Riccardo, a final year medical student is going to the Gaza strip little does he know that this experience will forever change his viewpoint on war, society, and existence as whole. Its here where he learns that its not just about who’s the patient and the journey taken but the people we meet and how daunting the roads of choice lies ahead of us.
The Gaza strip has been infamous for suppression and oppression of the voices of the common people for as long as the Old Testament recounts. The Gaza-Israel border has had wars non-stop that have not just injured civilians but robbed them, there’s shattered dreams, and there remains nothing but orphans with a bleak existence yet again. Riccardo has a heavy load of backpacks on his shoulders one on each side, the front and back, he has a passport in his hands, oblivious of the realities to come as a doctor, a brother and a friend.
He walks through narrow corridors and passes through the stainless-steel bars in rows that rotate with him and shift him to the other side. He passes through one more, and continues walking, he stops for a moment and his eyes scan the surroundings. There’s a criss-cross of metal wires in between which he could see a gathering. He continues to look around just like anyone would when in an unfamiliar place. The camera is switched on, and he presses record, sharing in video how he had to wait for 3 hours at the Hamas Checkpoint. He needed an approval, but he didn’t get it. He confides on how they had decided to send him to the Palestinian Checkpoint instead. He sits on a bus with royal blue seats, and the atmosphere is tense with uncertainty. Ultimately, Riccardo reaches his apartment feeling exhausted from the day’s activities. After all, he did arrive from Italy. In the morning he is greeted by the media and the university professionals who admit that they hope to see more students like Riccardo. Islamic University has warmly accepted him with the chancellor being in a friendly disposition and all. But one has to wonder how long things will be smooth. The international media has a story to run now; that he is the first European student to have chosen Gaza as his choice for his Erasmus study, they add to the fact that he’s an Italian. His smile radiates as he has his face plastered across the TV screens of national and international channels. “His name is Riccardo Corradini, and he is a student at Sienna University.” The reporter mentions. For his role, he is informed of many young people getting injured and that they get admitted to Shifa Hospital, this is the probable place of work. Amputations are a regular occurrence he is told.
He dreams of being a war surgeon, the possibility of helping others in a time of desperation, need when the moment is distraught. He is also focused on writing his thesis on explosive gun bullet wounds. At Ahli Arab Hospital, he observes a man who is recovering from a graft surgery. A 1cm bullet has caused an explosion of his bone with the soft tissue having severe impact he has many bullets in his leg as well. Another young man has had his left leg amputated till his knees and he doesn’t have any knees, it’s been reduced to a thigh. This is where the pressure of everything sets in Riccardo’s mind, and he couldn’t forget the kid with the amputated leg. He questions whether this is the road he would like to tread. The stress and anxiety of being close to the wounded on the battlefield takes a toll on him. He asks his professor if he could go home. Drones hover over them. They are crucial to the operation of war. He also senses calmness; an integrity to one’s soul. His professor says that he doesn’t have to put his mind in that circle, he has worked and time has taught him to be still when you’re in between chaos and peace.
Taking up his camera, he highlights the stresses of the situation in Gaza, that things have escalated and that they have planned on bombing. He continues on, saying that he is panicking. He documents whenever he could about his experiences, he feels far from home now, and he talks of how Sadie, and his colleagues can’t leave, everything is happening all too soon. Now all foreigners are suddenly suggested to leave the strip to embark to Bethlehem, they don’t have much of a choice so they listen anyway. He asks another man at their new stay whether there’s any news on Gaza. The man replies yes but its in Arabic. He and his professor have a good meal from a Middle Eastern cuisine spot. But as they continue walking the professor stops along the way asking him if he has a girlfriend. Societal differences in the form of culture creep in. He now considers the Jad family like his own. Riccardo feels it’s a harsh judgement for the Western world is of a different outlook. At Awda Hospital, he meets up with other surgeons and gets acquainted with them and starts what he came for. He works as a doctor learning from patient’s wounds and injuries on a case-by-case basis.
His training would have taken him 1 year to complete from now. He has learnt to adjust with the sounds of the bombs and the screams of the dying. He believes that health is an equal right that must be attained by all! This is what motivated him to pick Gaza in the first place! The events of this story took place in 2021.
Source: Java Discover
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