UAE doc who heals wounds in Yemen
abu dhabi — Dr Amin El Gohary is someone who has seen the human cost of war at close quarters.
The paediatric surgeon at Burjeel Hospital has left the comforts of his air-conditioned consultation room and ventured into the conflict zones in Yemen with just one mission: to save the lives of children trapped in the war-torn country.
Being on the front line of war during his four missions to Yemen between 2015 and 2017, the 69year old Egyptian doctor has brought hope and life to the most vulnerable patients.
Dr El Gohary, along with Dr Ahmad Maasheer, a laparoscopic surgeon and Dr Said Eleslam, a paediatric surgeon, both from Sheikh Khalifa Medical City, visited a remote part of South Yemen in April. The doctors operated on as many as 110 children in less than six days.
“People might consider me crazy to do such a thing, but this is truly a rewarding experience,” Dr El Gohary, who has been living in the UAE for 32 years, told Khaleej Times.
Dr El Gohary knew the mission was dangerous; however, he also knew that helping children was more important.
“Al Qaeda were there just a few months before us. We witnessed the damages that were inflicted, the aftermath and the destruction of war .... In a war zone, the word ‘safe’ is meaningless.”
Enduring a 17-hour journey
This is not the first time the doctor has taken part in a charity mission. In fact, he has been on several missions to some of the world’s most povertystricken areas, including Eritrea and Sudan, where he travelled five times between 2004 and 2010.
He pointed out that the mission in Yemen began when Dr Shamsheer Vayalil, the managing director of VPS Healthcare, brought patients from Yemen to Abu Dhabi.
“Once we accepted the first couple of patients, we then started seeing a lot of requests from families, but it was not practical to transfer a lot of patients from Yemen to here.”
Thus, instead of having patients arriving from Yemen to Abu Dhabi, the doctor thought it was best to make the journey to the war zone.
Dr El Gohary had a long, gruelling 17-hour journey from Abu Dhabi to Qatar, then to Salalah in Oman, before crossing the border of Yemen by a car, to arrive at Al Sheher Hospital in Al Mukalla.
“We were stopped seven times on our way through various checkpoints, but we started operating on the moment of arrival.”
The doctors tried to carry out as many operations as possible, and any loss of time meant the loss of patients. That meant working vigorously from 7.30am to 8.30pm.
“We were three doctors working on 110 cases in six days; it was remarkable and there was not one single complication.”
Dr El Gohary said they had to work with the most basic facilities when it came to medical supplies and instruments, including operating beds and light fixtures. “We were put in situations where we had to share operating tables and lights. Even good lighting is a luxury over there.”
Dr El Gohary said he remembers one case vividly, where he operated on a five-year-old girl suffering from a rare condition. “She was treated like an outcast because of her illness that made her pass stool through her vagina. But after the operation, when she was cured, it was an emotional moment when I saw her mother crying. Even I could not hold back my tears.
“There is no reward or money in the world that could rival that. Even the risk of losing your life is sometimes worth enduring, if the outcome means helping a child.
“I benefited the most out of this journey, because it was a noble mission and this is what being a doctor should be all about. It is about giving.”
Even the risk of losing your life is sometimes worth enduring, if the outcome means helping a child. In a war zone, the word ‘safe’ is meaningless.” Dr Amin El Gohary, pediatric surgeon, Burjeel Hospital, Abu Dhabi