In the wake of the tragic earthquake, which killed more than 50,000 people, including 6,000 in Syria – according to an ever-increasing provisional death toll – the IMA and Mehad organised an evening in support of the victims. After a month of emergency humanitarian aid, the needs are as great as ever.
The international response is currently inadequate given the scale of the tragedy. In northern Syria, people already affected by 12 years of war are literally abandoned to their fate. Mehad, alongside other NGOs on the ground, is mobilised to provide an emergency response to survivors left homeless by the earthquake, as well as to hospitals and health centres at the heart of the medical emergency.
Our speakers have come to talk about the scale of the disaster: the psychological after-effects, the displacement of populations, the humanitarian crisis, the health crisis – what are the issues and needs today and tomorrow?
Evening programme
Doors open: 6.45pm
- Moderator: Jimmy Mohamed, doctor, television columnist and radio presenter
- Moderator: Selma Masic, humanitarian expert and Middle East specialist based in Ankara
Opening remarks :
- Dr Ziad Alissa, President of Mehad, anaesthetist and intensive care doctor, who has been working in Syria for 12 years
- Jack Lang, Chairman of the IMA
First part of the round table: Why is this a disaster on such a scale?
- Pr Raphaël Pitti, head of Mehad training, specialist in war medicine, author of “Va où l’Humanité te porte” (Tallandier, 2018)
- Abdulrahman Al-Mawwas, spokesman for the White Helmets of Syrian Civil Defence, a humanitarian civil protection organisation in Syria
- Salah Alsafadi, Mehad programme consultant based in Gaziantep, Turkey
Musical interlude first part :
- Hareth Mhedi, Syrian oud master, vocalist and composer
- Youssef Zayed, Palestinian percussionist, teacher at the Conservatoire de Gennevilliers
Speech :
- Waad Al-Kateab, Syrian journalist and director of the documentary “Pour Sama”, awarded the Oeil d’or prize at Cannes in 2019
Second part of the round table: The earthquake, and after?
- Ziad Majed, political scientist, Professor of Middle East Studies at the American University in Paris, author of “Syrie, la révolution orpheline” (Actes Sud, 2014)
- Dr Ziad Alissa, President of Mehad, anaesthetist and resuscitator, who has been working in Syria for 12 years.
- Delphine Minoui, correspondent for Le Figaro in Istanbul, Middle East specialist, author of “Les passeurs de livres de Daraya- Une bibliothèque secrète en Syrie” (published by Seuil, 2017)
Musical interlude second part :
- Racha Rizk, singer-songwriter accompanied on the piano by Jad Salameh
Closing remarks :
- Pr Raphaël Pitti, head of Mehad training, specialist in war medicine, author of “Va où l’Humanité te porte” (Tallandier, 2018)
View the photo album of the evening on Flickr
