Another man overhears this end of the Iranian Kurd’s story. He is angry and thinks they should have tried to save the tooth. He introduces himself as Al-Nashashibi, a DDS Maxillofacial surgeon from Jerusalem with a degree from Athens – here to work, not as a refugee.
He asks me to tell his story: He speaks 5 languages and worked with the Greek government before. He was fired when he requested better treatment – such as showers for refugees(?).
Jobless, after several months, he emailed a US dental group and showed me emails, saying “Nasser we will never let you starve”. He took that as a promise for paid work, and came to Lesbos when their email told him the location.
“Now the group RAM-USA.gr is expecting me to work for free. I have no more savings, no accommodation”
He is concerned that NGO doctors use the patients as cheap study objects for their students and extract when they could save a tooth – oblivious to their poverty and inability to pay for a replacement tooth. "Then they only stay a week, and leave the patient without care."
D. does not know what to make of this. His tooth is gone. He hopes to look for help and lisps a friendly ‘good-bye, my friend’.
Nashashibi writes down his phone number and ends with ‘Stop the war. Stop suffering!
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