Diaalrahman, 34 years old, from Syria living in Egypt since May 2017. Master of Orthopedic surgery and traumatology with the support of a HOPES scholarship funded by the EU through the ‘EU Madad Fund’ at the University of Alexandria
“I had my bachelor of medicine and surgery from Libya, then I worked for two years in the orthopedic field in Althawra University hospital in Albeida, Libya . At the same time, I worked with a war related organization in Gernada, Libya, then I moved with my wife and three children to Egypt. I am interested in orthopedics because I have worked in this field before with a war related organization called ‘Emergency’ in Libya, and I am planning to continue in the future to provide help to people in need in my country or elsewhere. I have faced a lot of difficulties starting from the challenge to enter Egypt through the airport coming from Libya. I worked in the beginning in a private clinic as I did not have an official job in Egypt. With the very long time shifts of 12 hours and the low salary, it was difficult to work and study at the same time especially that I have to work in the hospital almost on a daily basis as a work field with logbook registration. It is very difficult to raise my children with school requirements and the monthly allowance is only sufficient for one person, not for a family of five members. We as Syrians are having a difficult time in our life, all of us, but that should not let us be hopeless. The ease is coming, because the darkest moments of the night are those immediately before the dawn. Despite all of this, I finished my four semesters with no single delay and I used the summers to train myself in the hospital to enhance my experience and to collect the data of my research from the patients. First, the HOPES project provided me with tuition fees for the university that I could never have paid myself. In addition, the monthly allowances provided some support to me and my family. I am planning to complete my last semester which will start in September 2019, and finishes in January 2020, then I will present my thesis and have my master completed. Once I have my master degree, I hope that I can continue in a doctorate level in Egypt or elsewhere. To other students facing the same difficulties I say, never lose hope whatever you faced, and to collect the rose, you have to tolerate the pain of the thorns.”
By Diaalrahman Aldakhlallah
2019