Philippine MSF aid worker on being caught in the Israel-Gaza war: ‘I could smell rotten flesh’
- Darwin Diaz, a nurse and midwife, was stationed in Gaza in December 2021 after working in other high-risk zones including South Sudan, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan
- He shares how he went into ‘work mode’ when Hamas attacked on October 7, being evacuated amid ‘heavy bombardment’, and why despite the risks he’d return to help Gaza: ‘it’s where my heart is’
In December 2021, Darwin Diaz was stationed in the Gaza Strip as a medical coordinator for humanitarian organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF).
Since being stationed there, the 39-year-old says he has fallen in love with Palestinian people and their culture. But on October 7, his worst fears were realised when Gaza became the battleground for the deadly conflict between Israel and Hamas.
This is not the first time Diaz has found himself in the middle of a dangerous conflict zone. Originally from the Philippines, Diaz joined MSF in 2014. Since then, the licensed nurse and midwife has worked in high-risk zones including South Sudan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan during the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.
But the conflict in Gaza is by far the worst he has experienced. He told This Week in Asia that Gaza and its people are in urgent need of medical supplies and humanitarian aid that could only be delivered with a ceasefire.
Diaz was evacuated through Rafah, on the Egypt-Gaza border, on November 1, three weeks after the deadly conflict began. Below is an edited transcript of his experience as an aid worker caught in the middle of war.
