EDMONTON – Dr. Maher Saqqur is not letting distance stop him from helping the injured in his homecountry of Syria.
Despite now living in Edmonton, where he works as a neurologist at the University of Alberta, Saqqur spends much of his spare time treating victims of the conflict. He is able to see patients on Skype, and can even go through their CT scans on his tablet.
“The world is all connected now, isn’t it,” he says.
Since the conflict in Syria began, he has been there six times, through a group called Canadian Relief for Syria. What he saw first-hand, he says, is “beyond imagination.”
“Kids just…dead. With no drop of blood. And you know it’s the sarin gas.”
He believes the situation has gotten to the point of being “an ethical disaster,” and requires the world’s help.
Interactive Timeline: Syria’s Uprising
“From time to time we run into evil. If we don’t work all together, we are not going to stop that evil,” he argues, also admitting he’s concerned over how Syrian President Bashar al-Assad may react to foreign intervention.
“If you hit him and you don’t hit him hard and he still has the power, I think he will revenge on his own people, unfortunately. And the kids will be the first to suffer.”
The Edmonton doctor is hoping the Canadian government will step up to help financially, and match France’s donation of €300,000.
Saqqur puts that in perspective, saying that money could be used to stock one medical warehouse for one Damascus suburb for three months.
“What’s happened in the suburb of Damascus is a high scale. It’s a very high scale. It’s overwhelming.”
Saqqur remains focused on doing what he can do to help, though.
“There’s no time to get frustrated. There’s always in your mind ‘What’s next, What are you going to do?” he says.
“It’s happened in Rwanda. It’s happening now in Syria. You have to do something. You have to do your part.”
You can watch our full interview with Dr. Maher Saqqur below:
For the latest news on the conflict in Syria, click here.
With files from Fletcher Kent, Global News
Comments