Three Syrian doctors — two of them wearing surgical masks to hide their identities from Bashar al-Assad’s regime — testified on Capitol Hill Wednesday about the human toll that has accompanied six years of war in Syria.
One of them, Dr. Farida — referred to by a single first name in the hearing — described an instance when she was in the midst of performing a cesarean section when a missile struck the fourth floor of the hospital where she was operating in besieged Aleppo, causing the roof to collapse.
“The surgical staff had to flee the room, but the doctors couldn’t, because we were forced to clean debris out of the patient’s abdominal cavity. Thankfully we were able to save her life,” Dr. Farida said.
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About the author
Michael Igoe@AlterIgoe
Michael Igoe is a Senior Reporter with Devex, based in Washington, D.C. He covers U.S. foreign aid, global health, climate change, and development finance. Prior to joining Devex, Michael researched water management and climate change adaptation in post-Soviet Central Asia, where he also wrote for EurasiaNet. Michael earned his bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College, where he majored in Russian, and his master’s degree from the University of Montana, where he studied international conservation and development.