about
The Iraq war has displaced millions of Iraqis from their homes, and their stories have been largely neglected. The goal of this project was to better understand the plight of these refugees, their living conditions, their medical issues, their access to health care, and how the war has affected their lives, and document and share my findings using photography.
With the support and blessing of my medical school and the Areas of Concentration in Medical Humanities at UCSF, I spent the last three months of my fourth year of medical school in the Middle East, to study, learn, experience and photograph. I lived in Jaramana, a refugee camp a few kilometers outside Damascus, Syria, in a refugee health clinic established by the Assyrian General Conference. The clinic is a small two bedroom apartment that has been converted, the living room into a waiting room and one bedroom into a sparse examination room. I lived with Dr. Milad Youkhana in the second room and had the opportunity to see patients, integrate into the community, visit people’s homes, and hear their stories. I hope the documentary film and photos will raise awareness and inspire others to continue to work to help Iraqi refugees.
Who will help the Assyrians?
Anobel Odisho
Anobel is Assyrian, raised in San Jose, California and now lives in San Francisco. He earned his undergraduate degree in molecular immunology and ancient Near Eastern Archaeology at the University of California, Berkeley and his medical degree from the University of California, San Francisco. He is currently in his surgery residency at UCSF. Although he had always loved photography, he dedicated himself to it at the start of medical school does it professionally and for personal gratification. This project was an opportunity to understand the health care issues around refugee life using his medical and public health background and to share it in a visually impacting manner with his photography. More of his work can be seen www.anobelodisho.com.
Adam Teale
Adam was born and raised in Sydney, Australia and earned his undergraduate degree in television production. He has worked in film and advertising as a visual effects creator, editor, and colourist, recently working on the film 300. Most recently working in Bangkok, he took a leave from work to travel the world. About 15 countries into his trip, he met Anobel at a cafe in Aleppo, Syria. As they discussed their travel and plans, Adam became deeply interested in Anobel’s refugee health photodocumentary. He was so moved by the current plight of Assyrian refugees and the horrors they have fled, he asked if he could help with the project. A few days later Adam and Anobel met in Damascus and began working for the next month on creating a documentary film to allow the refugees to tell their stories and showcase the photographs. His blog at www.adamteale.com chronicles his experiences and work.
A special thanks to Dr. Milad Youkhana for opening his home and clinic to my prying camera, to the Assyrian General Conference for connecting me with many refugee families, and to all of the refugees that opened their homes and shared their stories. Thanks to Brian Dolan, Professor of Anthropology and Social Medicine at UCSF and Jeffrey Schonberg, for their mentorship and guidance and the Medical Humanities program at UCSF. A special thanks to my friends who provided support and feedback during my trip, particularly Shamiran Mako and Chris Hsieh, who have seen and commented on far too many drafts of the film.
your awesome.
Lets gear up for MESA!
how do I get more information?
You do amazing work. I wish we had more Assyrian people like you who are trying to make a change by educating others in a proper manner about who we are, versus getting Assyrian Pride tattoo’s to symbolize who we are, but not know any facts.