Dialogues: a conversation with Amani Ballour on conflict, courage and accountability

In this episode of Dialogues, we learn howcourage can turn a hospital basement into a symbol of defiance. Host Garry Aslanyan is joined by Dr Amani Ballour, a Syrian paediatrician and the first female doctor of a hospital in a Syrian war zone. For six years, she worked in an underground hospital, treating the wounded, the starving and the survivors of chemical attacks. She tells her story in her memoir, The Cave. Her story has also been told in an Academy Award-nominated documentary. She currently serves as Programme Advocacy Officer at the Syrian American Medical Society and as an adjunct assistant professor at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. She has also briefed the UN Security Council on the humanitarian crisis in Syria. In this conversation, we hear about her first-hand experiences, explore what it means to keep a hospital functional under siege, and ask what accountability must look like for those who target health workers.

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