Freedom Talk – Dr Munjed Al Muderis
Munjed Al Muderis fled Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, endured a terrifying sea journey to Australia and then faced brutal mandatory detention in the remote north of Western Australia.
He now resides in Sydney and is an internationally celebrated orthopaedic surgeon whose pioneering technique of osseointegration implants titanium rods into the human skeleton and attaches robotic limbs, allowing amputee patients genuine, effective and permanent mobility.
Munjed has performed this operation on hundreds of Australian civilians, wounded British soldiers who’ve lost legs in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a survivor of the Christchurch earthquake in New Zealand. None of this has been as extraordinary as his return to Iraq after eighteen years at the invitation of the Iraqi government to operate on soldiers, police and civilian amputees wounded in the horrific war against ISIS
Shalom will be presenting an evening called Freedom Talk featuring the esteemed Munjed Al Muderis in conversation with Channel 7 News Melbourne journalist Jodi Lee. He will talk about the concept of “freedom” and what it means to him in the context of his life story having lived under an oppressive regime, detained as a refugee and now as a surgeon free to share his gift with those in need. The ticket price will include a donation to the Al Muderis Foundation which has been established by Associate Professor Munjed Al Muderis as a not for profit charity, that supports humanitarian medical missions around the world.
Munjed’s incredible story has received focus from the media over the past few years and he was featured on a captivating segment of Australian 60 Minutes. He has also written a best-selling memoir called Walking Free, which is published by Allen & Unwin.
This promises to be a fascinating conversation and Shalom is expecting the event to be a sell-out. Tickets can be booked at www.shalom.edu.au.
Tuesday 26 March, 7pm | Freedom Hub, Waterloo | $25
Dr Al Muderis is clearly a person worthy of respect and demonstrating that he is making a great contribution to Australian society and to humanity at large.
It is a pity that he had difficulties in being granted asylum in Australia. I have some questions though about the conditions describing his mandatory detention as brutal. He was not starved, beaten, denied medical treatment or access to bathing facilities or left exposed to the elements. By contrast when, as a child I lived in Neu Freimann displaced persons camp, we received rations, we had an oversized sit tub to bath in, the attic where we slept was so cold that the washing froze, the toilet was a pit and the streets were unpaved. We didn’t complain; we were glad to have survived the Shoah.
Dr Al Mudaris’s contribution is to be admired, but it must not blind us to the fact that many of his fellow asylum seeker’s contributions to Australian society is less than positive.