mughaisib was in charge of operations for MSF in the Gaza Strip, and described the dire consequences of the past two years of war. Hospitals were overwhelmed with casualties as medics themselves struggled with starvation: At one point, among doctors and nurses, the only topic of conversation in the hospital was food, and the desperate hunt for it. Starving doctors were treating malnutrition, he said.
He shared stories of patients lying on the ground, so overwhelmed were the facilities. In the intensive care unit, they wait for someone to die, to admit another critical patient.
As he recalls his experience, he expresses sorrow over leaving colleagues behind, some of whom have lost their lives in this ongoing conflict. I'm happy that I'm a survivor, he explained, but I'm sad that I left behind my colleagues and my people.
The devastation in Gaza is palpable. Dr Abu Mughaisib described the overwhelming destruction and the suffering of both staff and patients in hospitals due to lack of resources and continuous bombings. The international community, he urges, must provide support to heal the deep physical and emotional wounds left by this conflict. Everything is lost, he lamented. Healing will take a long time, and the people will need the support of the world to heal them.\
