ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres commended a Kurdish former refugee and doctor for his contribution to the global COVID-19 response in a video call Wednesday .
The spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic has impacted the lives of most of the world’s population, and governments, alongside experts are seeking the best ways of curbing the spread of the virus and providing speedy recovery to patients.
One of the many doctors that have made significant contributions to the global response to the virus is Dr Heval Kelli – a former refugee from Syria and current cardiologist. He lives in the United States, but he and other Kurdish doctors from the Kurdish American Medical Association (KAMA) have provided virtual and online educational programming to Kurds around the world on how to best protect themselves from COVID-19.
Guterres thanked Kelli for “sharing your story with me. You're living proof of the power of inclusion - and how refugees & migrants can be part of the solution.”
“You are a very successful doctor. You contribute to the well-being of the community in which you live. And your success story is very important to communicate,” he told the Kurdish doctor in the video call.
Dr. Heval Kelli is a former Syrian refugee, now part of the #COVID19 response in the community that welcomed him years ago.
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) June 3, 2020
Thank you Dr. Kelli for sharing your story with me. You're living proof of the power of inclusion- and how refugees & migrants can be part of the solution. pic.twitter.com/jy7jw24lUt
The Kurdish doctor told Guterres that refugees can “play a big role in investing in this country,” referring to the US – home to the most coronavirus patients in any single country.
“We need the refugees to be part of the fight [against coronavirus] because in our resilience and what we have been through we could be actually a supporting arm for a lot of the native countries that accept us,” said Kelli.
“We’ve been doing a lot of virtual education to our Kurdish community across the online network. And this has been very helpful,” added the doctor, referring to his contribution to KAMA.
Kelli’s story
Kelli’s father, Kamal, was a lawyer and was tortured by Syrian regime. After northeast Syria (Rojava) became no longer safe for them, the family fled to Germany in 1996, when Kelli was only 12 years old.
“Unfortunately, we were not granted residency to stay in Germany and we had to apply to the US. After 2 years of vetting and application, we were accepted to come to America and we arrived in Clarkston, Georgia in 2001, two weeks after the tragic event of 9/11,” the doctor told Rudaw English via email late Thursday.
The family struggled to settle into the US initially, not being able to speak English. Moreover, Kamal soon suffered from a heart attack, and became unable to work. Kelli says his mother was not able to work either due to the aftermath of 9/11. His brother was only 14 years old at the time.
“So I had [to] work to support my family. I [would] finish high school every day then I [would] go work in a restaurant as a dishwasher every night and all weekend for years while in school. I cut grass for people, cleaned gardens and had many jobs to support my family,” says the doctor of his first years in North America.
Despite the hardships he faced, Kelli was able to complete his medical training and become a cardiologist. He credits his achievement to All Saints Episocopal Church and support from his community, especially his mentor Dr Omar Lattpouf, who he says “decided to help a dishwasher to become a doctor.”
“Today, I am living my American Dream of becoming a cardiologist to serve our communities.”
He describes KAMA as the “first Kurdish medical organization in the USA,” whose goal is to “build a platform to connect Kurdish American doctors and students so we can inspire and guide each other.”
In addition to being a cardiologist, Kelli has volunteered with the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) to promote and advocate for refugees during the crisis brought about by the pandemic.
“We wanted to show the refugees and immigrants are on the frontline during the worst pandemic of our lifetime.”
Kelli, 36, is married to Kazeen Abdullah, who is also a cardiologist. They have a one-year-old son, Amed.
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