Imagine one who is the "only doctor for nearly half a million people", and who also teaches, runs a clinic, and still manages to be on the counsel of his tribe. No, this is not a character in a movie, nor an action hero, but a simple doctor and gentle man who only wants to serve his people in their time of need in any way he can.
This evening the American Center for Progress hosted, "What's Really Happening on the Ground" with Dr. Mohammed Ahmed Abdullah. On Friday, November 16th, Dr. Ahmed will be awarded the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award, and this week in DC he is taking time to share the situation and suffering in Darfur. The event began with Dr. Karen Hirschfeld, the Sudan Coordinator of Physicians for Human Rights, who nominated Dr. Ahmed for the Award. PFH was the first NGO to call Darfur a genocide and have been promoting Darfur since 2004.
"Without dedication you have nothing, without motivation you can do nothing."
The first in his village to become a doctor, graduating from Khartoum University Medical School in 1976, Dr. Ahmed now sees no less than a 100 patents a day in his home, he is a mentor to aspiring physicians and healthcare workershe is a man who will never be found without a smile upon his face and hope in his heart. He spoke how he had now been able to see his own mother for some five years, but that was just the way it was to be he said, for he had to do what he could and had to do.his sacrifice to him seems small, as he looks daily at the greater picture of life, death and suffering.
Dr. Ahmed asked, "So are we going to see Rwanda again?", a question so many find themselves fearing the answer is "yes', as we have already acted too late. Despite our blind eyes over the last five years, the people of Sudan are sill crying out for our help. Dr. Ahmed said the priorities which need to be taken, are number one is the protection of the Sudanese civilians, two the international community must take a stand, three the people of the US must start to support Sudan, four the people of Africa and Asia too must commit their support.
Dr. Ahmed once walked days to reach school and now people often walk days to see him. Receiving medical treatment in Sudan is no small feat, as the country only has two teaching hospitals, and in order to receive treatment one must go to the police to get a form 8, which must then be filled out with a full doctors report to get any aid. "If you are African there is no way you will get this." Under the mandate a doctor can only treat those with this form, and thus many doctors have been arrested and harassed. The government doesn't want this type of work to continue, and Dr. Ahmed is no stranger to these harassments, yet in his eyes one sees he is a stranger to fear. His work is enough to burden even the strongest team, he carries the weight alone and on his shoulders the load looks light. When asked by an audience member, "Where did you get your courage?", Dr. Ahmed replied,
"If you are always suffering you will learn somethingthis will not abide me from doing the right thing."
Dr. Mohammed spoke with warmth and openness, his frankness was both refreshing and heartbreaking. Though he spoke of endless suffering and tragedy, he also spoke of hope and optimism, he told not the stories of victims, but the stories of survivors. Though he stated that currently the Sudanese face "really miserable conditions and a lot of challenges, but with optimism and desire we can accomplish!." Peace is the only option for Sudan, "To continue war will not help any!" The answer to him is simple; "You must protect civilians first or tomorrow, you will not find them. If you don't protect the civilians, who is going to tell you what is happeningwho will you unite without civilians?”
Related news articles on Dr. Mohammed:
Doctor warns of Darfur camp expulsions
African Doctor Wins RFK Award
Sudan: Civilians Driven Into Camps, Then the Bush
Sudanese Physician and PHR Partner, Dr. Mohammed Ahmed Abdallah, Receives 2007 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award Today in Washington, D.C.
RFK Memorial Foundation Press Release
The Amel Center for Treatment and Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture in Sudan
Sudan Journal, by PHR Deputy Director Susannah Sirkin
PHP Durfar Survival Campaign
Interview: Dr. Mohammed-Ahmed Abdallah, medical director of the Amel Center for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture in Darfur, speaks with Jerry Fowler, at the Holocaust Museums, Voices on Genocide Prevention, about the current situation on the ground in Darfur.