MISSION OF MERCY
Merrillville cardiologist and other physicians venture back into war-torn Syria and neighboring Jordan not only to help children orphaned by the conflict but other doctors targeted in the violence
A Merrillville cardiologist will visit war-torn areas of Syria and neighboring Jordan this week in a mission to find how best to help many of those impacted by the devastating civil war.
Since the civil war broke out in southern Syria in March 2011, Dr. Abdul Kawamleh and fellow physicians have been trying how best to respond to the humanitarian disaster that has killed nearly 100,000 people and displaced millions of others.
The civil war was sparked in Daraa, Syria, when 15 children were arrested for painting anti-government graffiti on schools walls. Protests spread and led to violent crackdowns by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Kawamleh, who is from southern Syria, and his colleagues felt a need to do something, so they established the Promise Relief and Human Development fund, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, to aid residents of the Daraa province of southern Syria.
“We started by sponsoring or- phans, but we quickly found that a huge number of physicians were being targeted with violence,” said Kawamleh, who is serving as president of the group. “We’re trying to help them stay in the country, and we now sponsor about 30 physicians.”
Many Syrian children have been orphaned by the conflict, and they are vulnerable to forced labor and exploitation without assistance from aid groups, Kawamleh said. Medical teams are regularly targeted by bombing campaigns and assassination attempts, with more than 100 losing their lives during the conflict.
Kawamleh said the trip with fellow Promise Relief board members will be a fact-finding mission of sorts. It will be his fourth trip since the conflict started.
“It will help us prepare for our new projects,” Kawamleh said. “It will help us figure out what we want to do and what we need.”
Jordan has become home to more than 2 million Syrian refugees — many living in camps — due to the civil war, so Kawamleh and his colleagues will visit hospitals, orphanages and refugees’ homes to deliver needed supplies like food baskets and medical equipment.
Other projects include donating water purification systems for kidney dialysis clinics, and needed medications for hospitals.
Kawamleh said the trip does put him and his colleagues in some risky situations, but “they don’t compare to our colleagues on the ground.”
For more information on PRHD or to donate, visit www. promiserelief. org.