Colorado pediatrician with Gaza’s children : Shared by Tom McDermott

By Peter Moore

The Colorado Sun

Click here for the article

Summary
Dr. Mohamed Kuziez, a Syrian-American pediatrician from Aurora, Colorado, volunteered in Gaza earlier this year, where he treated children amid the devastation of bombed hospitals and mass civilian casualties.

He shared the story of 7-year-old Habiba, who lost three limbs but retained her fierce spirit, and of other children like Dina, a 13-year-old who aspired to be a lawyer before dying in a hospital bombing. Kuziez applied to serve through Doctors Against Genocide and Rahma, saying he could not ignore the suffering: “My blood is no more sacred than anyone else’s in Palestine.” With Gaza’s medical system nearly destroyed — only three hospitals remain from the 36 that once served its 2 million residents — he criticized U.S. taxpayer funding of bombings that target civilian infrastructure. Back in Colorado, Kuziez works nightly as a pediatric hospitalist, balancing his professional mission with threats and false accusations at home.

Quotes

• “My blood is no more sacred than anyone else’s in Palestine.” — Mohamed Kuziez

• “Your taxpayer dollars are being used to bomb hospitals.” — Mohamed Kuziez

• “I don’t view any child’s life as more valuable than another’s… Anything less than that is a failure for all of us as adults and as people.” — Mohamed Kuziez

• “Civilians are not a target.” — message on Kuziez’s Doctors Without Borders shirt

• “Children are not targets – Mohamed.” — message scrawled by Kuziez on a Gaza wall