Saving Lives, Saving Dreams: Help Dr. Bashar Pursue His Medical Exam ‘PLAB’

I am Ahmed, the older brother of Bashar, and I have recently left Gaza with my children. I am eagerly waiting to reunite with my family in Egypt.

Gaza: in the heart of my lovely city, amidst the rubble and echoes of war, shines a beacon of hope.

Our hope is my brother, my best friend - Bashar.

He is a doctor since 2021 but having watched his devotion as a doctor through this genocide, has left me wanting more for him in this life.

Why is that? You might be thinking.

Well, my brother has selflessly volunteered from day one of the genocide.

When he was first displaced to Deir Al Balah governorate, he started to volunteer in the overcrowded wards of Al-Aqsa Hospital.

He continued to provide free medical assistance to people within the shelter; he was displaced second time, to Khan Younis - Al Aqsa University, which hosted 6,000 families.

Escaping the intense bombing of Khan Younis, he arrived in Rafah and immediately took the position of Emergency Doctor with an international agency, working in field hospitals and mobile clinics. Because working in Hospitals has now become too dangerous.

Throughout this entire journey, my brother carried a comprehensive medical kit and provided urgent medical assistance to the wounded. Whilst others ran away from the destruction, he would run into it so that he could save lives.

Here is Bashar’s message to you:

I am Bashar, and am reaching out from the heart of genocide in Gaza.

What I have witnessed and endured in the last seven months I will never be able to forget. I will forever hear the pleas for help, witnessing the last breaths, the empty eyes, and screams of mothers for their lost children. Despite the risk to my own life, I remembered the medical oath I made just one year before the war and immediately knew what I needed to do.

During my lifetime, I have witnessed five major wars on Gaza, but this one is different. This time we were displaced, we lost our homes, we lost our pets, our assets and most importantly we lost people. I woke up at 06:00 am to the sound of rockets on 07 October. I was planning to go to the hospital, busy Saturday as always, but what are these sounds? First thing that came to my mind was “is it raining”. Absolutely NOT, that was the moment I knew, this war will be different from all the others. Fear suddenly surged like a wave of a tsunami and hit me hard with a wall of panic. Survival was the only thought in our minds. Amidst the chaos of securing food, documents, grabbing our bags, and my medical kit etc. bidding farewell to our family home was one of the hardest parts. I left our hometown to the unknown and did not know if I would ever get to see them again.

Our home before bombing:

Last photos of our bombed home, received months ago:

However, I find myself at a crossroad:

Before this war erupted, I had secured a chance to further my medical growth through the Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board (PLAB) exam scheduled for May 23, 2024, which is going to be held in Egypt. Passing the PLAB test, helps us to make sure doctors who qualify abroad have the right knowledge and skills to practice medicine in the United Kingdom. To secure this date, I had passed multiple exams previously to reach this stage over 2 years.

Therefore, this exam represents more than a date to me; it’s the culmination of years of hard work, a pivotal step towards my dream of one day returning home to heal my people who remained. Passing PLAB is now moreimportant to me than ever, it's -’ Hope’- for me, my family’s and for my people’s future.

Yet, this dream is on the brink of slipping away as this genocide is restricting me from leaving Gaza, even if I am able, I cannot leave my elderly parents behind as I am the only son to look after their wellbeing.

The sacrifices of my parents had enabled me to study medicine abroad and motivated me to pursue this career. And even now, they encourage me to leave without them. How can I?

Who will ensure they have enough food to eat?
Who will ensure they have money to buy things they need?
Who will ensure, if displaced again, to make the necessary arrangements?
Who will ensure I will see them again?

This is why I cannot abandon them especially when there is no ‘home’ to go back to. It pains me to see my parents living their elderly lives in a tent, makeshift plastic shelter under stressful conditions. And now living under the shadow of fear as the threat of military action looms over us Time is NOT on our side!

We are reaching out to the world, to you, with a plea for support.

We need your support urgently for us to leave Gaza together as one family into Egypt.

• There are 5 of us, for that we need $25,000 to pay in fees.
• The entire evacuation process can take weeks, even after the payment, we can wait up to 3 weeks or more just to get approval to leave.
• I must take my family out before the invasion of Rafah, as the border may close down and we will have nowhere to go.
• I must make it to my PLAB exam in Egypt, so I don't lose out on the years of preparation and hope for mine and family future hangs on this.

Please, stand with us during these trying times. Every donation, no matter its size, brings us a step closer to safety, keeps our dreams alive, and becomes a testament to what we can achieve together in the face of adversity.

---------------------------------

For donation in EGP from Egypt:
Instapay: ibrahim3011@instapay
Vodafone cash: 01098820534

---------------------------------
You can donate directly or via PayPal to: [email protected]

------------------------

PLEASE SHARE 🙏