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Syriascivil war has the gruesome distinction of being the 21st centurysdeadliest conflictto date.
Ob/gyns Idries and Jamil Abdur-Rahman in their Syrian American Medical Society gear. Courtesy of Jamil Abdur-Rahman
The conflict is ongoing.
Jamil and Idries had always wanted to volunteer their services overseas.
Therefugee crisisspoke to them.
Idries with Asma to his right, along with other interpreters. Courtesy of Asma Akhras
The rising tide of anti-immigrant sentiment only added to their determination.
In addition to offering medical help, the brothers hoped to send a deeper message.
The mission the Abdur-Rahmans went on centered around Jordans Zaatari refugee camp.
Idries with Asma to his right, along with other interpreters. Courtesy of Asma Akhras
The camp is home to around 80,000 refugees, technically making it Jordansfourth largest city.
But life in the refugee camps just looked horrible, Jamil says.
While some people lived in tents, others lived in dwellings that resembled shipping containers made of corrugated metal.
Jamil estimates that only around 50 percent of these homes had electricity, indoor plumbing, and potable water.
There was so much despair there, Jamil says.
When asked to describe the conditions, Jamil kept returning to one word: spartan.
Many of the funds o support the orphanage came from selling paintings the children made, like this one, which Jamil purchased. Courtesy of Jamil Abdur-Rahman
To prepare for the lack of medical supplies, the Abdur-Rahmans brought a lot from home.
Antibiotics were essentialinfections are running rampant there because conditions arent the best, Idries saysas wasbirth control.
He wanted to bringIUDs, which are excellent at preventing pregnancy, but could only bringbirth control pills.
Indeed, Idries says he saw various patients with IUDs that had been placed before they escaped Syria.
Now, the birth rate in many refugee camps is skyrocketing.
It’s difficult to paint the situation with broad strokes, since conditions vary from camp to camp.
“Birth control options are scarce for refugees in Turkey and Greece,” according to oneQuartzreport.
This makes accessing birth control potentially difficult.
In many ways, the brothers work in Jordan was similar to what they do stateside.
“Working with the twins for the first time was initially disorienting (thank goodness their hairstyles were different!
“They garnered a reputation of patience and caring in the service of refugees.”
The doctors received a bit of cultural sensitivity training before diving in, then got to work.
Despite the sensitive nature of their field, the Abdur-Rahmans were still able to treat patients.
This practice was common whether the patient was seeing a male or female physician, Idries notes.
Interpreters helped the visiting doctors bridge the divides of language and culture.
But overall, the interpreters made the doctors jobs easier.
They put the women at ease just by being there, Idries says.
Akhras recalls Idries wanting her to tell a patient who hadfertility issuesthat she couldn’t have children.
“I was like, Im not saying that.
This woman has been through so much trauma.
After hearing Akhras’s viewpoint, Idries agreed that it wasnt the right time to tell the patient.
Jamil estimates that around half of the patients he treated had psychological concerns rather than physical ones.
Or helping patients experiencing domestic violence when theres not a structure to do so in place.
The husband had been tortured as a prisoner of the Syrian army and lost most members of his family.
Idries has similar tales.
In one appointment, he spoke with a woman whowas being abused, along with her children.
After her husband threw their young daughter into a wall, the child had needed emergency abdominal surgery.
The harrowing conversation left the patient, the interpreter, and Idries himself in tears.
Soon enough, it was time to return to the United States.
One night, the team went to an orphanage forSyrian children.
The kids and staff cooked them dinner.
In spite of all of that, theyre hopeful, Jamil says.
These kids can see past conflict and anger and hurt and see a brighter future and better world.
That sentiment extended to many of the adults as well.
Sometimes Jamils patients would express that the volunteers presence helped combat their worry that nobody cared about their plight.
Even if it feels like the other side of the world, its not that far.
you could alsocontact your representativesto voice your opinion on the refugee crisis.
