American Doctors to Arrive at Rafah Border Crossing

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Cairo, Egypt (January 23, 2009)- The first group of American doctors arrived in Cairo on Thursday, January 22, 2009 to begin a 10-day humanitarian mission to the Gaza Strip. “The US Embassy in Cairo was very accommodating,” said mission leader Dr. Ismail Mehr, an anesthesiologist from Hornell, NY. Dr. Mehr added that the Embassy had helped facilitate the necessary documentation to enter Gaza.

On Thursday night, the doctors dined with their Palestinian counterparts and a group of 25 doctors heading to Gaza from South Africa, before resting up for the journey ahead. They will head to Gaza today—to enter the territory through the Rafah Border Crossing. “It’s going to be a five or six hour journey [to Rafah],” Dr. Mehr reported via email. “Once we arrive, we will begin work immediately.”

As the team approaches Gaza, resolve remains strong. “Without access to electricity, food, and medical care, many of the injured are not getting proper care,” said Dr. Imran Qureshi, a radiologist from Naperville, IL. He added, "Some of these doctors [in Gaza] have been working 24/7, and we're going to relieve that a little bit." Dr. Rick Colwell an emergency room doctor from Sioux City, IA said, "There's a crisis there and they need help. I'm trained to give that kind of help."

The team of volunteers also includes Dr. Irfan Galaria, a plastic surgeon from Salt Lake City, Dr. Kanwal Shazia Chaudhry, a pediatric emergency specialist from New York City, Dr. Shariq Sayeed, a vascular surgeon from Atlanta, Dr. Labib Syed, an interventional radiologist from Baltimore, and Dr. Labiq Syed, a research fellow at Johns Hopkins. Ahmed Kasem, an attorney with the California firm, Kasem, Ko & Ahmed, has volunteered to assist with logistics.