A few days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, I received a strange note on the social networking site. A Syrian man has a name.
We have suffered from the aggression of Russian forces for the last 8 years, and we trained people to deal with it. He made it clear that Syrian doctors had experience with treating victims of chemical weapons attacks. Chemical weapons have been used against civilians in Syria by the Assad regime and the Russian forces that support him.
I passed the message to my friends. The first training of Syrian doctors for Ukrainian medics took place two weeks later. Several thousand Ukrainian doctors have been trained by Syrian medical professionals on how to deal with patients who suffered from the use of chemical and biological weapons. The training sessions are conducted by a doctor. He is the president of the Academy of Health Sciences, which was established after the start of war in Syria to provide medical training to local doctors and civilians. There are programs in paramedics, nursing and physical therapy.
The reduction of medical staff was suffered when the Syrian regime attacked us. Many doctors were killed or arrested in Syria. The Academy was established to provide training on trauma first response. There were no paramedics or emergency specialists in Syria before. The more war went on, the more we did. The Syrians were suffering from the use of chemical weapons. We taught our students how to treat injuries.
The premises of the Academy were destroyed by the Russians. The area near the Turkish border is currently under control of the opposition forces.
People of Syria and Ukraine are fighting against the same enemy, so we are happy to help.
The Syrian medics' experience with patients affected by chemical weapons caught the attention of Ukrainian doctors. As NATO and the U.S. warn that Russia might use forbidden weapons in Ukraine, there is a growing sense of readiness.
Mladena Kachurets, a former deputy health minister of Ukraine, says that when Russia started to bomb civilians and residential areas in Ukraine, we lost all illusions that it would stop and act in the framework of an international humanitarian law. The Syrian doctors had an idea that she responded to immediately. A small group of Ukrainian and Syrian doctors were brought together by video link, and four online lectures were scheduled for all medical personnel in Ukraine. Ten days ago, the first two took place.
There was a lot of interest from doctors and nurses. More than 13,000 people expressed their interest in the training sessions we advertised on social media. Medical staff from hospitals in war-torn areas joined them online.
What will it take for Ukraine to win the war?
We posted the recordings on social media so people who couldn't attend live could watch them later. As of now, the recordings have been watched more than 30,000 times, and we are working on a Ukrainian translation to make sure every doctor and nurse in Ukraine has access to the lectures. Lectures for the general Ukrainian public are planned.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, Yuliya Shuklina, MD, a head of otolaryngology department at a big hospital in Kyiv, and hundreds of her colleagues have been living on the premises of her hospital.
The war changed all of us, says Dr. Shuklina, speaking via videocall during a short break in between treating patients. I have 26 years of experience working as an otolaryngologist, but I have never dealt with sorting patients or treatment of combat injuries. We are studying and watching a lot of lectures.
She forgot how to react to a chemical weapons attack after studying it at the university. When you can see the impact, it's very different to a normal injury. It is not possible to assess the damage from a chemical weapons attack with a naked eye.
Syrian doctors sharing their first-hand experience is appreciated. I don't feel like I have to worry about a chemical weapons attack anymore. I have a way to act. I will not be confused, I will not be a burden, and I will be able to help.
The hospital management was asked by Dr. Shuklina to order antidotes, which vary with the weapon used. I haven't seen personal protective equipment to prepare for chemical attacks. It should be added to the supply lists and the antidotes for different types of toxins should be created in advance.
If there is a safe location in Ukranian, we would be happy to travel there and do a face-to-face session. He wants his Ukrainian colleagues to be strong and trained to provide medical aid.
We Syrians know that the war can last a long time. You need to train more people. People need to be trained to treat those affected by chemical weapons and nuclear weapons.
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