Ahmed, 27, is an operating room nurse in a Syrian hospital. Unlike many of the health care workers who have fled the country over the past seven years, he has chosen to stay.
Ahmed does not see anything heroic in his choice to remain in one of the world’s most dangerous countries for health workers. “It never occurred to me to leave”, he says.
Ahmed was a young graduate when the conflict began. In 2013, he got his first job in a WHO-supported hospital in the city of Aleppo. Over the years, Aleppo became the epicentre of intense fighting. Although Ahmed survived many security incidents in and around the hospital, he does not consider himself to be out of danger. “The situation in Aleppo is calm now, but the war continues. The risk is still there”, he explains. He remembers the last attack. The hospital was full of patients, and there were several operations scheduled for that day. The shelling started near the hospital, and then the operating theatre was hit. “We had a patient on the operating table with an open stomach wound; we couldn’t leave him. But I remember the fear”, he says.
"Working under pressure and in a conflict zone is a burden that cannot be carried by a single person; this has increased my determination to continue to work here", he adds. He sees the chaos around him, but says his life is no different to that of other Syrians. “Maybe it is a bit more dangerous because I am a health worker, and this group is often targeted through shelling, kidnappings or assaults,” he says.
Ahmed has one dream. "I want this war to end. I want refugees and displaced Syrians to be able to return home to their families. And I want us to be able to provide better health care services, similar to those in developed countries… For now, being here with my family and being able to help patients, knowing that I am making a difference, is something that has helped me to survive."
In 2018, WHO’s global Surveillance System on Attacks on Health Care recorded 139 attacks in Syria. A total of 101 people were killed and 189 were injured in these attacks. Syria remains one of the world’s most dangerous places to be a health worker.