https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1252324720
A U.S. doctor in Gaza wants President Biden to know 'we are not safe'
Dr. Adam Hamawy is a former U.S. Army combat surgeon currently in Gaza. He said he's treating primarily civilians, rather than combatants: "mostly children, many women, many elderly."
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DANIELLE KURTZLEBEN, HOST:
We begin tonight's program in Gaza, where, despite aid trucks now coming ashore from a floating pier, the humanitarian situation remains dire. One area where that's especially true is medical care. Supplies are low, and doctors are scarce. Adam Hamawy is an experienced combat surgeon and U.S. Army veteran who is currently in Gaza. He refused an evacuation when he realized he would have to leave colleagues behind. In a statement released today, he had strong words for U.S. leadership. Quote - "I want our president to know that we are not safe." He added, "as a doctor, I cannot abandon the remaining members of my team, and as a former soldier, I cannot abandon my fellow Americans." We reached Dr. Hamawy earlier today via WhatsApp. Doctor, welcome. ADAM HAMAWY: Thank you very much for having me. KURTZLEBEN: Of course. I'm hearing some background noise there. Tell us where you are right now. HAMAWY: I am right across the street from the European hospital. There's a nursing college here, and this is where most of the doctors and staff stay when, you know, their families are elsewhere, just so that they could be close to the hospital and not have to travel at night. KURTZLEBEN: I do want to talk more about this statement that you made. It's really powerful. And in it, you call on President Biden and other world leaders to, quote, "use their full influence to ensure medical personnel can continue their critical work without being put in harm's way," end quote. Now, we know that Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Biden aren't always in agreement on Gaza. So to you, what does a change in policy here look like? What would that help look like? HAMAWY: It's basically abiding with our international agreements that have been in place for a long time. There are no - there's no one that argues that - you know, there's the Geneva Convention. There's like, the rules of war where like, once you have medical personnel involved, any combatant who's injured, anyone who's providing medical care should be allowed to do that safely. And that's something that we have tried to honor in the past. That's something that we try to enforce on others when they don't do it. So this should not be the exception. Here we have doctors that have been consistently been targeted. We have hospitals that have been consistently been targeted. The mood here in the hospital, especially since many of the Americans have left, is that there's a sense of fear now because there's a risk that is not unprecedented that this hospital is going to be next. And already since the last two days, there have been people leaving. There's less patients coming, and there's plans to move operations to other locations in the near future, especially when the remaining humanitarian workers like myself leave the hospital at some point. KURTZLEBEN: Yeah. I did want to ask you about the mood in the hospital among the patients you're treating, their families. How much hope or, on the other hand, fear are you hearing from them? HAMAWY: Everyone is asking us. Everyone is asking, are you leaving? Are you leaving also? Everyone's asking about the ones who left by name. Like, when I tell them that, yes, they did leave, and we're still here with you, they just go silent because everyone knows that this is not going to be a long-term thing. And everyone understands that there's a limit and this won't go on forever. So they don't have to say anything. You could just see it in their eyes. And you could feel it. I mean, the halls are much emptier now than when I first came, and, you know, a little bit more empty now than it was two days ago. KURTZLEBEN: Now, to put this in the context of the broader conflict, Israel says they're pursuing targeted operations in Rafah and southern Gaza, and there's continued fighting in northern and central Gaza to prevent Hamas from regrouping. Now, given all that, there are those who argue that, yes, things in Gaza are bad, but that this is about combating a deeply entrenched terrorist group. I'm wondering, what do you say to that argument? HAMAWY: I - you know, I'm not in the military command. I know that - what fighting is like. I was in Iraq when Fallujah happened, and I know that was a very tough battle. And I took care of many of the casualties that came from there. I do know that we have the technology to target specific buildings and things like that. I've been to Khan Yunis, and there's nothing left. There's no targeting involved other - I mean, the target was a city, and the city is destroyed. There was no individual buildings. It's blocks and blocks that are flattened. So you know, it's a war. I don't want to get into the politics of all this, but even war has rules. KURTZLEBEN: Now, you ended your statement with some really personal words. You wrote, to my wife, daughters and son, I know it hurts that I am not coming home this weekend, and I am sorry. Have you been able to talk to your family? HAMAWY: Yes, I have been able to call every few days. I know that they are very worried. I'm trying to tell them that I'm probably the safest place there is in Gaza, that I am trying to get home. I just need to also do the right things. And we came in as a team, and it's not fair for me to leave just because I'm an American when a lot of the team members that came with us came in because they were with Americans. And if all of us leave them behind, that's not going to reflect well on myself or on our country, and it's really the right thing for us to do. KURTZLEBEN: Well, that's Dr. Adam Hamawy, a surgeon and U.S. Army veteran who is currently in Gaza. Doctor, thank you, and please stay safe. HAMAWY: Thank you very much. |
Vocabulary
abide : be able to tolerate (someone or something), 남다, 머무르다
entrench : 둘레에 참호를 파다