MUSCAT: A courageous Oman-born obstetrician-gynecologist, Dr Thalia Pachiyannakis, recently joined a team of doctors on a daring mission to aid the humanitarian effort in at the Al Nasser Medical Complex Palestine.
In June 2024, Dr Thalia and her colleague travelled to Khan Yunis, a city in southern Gaza, to help deliver and save newborn babies and support their mothers in horrifying and inhumane conditions.
Dr Thalia was born and raised in Muscat by her Omani mother and Greek-born father. She currently resides with her family in Indiana, US, where she practices medicine at Heart City - Women's Health.
The following is an account of Dr Thalia's personal experience in war-torn Gaza, as narrated to me during and after her stay. It has been edited for length and clarity.
"Well, I have always been interested in humanitarian work while Dr Hina Cheema, a fellow resident, with whom I worked in Michigan, had been to Gaza before. She told me about the atrocities and the needs of the beautiful people she met, and I decided to join her on her next trip.
"After what was a long process involving lots of checkpoints and waiting, we entered Palestine through Israel. We were allowed to bring only one suitcase and not anything that was packed or might be perceived as a gift for the local people.
"We drove into Gaza in bulletproof cars. Looking out of the window, I noticed the destruction, poverty and garbage everywhere. Although I have always been aware of what is happening here, it was just a surreal first sight, as if you are in a movie about a war zone; it is just unbelievable and unacceptable that this is the actual situation that these people are living in.
"Almost every building has been destroyed while we were taken to the UN building. Most humanitarian entities stay in the hospitals where they are assigned, but we were advised to stay in Al Mawasi in a little chalet with civilians while most of them live in tents here.
"There are actually plenty of highly competent and well-educated doctors in Gaza, but the problem is there are not enough medical supplies, available rooms, or ultrasound machines to perform the work on women properly. None of us have access to basic needs like disposable and sterile gowns, scrubs, or even soap to wash our hands.
"There is no sanitation. If a mom has to undergo an ultrasound in an outpatient unit, the next patient will lie in the same bed. There is no cleaning of machines in between procedures and no napkins or tissues to even wipe the gel off the patients, there are also no clothes, and a severe lack of shoes in Gaza. If an instrument in the OR falls, then you just have to wash it with a bit of saline and reuse it. The hospital has been short of fuel and they shut off the air conditioning while it is currently forty degrees Celsius. I am sure you can imagine how hard it is to operate in this heat. We are often sweating into open wounds during C-sections.
"Hence, there is pretty much chaos at the maternity ward and the outpatient unit. Many pregnant women do not have access to prenatal care. Imagine: these women usually walk for hours and hours to reach the hospital to come in to check the heartbeat of their babies and to make sure they are still alive inside their wombs, as most, if not all, women are physically ill."
Dr Thalia has gone back to the United States. But she wants to go back to Gaza. "I have changed. I have realised that we live in a cynical world where many people only care about themselves and choose to look away while other people are suffering. I know I am not like that, and I refuse to be like that. I am inspired by other people who want to help humans and dedicate their lives to helping others. I always think of the people I met in Gaza, and one day, I want to go back."
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