Sinjar – Part 11: Syriac and Armenian Healthcare Workers in Sinjar

By Ablahad Hanna Saka | Member of the Bethnahrin National Council in Iraq During the last century, the city of Sinjar was home to members of our Christian community, including Syriacs and Armenians, who worked in various fields of public life. Among them were doctors, nurses, medical assistants and other employees of healthcare institutions. They contributed to providing medical and healthcare services to the people of Sinjar. Their presence formed part of the role played by members of our community in serving Iraqi society and its diverse components, particularly in the areas where they lived and worked. Healthcare workers also represented an important part of the city’s social and professional history, as their names became associated with healthcare institutions and the provision of services to local residents during various periods of the twentieth century. The following names have been identified in the available information about those who worked for the Ministry of Health and in healthcare institutions in Sinjar: 1. Major General Dr. Muzaffar Aboush: A military doctor who served as director of Al-Rashid Military Hospital and specialized in fractures. 2. Major General Dr. Jamal Aboush: An ophthalmologist at Al-Rashid Military Hospital. 3. Dr. Issa Youssef Kajouj: A specialist in internal medicine and cardiology who served as director of Sinjar General Hospital. 4. Dr. Saher Aboush: Physician. 5. Dr. Imad: Physician. 6. Dr. Ishaq: Physician. 7. Dr. Wanis Jirjis Francis: Physician. 8. Dr. Sami: A physician and son-in-law of Zaki Salim Hanti. 9. Dr. Lina: A martyred physician and wife of Dr. Fares. 10. Sami Abdul Karim Malko Dono: Medical assistant. 11. Zakiyah: Nurse. 12. Matti Suleiman Azzo: A Medical Dresser from Bartella. 13. Amal Elias Abdul-Ahad: Nurse. 14. Samia Shuro Malki: Nurse. 15. Ibtisam Yaqub Malko: Nurse. 16. Berlanti Jamil Derkawi: Nurse. 17. Bushra Elias Gabriel: Nurse. 18. Saeed Korkis Shaba Kana: A healthcare employee from Bartella. 19. Bassam Abdul-Nour: A pharmacist originally from central Mosul. He currently works as a pharmacist and owns a pharmacy in Baghdede. 20. Nafea Behnam al-Douri: Medical Dresser. 21. Afram Ibrahim Saifo: An administrative employee at the health centre in Sinjar. These names remain part of Sinjar’s professional and social memory and deserve to be documented as part of the city’s history. Many Syriac and Armenian members of the Christian community played important roles in education, healthcare, administration and other professions, contributing to society and helping build Iraq’s state institutions during the last century. Documentation note: This is a preliminary list, and other doctors, nurses, medical assistants and healthcare workers from our community who worked in Sinjar may not yet have been identified. It is important to collect oral testimonies, documents, photographs and old records to complete this part of Sinjar’s history and preserve it for future generations. In this series: Sinjar — Part 1: The Origin of the Name   Sinjar — Part 2: Land of Monasteries, Churches, and Memory of Christian Presence Sinjar — Part 3: Sinjar and the Christian Presence During the Islamic Military Conquest Sinjar — Part 4: The Return of Christians to Sinjar in the 20th Century Sinjar — Part 5: Neighborhoods of Sinjar in the 20th Century Sinjar — Part 6: Neighborhoods and families of Sinjar in the 20th Century Sinjar — Part 7: Sinjar and the memory of its skilled Syriac and Armenian artisans and traders Sinjar — Part 8: Teachers and Educators Sinjar — Part 9: Syriac Families in Karsi and Milik on Mountain Sinjar and the Northern Subdistrict Sinjar – Part 10: Priests, Churches, Monasteries, and Cemeteries are Testimonies to Christian Presence in Sinjar