Unreported World

Syria's Rebel Doctor (2013x4)

Air date: May 03, 2013

Unreported World meets the NHS doctor who is risking his life by providing front-line medical care to the victims of the conflict in Syria. Dr Rami Habib is a paediatrician who was previously based in Leicester. He's living in the northern Syrian town of Salma, which is bombed and shelled by government forces almost every day. But he's determined to stay and keep the hospital going. Salma used to be a holiday destination. Dr Habib had bought his parents a flat in the town and was visiting when war erupted. He took the difficult decision not to return to his wife in the UK and instead to stay in Syria to ensure that Salma had a doctor. The town is just 20 miles from the ancestral home of President Al-Assad, but is in the control of the anti-government rebels. It's a strategically important target and the front line is just over a mile away. As a result of the daily bombardment, the town's population of 70,000 has shrunk to 5000. Those who remain are mostly rebel fighters and a few civilians determined to stay despite the terrible danger. Reporter Evan Williams and director James Brabazon travel with Dr Habib as he crosses the border from Turkey, bringing life-saving medical supplies for the hospital. Travelling by road is extremely dangerous as vehicles are targeted by government troops; and the last 500 yards into Salma are the most dangerous. To avoid detection, they switch off their headlights and drive in the dark. Dr Habib's first hospital was hit by a barrel bomb - a massive improvised bomb made out of a cylinder packed with explosives and shrapnel - dropped from a government helicopter while he was inside. The building was badly damaged and his new field hospital is now in the basement of an apartment block. Facilities are basic and the town's water supply has been cut off for months. Dr Habib's staff have been forced to find an alternative source of water, which is now pumped in from a spring two miles away through a one-inch pipe.