A Newcastle hairdresser turned humanitarian is hoping to raise funds to pay for a doctor in a remote Syrian village.
Chris Hassan, 33, a hairdresser at Green Ginger, in Newcastle city centre, has already raised enough money to pay for five months wages, but needs more to get vital medical help for the villagers in the war-torn country.
Chris, who lives in Walker, says he has already had lots of support from both his colleagues and NHS medics, but he is hoping for a final push to keep the doctor in place for the next few months. He spent time in Maaloula, 37 miles north of capital Damascus in 2018, on a humanitarian mission with a French organisation called SOS Chrétiens d'Orient.
"After experiencing life there I became aware there was only one medical professional there. He was a dentist. If the people needed urgent medical assistance they had to a hospital to travel almost 37 miles to the capital," said Chris.
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"During the war in Syria, Maaloula was occupied by various terrorist organisations and as a result homes and places of worship were destroyed. Since the liberation of the village by the Syrian Army, many people have returned, but due to catastrophic sanctions placed on Syria, the people are struggling with basic needs and most importantly, medical care.
"Currently one doctor and one dentist are providing care for the entire community. These professionals are so committed that the doctor transports any patient requiring urgent care to the hospital in Damascus personally. The fee for the consultation is just 4p, yet many villagers are struggling to find this. The doctor has to take a wage from this, as well as facilitate the running of the clinic.
"The average wage in Syria is around £50 a month, so a relatively small fundraising target really does go a long way. At the start of the war, the Syrian currency was valued at 47 Syrian pounds to one US dollar. Today it fluctuates from 4,200 to 4,300 Syrian pounds to one US dollar.
"When I returned from Syria, I was invited to speak to Baroness Cox, a cross-bench member of the British House of Lords who also founded an organisation called Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust, about the situation on the ground. And also to discuss sanctions and how they affect the people in Syria.
"My aim of the fundraising is to try and get the fundraiser into the NHS with the hope that doctors can relate to this and help donate to help pay a small wage to a fellow doctor trying to care for people whose lives have been turned upside down due to war and sanctions."
Chris, who believes his family may have links to the Middle East on his mother's side, became interested in the Middle East in 2010 with the start of the Arab spring in Tunisia. He self-studied different terrorist organisations operating around and within the region as the uprising spread to Egypt and Syria. He is now combining his day job with studying for a degree in International Relations and Politics at Northumbria University.
"In the past I have raised funds via raffle sales to the amount of £1,000 and I also give personally on a monthly basis," he said. "Soon the current funding will end and the people will be left with no medical care. I am trying to raise enough funds to help keep medical care on going for a further six months." You can donate to Chris's fundraiser here.
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