Dr. Hamit Tekin, who is in charge at the Medical Academy of Mesopotamia, pointed out that practical training as well as theoratical education will be taught at the academy and said: "We want to provide the society with the medical knowledge, which once had been stolen from it."

The Medical Academy of Mesopotamia has been opened in Rojava's Serêkaniyê city. From all three cantons applications flood into the Academy en masse.

Dr. Hamit Tekin spoke to the ANF about the education and work offered by this Academy.

Dr.Tekin stated that the Medical Academy of Mesopotamia is the first of its kind to open in Rojava and continued: "This Medical Academy you see here is a concept totally new to Rojava and also the whole of Syria. In this Medical Academy of Mesopotamia we want first and foremost to train nurses. After the nursery education there will be a six months long semester of medical coaching, which will continue for three years. The Medical Academy will enhance its programs and courses over the time more and more and focus predominantly on the theoretical and practical lessons."

NOT ACCEPTANCE TESTS BUT PRACTICAL SKILLS WILL BE DECISIVE

Tekin stressed that students of the Academy will be educated in two different sections and continued: "We will coach the students in two sectors. The first one will be the identification and treatment of an illness. Though our main target is to do away with the chief causes of the illnesses for good. Therefore we have set our primary task in removing air pollution, introducing a healthy diet and good conditions for human psychology. In this framework we offer a two layered education. Our education system includes a close cooperation with the village and neighbourhood communes in search of a solution finding for the problems of the society as a whole. We will try to solve problems at their roots."

Tekin recalled that Diabetes is a wide spread illness in Rojava, adding: "More than to fiddle about with the disease itself, we will go deeper into the matter and work rather on its causes. What we want is to educate paramedic personals from scratch and also meet the needs of the people of Rojava. This is our basic premise. We will furthermore investigate thoroughly the very causes and all factors facilitating the outbreak of illnesses before they actually get a chance to evolve and build up on this basis a system that provides a healthy life to the society."

EPICENTER KOBANÊ

Dr. Tekin pointed out that in this aspect Kobanê poses the hub of all the medical activity in Rojava, adding: "In Kobanê we have aside from the big Kobanê hospital also a gynaecology centre and a children's hospital as well. However because those hospitals lack personnel we are starting first to educate nurses. Our colleagues of the Kobanê Hospital are currently all active on the front lines treating the fighters of the YPG and YPJ. Our new medics who will graduate this educational cycle will on the one hand treat the injured on the front and on the other hand also work at the necessary services of the hospitals. With these medical education cycles we can place professional comrades at the people's disposal who are able to work in all fields at the same time."

THE SYSTEMS OF DIFFERENT COUNTRIES HAVE BEEN SCRUTINIZED

Tekin also stated that they scrutinized the experiences of many different countries to set up their own special education program and stressed that they modelled themselves on the health systems of countries like Cuba, Venezuela, China and Russia. Tekin continued: "We will offer education that complies with the model shaped after all those investigations. The main difference of our educational system is the break off with the exam scheme."

Tekin remarked that by getting rid of the exam system they figured out that a more relaxed but also negligent atmosphere evolved, which to extract they have put the weight more on the practical exercises. Tekin furthermore explained, that for them the period of time the education takes is of no concern, but what counts is that the students are truly investing in this education and put their knowledge into practice. He said: "Students who are confident enough and can please the academy and our lecturers, can officially graduate from the medical education. Instead of classical doctoral education, we put more emphasis on the practical paramedic training of amateurs."

THE MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE STOLEN FROM THE SOCIETY WILL BE GIVEN BACK TO IT

Dr. Tekin pointed out that the old stolen knowledge once inherited by society, has to be given back to it once more, saying: "We will hand over the knowledge of medicine to the society again and turn it once more to a tradition. We will put great efforts into that. But as Rojava is yet in great need of some emergency sectors, we will focus also heavily on those categories. Heart and nerve surgery will be our main target, as well as plastic surgery and micro biological medicine."