Many of the refugee camps rely on the compassion of humanitarians and medical professionals who sometimes travel thousands of miles to help. Mohammad Jamal Deen is one of those examples. He travelled to Greece's refugee camps to help "alleviate the pain and suffering" and said the life as a refugee is harder than known. Those camps are in dire need of supplies and refugees suffer from all sorts of problems being exposed to outdoor living, including temperatures, shortage of food and medical supplies, one of the most basic needs.
The misconception: refugees want to be refugees
To help eliminate the misconception that refugees want to move from their home countries, "I wanted to know how refugees feel about moving to a new nation, and all who I've interviewed experienced some type of grieving, rather it is the grief of losing a loved one or a general sense of loss for their nation, having their lives been torn apart due to war, instability or violence. They all wish their nations were safe enough to return home. It is important to emphasize refugees would not go through such an exhaustive trip if was not a matter of life and death."
'I am doing this in hope to raise awareness to the worst humanitarian crisis afflicting the world today'
Born in Chicago of Palestinian parents, Mohammad is no stranger to the regional issues afflicting his parent's motherland.
Palestine suffers one of the longest and harshest conflicts in the M.E and resulting human rights abuses. At the age of five, he moved to Palestine and later returned to the USA to complete his studies. He was a paramedic and is now training as a nurse anesthetist and followed this by a doctorate in public health (DrPH), he says, "the reason I chose this field is because anesthesia is one of the biggest shortages around the world.
It allows me to make an immediate impact and start a surgical team, because I work hand in hand with surgeons, but also it is just my way to help reduce pain around the world ".
Humanitarian, role model and social media eye candy
The handsome American-Palestinian is also involved in other causes among them: the IRUSA (Islamic Relief USA), clothes and toys drive supporting women and children shelters, helped to build a water well in West Africa, and his newly created project and website: In-Sight, which " aims to keep the spotlight on some of the worst humanitarian crisis we face, and to show the world that there is a diverse team of wonderful individuals who are willing to stand together." Many of Mohammad's projects are shared via his Facebook and other social media.
His next trip is in December to Lebanon, to assist two clinics in two different camps, and then Paris in 2017 for a TEDx appearance. When asked about his religion, Mohammad said: "I have friends from all races and religions, (and also a tattoo.) I like to be known as a human rather than a 'perfect Muslim'."
