The civil war in Syria is devastating but I have hope of a better tomorrow because History reassures me. Many other people have hope and they include three brave Doctors of Chicago; John Kahler, Zaher Sahloul, and Samer Attar. Recently named Chicagoans of the Year 2016, they are also called The Combat Doctors who know that the better tomorrow of Syria and especially Aleppo lies in lending a hand to that country.

John Kahler

Kahler is a Pediatrician in Chicago, Illinois and he spent four days in Syria to help the growing number of victims without overwhelming assistance and proper help. The patients in Syria seriously outnumber the medical group by 1 doctor to 100 patients or more.

And according to Points of Lights, Dr. Kahler said, “It’s a catastrophe. You rarely find a building that hasn’t been damaged and the hospital we were in, M10, was underground because it had been bombed three times.”

M10 is no longer operational. It has been completely destroyed.

Zaher Sahloul

Dr. Sahloul is a critical care specialist born and raised in Syria. He stayed for four days in the summer of 2016 to help the wounded and innocent civilians too. Former president of the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS), the doctor knew Bashar al-Assad. A staunch humanitarian in the awareness of the plight of Syria, Dr. Sahloul gives his all to help Syria by appealing to world leaders to help amongst other things. He has visited Syria several times since the war started.

Samer Attar

Also of Syrian ancestry, Attar is an orthopedic surgeon. His first efforts to help in the Syrian civil war date back to 2013 when he went with Dr. Zaher Sahloul. Last summer, he said, “I only did it twice but Syrian doctors, nurses, civilians, humanitarians they have to do this routinely. It’s their daily life.” Nevertheless the number of times he made the trip to Syria, it’s a brave act when he knew he could die any moment. He stayed two weeks.

The doctors also helped other patients which needed normal office visits issues. They experienced the chaotic environment the medical group on site faces daily and went with the flow. Congratulations to this trio for showing us that we can all help any way we can. If you can’t travel there, you can raise awareness. You can also donate. Just, don’t be a bystander. Do something productive no matter how small you think it is.

Originally published at MVSLIM.