The chair of Jordan’s Red Crescent Society speaks with The Media Line about Israel, emergency response and humanitarian cooperation.
DR. MOHAMMED AL-HADID is a world renowned expert on emergency medical response and chairs Jordan’s Red Crescent Society. Dr. Al-Hadid also serves on the international Red Cross movements highest board. It may surprise some to learn that Dr. Al-Hadid will be a keynote speaker at a conference on emergency medical response sponsored by the Israeli army.
TML: Dr. Al-Hadid, should we be surprised to learn that a senior Jordanian official is speaking at a conference sponsored by the Israeli army?
Al-Hadid: Not at all, because this is something that is of concern to everybody. Anything that is there to lessen the suffering of people and contribute in any way possible to save lives – I will always be there.
TML: What is the difference between the Red Cross and the Red Crescent?
Al-Hadid: Actually, there is no difference because we all belong to the same family: the family of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent movement. The Red Cross is being taken as a reverse of the Swiss Flag, in honor of the founder of the Red Cross who used to be Swiss. The Red Crescent is the reverse of the Turkish flag. Both don’t have any religious connotations. They are chosen by governments party to the Geneva Convention. When they have to establish a national society, they choose whichever emblem they want. Contrary to the belief that the Islamic world uses the Red Crescent, Indonesia, with the largest Muslim population, has a Red Cross: the Indonesia Red Cross. Whenever we meet the movement is called the Red Cross and the Red Crescent movement. We are both members of the same organization with the same rights and responsibilities.
TML: Stories frequently come into our newsroom reporting that Jordanian unions and academics want no interaction with Israel. Yet, you have an impressive history of working with your Israeli counterparts. What is the situation?
Al-Hadid: I have been lucky to be a part of this international humanitarian movement where we are only concerned with humanitarian affairs. Unlike some unions that mix their academic qualifications with politics and other things, we are not overly concerned with politics; it’s not on our agenda. The only thing that is on our agenda is the mission of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent: to try and interfere when there is a disaster and to make sure that we serve people. Each of us does this through our own contribution, every bit can help at the end of the day, to make a difference in the lives of the most vulnerable and unfortunate people.
TML: Israelis tell us they’re grateful for your efforts to gain Red Cross recognition of the Israeli counterpart. How did that come about?
Al Hadid: You know, for the past 58 years the Israelis have been trying to get the Magen David Adom into the Red Cross Red Crescent movement. This was not possible. To me [it should involve] any national society without paying attention to the origin or to the religion as long as their mission is the same –and we do have seven principles to this movement—one of the principles is universality. Universality means the Red Cross and the Red Crescent should be present in every country, including Israel. When I was chairman of the Red Cross Red Crescent movement I tried to push this forward. I chaired the international conference in June 2006 when we amended the statutes of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent societies to accommodate the Magen David Adom. It was really a victory because we got to include both national societies: the Israeli Magen David Adom and the Palestinian Red Crescent. It is important because these two partners are working together in very difficult situations and working together to try and provide medical services, trying to provide help for Israelis and Palestinians.
TML: Also not widely known is a program you were instrumental in creating that is training Jordanian students in emergency medical response now at Ben Gurion University in Be’er Sheva. Tell us about it.
Al-Hadid: In 1997, I used to chair the disaster relief division in the Red Cross Red Crescent movement. I was thinking how we all live in the same area, and in North Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Palestine and Saudi Arabia, there is a rift prone to earthquakes. In disaster preparedness we should be able to respond when something does happen. I have seen during the years of my service in the Red Cross that in areas where people are well-trained to take care of themselves we don’t lose lives, and if we do, it’s very minimal. In other areas it’s been tremendous. So this is why we are introducing many courses and workshops on disaster preparedness everywhere. That brings me back to having well-trained members of the Jordanian Red Crescent. The only places that provide qualifications at Bachelor’s Degree level are in three places. Either we go to the United States of America, or we go to Australia, or we choose to go next door to our neighbors. Now that we’ve had several training workshops with the Magen David Adom, we were quite impressed with the level of their expertise – and when you see something that is working for others, of course you are always envious; you want to have the best for your own people. This is we have some people there getting their training and I’m sure when they get back they will be very qualified to save lives.
TML: How long is this program and how were these particular students picked?
Al Hamid: We took them from our branches. We had several candidates, who were subjected to an interview, and with some people from McGill University in Canada we all sat together and we thought the best students should go. They were picked this way. The length is three years. Two years they spend at the medical school with full extensive training, and the third year will be practical training.
TML: They are in their first year?
Al Hamid: Yes. It started in October and I’ve been in touch with them. They are doing very well and I wish them all success and I also thank their tutors, the university, everybody that is making sure they are succeeding with their mission.
TML: The Jerusalem Post claims that the military censor originally tried to keep your presence in Israel un-reported. Do you think it’s necessary that Jordanian interaction with Israel remain below the radar?
Al-Hadid: It’s something personal and it’s up to the person to decide if they want [exposure] or not. You know I represent the largest humanitarian network in the world, and for me what I am doing should be seen and heard because it focuses on humanitarian relations. When our late King Hussein, God rest his soul, made a peace treaty with Israel he said that war is in the minds of people and peace should be made by the people themselves. Governments sign peace treaties, but it’s up to the people to make sure that it works and that it serves their interests.
TML: Something not well known when you became chairman of the standing commission, King Abdullah II awarded you the title of minister. Should one address you ‘minister’?
Al Hadid: The title was given actually in recognition of my work at home and internationally because I have been now with the Red Cross for quite some time. I spent more than half my life with the Red Cross and I’ve been all through, volunteering and of course I am happy to do it or I wouldn’t have done it for 26 years. I am always ready to serve my king and my country.
TML: What inspired you as a young boy to get involved in this kind of work?
Al Hadid: Well it’s an old story. My father used to be a member of the board of the Jordan Red Crescent and he used to bring some booklets and bulletins with him. I was a young boy at school. As an avid reader, I always read everything that I had in my hands, and it was the Red Cross, the Red Cross and the Red Cross. It’s something that has haunted me since childhood. I decide that’s it, this is what I want to be. When I got home my father was in the senate and he could not continue with the Jordan Red Crescent. I was very pleased to be elected in his place and to serve in his place, to this day.
TML: Israel’s peace treaty with Egypt is almost always characterized as a "cold peace". Jordan’s treaty is not normally described that way, but it does seem that talking about Israeli-Jordanian interaction makes some people nervous. Is this accurate, and if so, is the picture changing?
Al Hadid: No, the picture changes depending on the political situation. If something is happening in Gaza or the West Bank, then of course it affects people in Jordan, Egypt and the whole Arab world. At the end of the day it’s all politics and people are affected by what they hear, what they see on television, what they hear from the media. Maybe 30, 40 years ago without internet, without satellite, we were not able to see what’s on the ground. But now it is easy and this is why people are very much affected. We in the Middle East are very emotional, very sentimental; we get affected by pictures on television, and so on. For this to be seen in a different way, I think the politicians should pull their socks up and really do something towards securing a deal, creating lasting peace and having a Palestinian state that will exist next to an Israeli state, which is the dream of everyone in the Middle East – then we could all live in peace. This state of cold war would then no longer exist and we would have warm relations between our peoples.
TML: Your presence at the IDF conference indicates that the results of the event might be more than just better emergency medicine. What do you hope your own participation will bring to it?
Al Hadid: Whenever I participate in any conference I try to learn something and I try to bring what I have learned from the Red Cross into whichever workshop or conference I am at. Of course it’s bound to cement a working relationship between people that are doing the same thing. At least when we need something, we know where to find it. We talk about emergency medicine, what is it? It is saving lives. You interfere as a doctor to try and save somebody’s life; you never want to lose your patient. This is what it is and I am looking forward to participating and I hope it will be a success.
TML: Dr. Muhammad Al-Hadid, world renowned expert on emergency medical response, thank you.