Group to Host Physician Aiding Darfur’s Needy

Oxfam America’s chapter at UT Dallas will host a talk by Dr. Ashis Brahma, a physician who has worked caring for people fleeing the violence and atrocities in Darfur.

He will speak Wednesday, March 11, at 7 p.m. in the Conference Center (CN 1.102).

Brahma is a Dutch physician with more than 10 years of experience caring for the ill in developing countries including India, Nepal, Burundi, Sudan, Uganda, and Ethiopia.

He was interviewed last year for a CBS 60 Minutes report on the Darfur genocide. At the Oure Cassoni camp in Chad, Brahma was the only doctor caring for more than 27,000 refugees from Sudan.

Brahma has been touring  the United States speaking about the horrors of the war in Darfur, as well as the hopes of its refugees. “Despite having lost everything, the Zaghawa people of Darfur have resilience, humor and dignity,” he says. He frequently cites the story of one of his medical assistants, a woman who was driven from her village and suffered the most brutal attacks, yet plans to send her two nieces to law and medical schools so they can return to Darfur and help their people.

He serves on the medical leadership team for the Phoenix Global Humanitarian Foundation and chronicles his missions on his own Web site, where he draws links between world politics and the health and well-being of the people living in the nations affected.

“Lack of access to health care facilities is often a conscious choice by those in power,” Brahma’s Web site says. “Tackling this equality lies in the recognition of the unique human experience.”