How Zanzibari doctor sees China Medical Team

2021-07-08 12:22:00

A letter from Zanzibar was sent to JiangsuNow recently, talking about the touching stories between a young local doctor Khadija Abdi Said and the Chinese Medical Team stationed in Zanzibar.

As is well known, the medical cooperation between China and Zanzibar began in 1964. China has sent medical teams to Zanzibar every one or two years to provide free quality medical services to Zanzibar people. Never stopped regardless rain or shine in the past 57 years. Even now, COVID-19 is raging around the world, China has still sent the 30th medical team in the spirit of consolidating the traditional friendship between Zanzibar and China.

When I was very young, I heard that there was a China Medical Team (CMT) in Pemba. As long as local doctors cannot solve the problem, they can solve it. It also gave me the idea of learning medicine and becoming a doctor like the CMT members as my lifelong pursuit. I was lucky not only to attend medical college, but also in 2019 to work in Abdulla Mzee Hospital, the only hospital where all CMTs were stationed in Pemba. In the first year of work, as an assistant to Shushu Zhu, a physician of the CMT, I made ward rounds and the expert clinic with her. I have learned a lot from her and was proud of working with her. The year passed quickly. I felt very sad on the day when she returned back to China, because I thought I might never meet an amiable and lovely person like her.

When the 30th CMT arrived, I was not happy at all because I heard the physician was male. However on October 27, I met Jiqun Guo, a cardiologist with not only 22 years of experience but also doctor degree and postdoctoral research in Canada. It was my first ward round with him; he was so kind to me. He comforted me from time to time without blaming me while the sound of the explosion during elections scared me to hide around. It led me to have a little crush on him. He also treats patients very well both in the clinic and ward, he often measures blood pressure and oxygen saturation by himself. When performing a physical examination on a patient, his movements are always very standard and gentle. When positive signs are found, especially when hearing the heart murmur, he always let us listen to and feel it, then explain the pathophysiological foundation of the noise production, and finally use his skilled cardiac ultrasound technique to verify the diagnosis. It was very similar to Shushu Zhu. Thus he made me believe more and more on him and like him increasingly.

Also, he is more interested in Zanzibar's traditions and culture. At any free time he always asks questions about folklore and religion. I am not tired of answering his questions, but instead, I would feel very relaxed and happy in my communication with him. What touched me most was that he also tried hard to learn Swahili and constantly tried to communicate with patients in Swahili.

Through nearly two years with Shushu Zhu and Jiqun Guo, I found that all doctors in CMT are the same, who not only have exquisite medical technology, but also love the culture and people of Africa. In particular, the 30th China Medical Team firmly came to help us in the difficult period of the global COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, regardless of personal safety and personal gains or losses. We have done a good job in epidemic prevention and control resulted in successfully resisting two waves of epidemic in Pemba together with them. We are particularly grateful to them, and hope that they will continue to help us until the day they left!