‘I can't get the patients I left behind out of my head' – healthcare staff to walk in silent solidarity with Gaza medics on Dublin march

Irish Independent

2 days ago

Healthcare workers in Ireland, many of whom have saved lives in Gaza, will wear scrubs or dress in black for the march. Members of the public have also been invited to attend.
One surgeon planning to attend, ­Mohamed Shaalan works at Tallaght Hospital and travelled from Dublin to work in Gaza in March last year.
However, the father of four has been unable to return, and was recently stopped at the border.
Dr Shaalan, who has developed specialised treatment for urgent medical needs in Gaza, said he grows increasingly concerned for his patients, his medical colleagues and the injured.
He said he lost 9kg when he visited Gaza last year. But now – although he knows he would be risking his life re-entering the Gaza Strip – he wants to return.
'Food was incredibly scarce at that time, but I know there's almost no food now,' Dr Shaalan said.
'But I can't get the patients I left behind out of my head. I think of them every night and I pray for them.
'I'm a father, but I'm not afraid to go back to Gaza – I know it's the right thing to do.'
An orthopaedic surgeon, Dr Shaalan – who is originally from Egypt but is now an Irish citizen and lives here with his family – previously volunteered in parts of ­Africa. He said that due to his experience working with little and rudimentary equipment, he is well placed to help in Gaza.
The surgeon has developed a specialised treatment for patients suffering bone injury. However, he is currently only able to offer advice to his Palestinian medical colleagues remotely and he wants to be on the ground 'to save lives'.
'The injuries in Gaza, I've never seen before. It's terrible. People have multiple injuries. Seventy per cent of my patients were women and children,' he said.
The children passed away from shock – in a normal country they would have been saved
'I saw a lot of children with third-degree burns, more than 60 to 70pc of their bodies were burned.
'The images stayed with me. I saw children pass away because there was no medical equipment to help cover the burnt skin.
'The children passed away from shock. In a normal country, like Ireland, they would have been saved.' Dr Shaalan said medical workers are being killed, along with the 'forgotten ambulance crews' in Gaza.
'Many are injured, many are killed. We don't know how many medical staff, doctors, nurses, ambulance crew have died,' he added.
Orthopaedic surgeon Dr Mahmoud Abumarzouq (43), from Gaza , who works at Our Lady's Hospital in Navan, Co Meath, has lost several members of his family in Gaza, including his brother Ahmet Mahmoud (29), and four of his nephews and nieces.
'People in Ireland, the UK and across the world need to put much more pressure on their governments to protect the people of Gaza, as well as medical professionals,' Dr Abumarzouq said.
'So many doctors have been killed in Gaza. We read about such horrors in the history books, but how can this be happening in 2025?
'It's important people show up, shout, protest, donate and pressurise politicians, because we are witnessing the collapse of the entire humanitarian system and legal system, as well as what is taking place in Gaza.
'European governments must put more pressure on Israel. We must protect the people of Gaza.'
Though he works as a doctor in ­Navan and is a father of four children, Dr ­Abumarzouq said he 'splits' himself 'in three' to get through each day.
'We turn the news off at home because the children need to live a happy, normal life,' he said.
'But they know something is wrong in Gaza. I have to be empathetic and kind to my patients, and cannot bring this trauma with me to work. But since October 2023, I've not been the same person. I've been half-living in Ireland and half-living in Gaza, worrying for my family, grieving my people.'
Anna Cleminson (51), a palliative care consultant at University Hospital Kerry, is also a trained GP. She volunteered in Gaza weeks before the conflict broke out in October 2023. Since then she has lost several Palestinian colleagues to the Israeli bombardment.
Dr Cleminson is currently supporting an undergraduate medical training programme in Gaza despite the daily threat of Israeli strikes on medical students and medics.
'I'm marking their essays. It is vital to train doctors and nurses, so we need to continue to do that,' she said.
'For me, this is my small contribution and I know there's a strong link between Ireland and Gaza. My colleagues there and the people of Gaza gain some strength from people protesting here.'