{"id":23593,"date":"2016-05-04T10:29:20","date_gmt":"2016-05-04T14:29:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/?p=23593"},"modified":"2016-05-04T10:42:50","modified_gmt":"2016-05-04T14:42:50","slug":"remembering-dr-hassan-al-araj","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/remembering-dr-hassan-al-araj\/","title":{"rendered":"Remembering Dr. Hassan al-Araj"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"DrRemembering Dr. Hassan al-Araj<\/strong>
\nby Cindy Coffman
\nFor Syria Comment May 4, 2016<\/p>\n

First, I will introduce myself and then I would like to tell you about a dear friend and colleague, who was recently killed in Syria, Dr. Hassan Mohammed al-Araj of Hama.<\/p>\n

I have been in the humanitarian field since 2010 and have worked in Africa and the Middle East, including assignments in Jordan and Iraq. Most recently I worked in Gaziantep, Turkey as Program Manager, responsible for the cross border program inside Syria. I spent 16 months in Gaziantep and it was during this time that I had the great honor to meet Dr. Hassan and work closely with him supporting health facilities in Hama province and elsewhere.<\/p>\n

\"ScreenI am writing to you today as Dr. Hassan was killed two weeks ago in Hama province by a Russian airstrike as he traveled between two hospitals, the “cave” and Kafr Zeta. The cave hospital has literally been carved into a mountain in an attempt to protect it from Assad regime and Russian airstrikes. I am not sure whether you have written about the relentless airstrikes destroying health facilities in Syria, killing medical staff and civilians but it is an on-going tragedy and disaster with no apparent end in sight. Dr. Hassan was the last cardiologist in Hama province. In addition to performing lifesaving surgeries, speaking out against the targeting and destruction of hospitals in Syria, he was also the head of the Hama Health Directorate and worked closely with Syrian American Medical Association (SAMS).<\/p>\n

Dr. Hassan was greatly admired and respected, his tragic death has left a huge gap in Syria.<\/p>\n

Since Dr. Hasan was killed, the airstrikes have continued relentlessly, attacking health facilities, civil defense centers, bakeries and other civilian areas. Just a few days ago, a hospital in Aleppo, Al Quds, was destroyed in either a Syrian regime or Russian airstrike.<\/p>\n

\"ScreenIn addition to killing children, they killed the last Pediatrician,\u00a0Dr Wassim,\u00a0in opposition held Aleppo. This hospital was supported by several humanitarian organizations and was part of the program that I was responsible for until I left Gaziantep in November 2015. Dr. Wassim now joins Dr. Hassan on the long list of courageous medical workers and other innocent civilians, killed in airstrikes in Syria.<\/p>\n

My Syrian colleagues and friends are feeling a growing sense of despair and desperation as more and more health facilities are destroyed and little is being done to stop these senseless and brutal attacks on civilians.<\/p>\n

Please let me know if you would be interested in helping keep the memory of Dr. Hassan alive and so many other brave heroes by telling their story. Every time I talk to friends and family about the ongoing attacks on health facilities and medical staff, they ask me why so few people are telling this story. I don’t know the answer.<\/p>\n

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to tell you about the brave people that I have had the great honor to work with.<\/p>\n

“A good man is gone” was written by my brother Chris and posted. Here is a link from the US Embassy in Damascus<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I have also attached two pictures of Dr. Hassan. One of the pictures is from December 2015, when Dr. Hassan attended a meeting in Geneva calling for the protection of hospitals and medical workers in Syria. The last two pictures are from the airstrike that killed Dr. Hassan as he drove to Kafr Zeta hospital from the cave hospital. A member of my team spoke to him by telephone ten minutes before he was killed.<\/p>\n

\"Doctors\"<\/p>\n

Best regards,<\/p>\n

Cindy Coffman<\/p>\n