For two decades, his job and purpose in life was to heal people. But Dr. Mohammed Abu Mughaisib also wanted to stay alive. So, when he could no longer even look after himself, and the hunger was too much to bear, he took a rare chance to leave Gaza.
I would never have imagined starving, the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) medic said.
But my head hurt and I had pain in my stomach from starvation.
After working non-stop at hospitals throughout Gaza over the past two years, Dr. Abu Mughaisib was evacuated to Ireland in mid-September. Safe and fed, he is now able to reflect on his time working in increasingly dire conditions as Israel's offensive destroyed medical and other critical infrastructure.
The decision was very difficult, he recalled, describing the overwhelming contrast between his past experiences of war and the peaceful setting of a park in Dublin.
I'm happy that I'm a survivor. Because I could have been killed or injured anytime. But I'm sad that I left behind my colleagues and my people.
Dr. Abu Mughaisib, in charge of MSF's operations in Gaza, shared the desperate situation facing medical staff. Many were forced to subsist on glucose solutions just to continue working, with conversations among the medics revolving solely around the search for food. Hospitals transformed into chaotic environments with patients lying on the floor, and the only available beds occupied.
He described the experience as surreal, emphasizing that waiting lists for critical care were dire, and health facilities were hardly managed due to the lack of resources and destruction.
Throughout his evacuation, Dr. Abu Mughaisib left Gaza with just the clothes on his back and his mobile phone, feeling a loss of identity as he separated from his homeland. He reflects on the extensive destruction he witnessed, vowing to remember the faces and spirits of those still suffering.
As he contemplates Gaza's future, Dr. Abu Mughaisib expresses the need for the international community’s support to help the people of Gaza heal physically and emotionally.
I would never have imagined starving, the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) medic said.
But my head hurt and I had pain in my stomach from starvation.
After working non-stop at hospitals throughout Gaza over the past two years, Dr. Abu Mughaisib was evacuated to Ireland in mid-September. Safe and fed, he is now able to reflect on his time working in increasingly dire conditions as Israel's offensive destroyed medical and other critical infrastructure.
The decision was very difficult, he recalled, describing the overwhelming contrast between his past experiences of war and the peaceful setting of a park in Dublin.
I'm happy that I'm a survivor. Because I could have been killed or injured anytime. But I'm sad that I left behind my colleagues and my people.
Dr. Abu Mughaisib, in charge of MSF's operations in Gaza, shared the desperate situation facing medical staff. Many were forced to subsist on glucose solutions just to continue working, with conversations among the medics revolving solely around the search for food. Hospitals transformed into chaotic environments with patients lying on the floor, and the only available beds occupied.
He described the experience as surreal, emphasizing that waiting lists for critical care were dire, and health facilities were hardly managed due to the lack of resources and destruction.
Throughout his evacuation, Dr. Abu Mughaisib left Gaza with just the clothes on his back and his mobile phone, feeling a loss of identity as he separated from his homeland. He reflects on the extensive destruction he witnessed, vowing to remember the faces and spirits of those still suffering.
As he contemplates Gaza's future, Dr. Abu Mughaisib expresses the need for the international community’s support to help the people of Gaza heal physically and emotionally.
