Precis

He fled Saddam Hussein’s brutality to become detainee #982 in an Australian refugee camp. Now Munjed al-Muderis is a world-leading surgeon giving amputees a second chance at life. Sophie McNeill tells his inspiring story.

It happened without warning. At his Baghdad hospital in 1999, a young doctor was presented with dozens of army deserters. Then came the chilling order to mutilate their ears.

Would I obey and live with guilt for the rest of my life? Would I refuse and end up with a bullet in my head? Or would I run away? – Dr Munjed al-Muderis

He ran away, took a smuggler’s boat and wound up in Curtin detention centre in Western Australia’s far north west.

I was stripped of my identity. Curtin detention centre, in simple words, was hell on earth - Munjed al-Muderis

Fast forward 17 years.

Australian citizen Munjed al-Muderis is a pioneering orthopaedic specialist who transforms lives with a surgical technique called osseo-integration – “merging a human being with a machine”, as he explains it.

I had this chill feeling – what have I done? I’m back to the place I escaped from – Munjed

Now he returns to Baghdad on a whirlwind 10-day mission to attach implants and robotic legs to amputees who thought they would never walk again. ABC Middle East Correspondent Sophie McNeill follows him as he scurries between operating theatres, doing several surgeries at once.

He is a machine. We never catch him – Iraqi surgeon

Wars have left untold numbers of Iraqi soldiers and civilians as amputees. Patients flock to see Munjed… patients like Ghadban, 22, who lost both legs after a mortar strike.  Robotic legs might allow him to marry the girl he loves…

She told me that when I walk again her parents will agree – Ghadban

…And Ali, an ex-soldier whose leg was amputated after he was shot in battle with ISIS. His wife then walked out and left him to care for their little boy Hussein.

He used to bring me my shoes and slippers. Now he just brings me one shoe - Ali

Munjed can’t always help everyone, no matter how deserving. Amane was 10 when both her legs were amputated after a fire. Now 19, she is a para-athlete who represents her country. Munjed would operate for free, but the robotic legs cost around $100,000.

I don’t have the money for this operation. I want to walk – Amane

Munjed returns to Baghdad this week to complete his work on Ali, Ghadban and scores of other patients. At the climax of this medical and emotional journey, his hope is that all of them will walk. A Foreign Correspondent crew will be with him to see how it all goes.

Dr Munjed walking with amputee
GFX: FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT

DR MUNJED:  Yes, you’re gait is very good.

PATIENT: It’s the closest thing I’ve ever had to having my legs back, you know.

SOPHIE McNEILL:  He’s a world leader in his field, but was forced to flee his homeland.

00:00

Dr Munjed interview

DR MUNJED:  I was confronted with a decision – would I refuse and end up with a bullet in my head, or would I run away?

00:18

Aerial. Australian detention centre

SOPHIE McNEILL:  And detained in Australia.

00:25

Dr Munjed interview

DR MUNJED:  I was stripped of my human identity.

00:28

Plane landing

SOPHIE McNEILL:  Now, a twist in the tale.

00:30

Dr Munjed in plane

DR MUNJED:  As the plane was landing, I had this chill feeling –

00:35

Dr Munjed interview

what have I done?  I’m back to the place that I escaped from. 

00:41

Dr Munjed in Baghdad hospital

DR MUNJED:  How many have we seen so far?

00:45

SOPHIE McNEILL:  Tonight, ten days in a Baghdad hospital. 

00:47

DR MUNJED:  I’ll come and do that one, and then come back and do that one. 

00:50

DR MUNJED:  I can make her walk. 

00:54

SOPHIE McNEILL:  With a man transforming lives and bringing hope to a shattered country. 

00:55

Amira hugs McNeill

AMIRA:  Happy, happy, happy!!

01:00

Baghdad from car. Munjed in car

Music

01:07

GFX: MACHINE MAN

DR MUNJED:  Welcome to Baghdad. 

01:14

Munjed and McNeill in car. GFX:
Reporter SOPHIE McNEILL

We’re surrounded by armoured vehicles and we have plenty of security with us, as you can see. 

01:18

SOPHIE McNEILL:  I’m on my way to the Ibn Sina Hospital in Baghdad’s Green Zone with Dr Munjed Al Muderis, one of Australia’s foremost orthopaedic surgeons. 

01:25

Munjed at hospital, greets Ghadban

DR MUNJED:  How are you?

GHADBAN:  Welcome.  God bless you. 

DR MUNJED:  I received a phone call from a government official

01:40

Munjed interview

here, asking me if I would be able to help.  And I said yes, I would be more than happy. Iraq has one of the largest number of amputees and disabled people due to the wars that Iraq went through and is going through.

01:47

Ghadban interview

GHADBAN:  He called me and said “This is Dr Munjed from Australia.”  I asked “Are you calling me from Iraq?”  He said “No, I’m calling from Australia.”  I can’t believe someone called me long distance!

02:08

Patients at hospital

SOPHIE McNEILL:  Over the next ten days, Dr Al Muderis and his team of volunteer staff will perform life changing surgery here.

02:21

Munjed with Ghadban. Munjed with x-rays

DR MUNJED:  Okay, you compromise.  He’s standing on his fibula now.  A fibula revascularising in an area that is very poorly supplied, your chance is Buckley’s.

02:29

Patients at hospital wait to see Munjed

SOPHIE McNEILL:  People have come from all over Iraq, pinning their hopes on the man they call Dr Munjed.   

02:41

DR MUNJED:  They’ve been waiting for hours.  And some of them have been waiting for days.

02:52

Ali Bassem waits to see Munjed

SOPHIE McNEILL:  29-year-old Ali Bassem lost his leg more than two years ago when he volunteered to go to the frontlines and fight against Islamic State. 

02:57

Munjed with Ali Bassem. Munjed looks at x-rays

DR MUNJED:  How are you today?  Tell me what happened to you?

ALI:  I was hit by gunfire. 

03:07

DR MUNJED:  Can you walk?

ALI:  With the help of a prosthesis-  but not for long.  I get tired. 

SOPHIE McNEILL:  In Iraq, amputees often use outdated prostheses, which can be painful and allow only limited mobility.  Dr Munjed specialises in a relatively new surgical technique called osseointegration. 

03:18

Munjed interview

DR MUNJED:  Osseointegration surgery is a cutting-edge technology.  It's, in simple terms, merging a human being with a machine.  It's basically inserting a high tensile strength titanium implant directly into the bone and attaching it to a prosthetic limb through a small opening in the skin.  In the upper limb, we re-jig and re-organise the nerves and attach them to the robot as well, and the robot becomes functioning with mind control.

03:39

Munjed with Ali Bassem

DR MUNJED:  So I can implant an extension for you here. 

SOPHIE McNEILL:  The legs which attach to the implant are smart limbs.  Internal gyroscopes read the individual’s body position and manner of walking.

04:16

ALI:  Do you think it will work doctor?  This implant thing?

04:32

Patients watch video of smart limbs

SOPHIE McNEILL:  Compared to old-fashioned prosthetics, they allow amputees to walk almost normally. Over the next few days, a handful of Iraqis will be lucky enough to receive this new technology, thanks to Dr Munjed. 

04:35

Munjed with Ali Bassem

Ali hopes to be one of them. 

DR MUNJED:  Ok, think about it, don’t answer me now.  And we’ll see what we can do.  Okay.  Thanks again.

04:51

Photos. Munjed from baby to young man

SOPHIE McNEILL:  Munjed was born in Baghdad into a well-to-do family and lived a comfortable life there. 

05:08

DR MUNJED:  The Iraq that I grew in was a country that had law and order, had a system running.  It was a dictatorship, but it was safe.  It was peaceful, as long as you do not interfere with Saddam Hussein and his party’s business.

05:16

Photo. Munjed and fellow doctors

SOPHIE McNEILL:  In 1999, the young doctor and his colleagues were suddenly faced with the brutality of Saddam Hussein’s regime.

05:36

Munjed interview

DR MUNJED:  I was confronted with three busloads of army deserters, escorted by Republican guards and Ba’ath party members, and they ordered us to abandon the elective lists, and start mutilating these army deserters by taking part of their ears off.  And that's when

05:44

Munjed and colleague scrub up

things changed. The head of the department refused openly, and they took him outside to the car park, and they put a bullet in his head. 

06:03

Munjed interview

I was confronted with a decision.  Would I obey the commands and live with guilt for the rest of my life?  Would I refuse and end up with a bullet in my head?  Or would I run away?  And I decided to run away. 

06:12

Archival. Refugees on boat

SOPHIE McNEILL:  Munjed managed to get onto a boat and come to Australia via Christmas island. 

06:27

Aerial. Curtin Detention Centre

He was taken to Western Australia’s Curtin Detention Centre, where he was locked up for ten months. 

06:35

Photo. Refugees at Curtin Detention Centre

DR MUNJED:  I was stripped of my human identity. 

06:41

Munjed interview

I was marked with a permanent marker on my shoulder with a number, 982, and I carried that name for the rest of the time that I spent in the detention centre. 

06:44

Curtin Detention Centre

Curtin Detention Centre, in simple words, was hell on earth.

06:53

SOPHIE McNEILL:  Accused of causing unrest, Munjed was put in solitary confinement for weeks.  He used that time to study

06:59

Reconstruction. Reading anatomy book

his medical anatomy book that he’d brought from Iraq.

DR MUNJED:  So I read it from cover to cover, several times. 

07:09

Munjed interview

As soon as I was released, I sat in my primary exams in surgery and I passed

07:19

Archival. Munjed with patient

first go, and I scored very high in anatomy.  I was very motivated.  I had a great deal of ambition. 

07:25

Munjed interview

I still have, and I was determined that I would succeed. I was released on the 26th of August 2000, and I received my first pay check on the 1^st of November 2000.

07:35

Archival. Munjed with medical colleagues

SOPHIE McNEILL:  While Munjed was struggling to rebuild his life in Australia,

07:51

Archival. War footage

Iraq was descending into war and chaos – fertile ground for Islamic State to emerge and inflict its misery on a long-suffering Iraqi population. 

07:56

McNeill in car to meet Ali

SOPHIE McNEILL:  I’m on my way to meet Ali, the soldier we met earlier.  He’s just one of the tens of thousands of Iraqi casualties caused by ISIS.  He lives on the outskirts of Baghdad.

08:22

ALI:  We were surrounded by Daesh for about two days. 

08:38

Ali interview

We used nearly all our bullets and grenades.  I was injured when they attacked with about seven suicide car bombs.

08:41

Ali in courtyard. Son plays with football

SOPHIE McNEILL:  When Ali lost his leg, his wife walked out on him.  Ali suddenly became a single father to his young son, Hussein. 

08:55

Ali interview

ALI:  After my leg was amputated she left, this is quite common.  This is what happens in Iraq.  You see, our Iraqi system is not developed like others.  They don’t realise that disabled people have rights.  We don’t have rights.  They don’t care about you.  They treat you like garbage in the street. 

09:09

McNeill greets Ali and Hussein

SOPHIE McNEILL:  Ali and Hussein now live with Ali’s parents. 

09:46

ALI:  When he was little he used to bring me my shoes.  Now he brings me one shoe.  Early on he refused to come near me.  Slowly, slowly he understood and accepted it.

10:00

McNeill shows Hussein footage of man with robotic leg

SOPHIE McNEILL:  Hussein is excited at the prospect of his dad receiving the new robotic leg and walking normally again.

10:19

SOPHIE McNEILL:  What do you think? 

10:28

Hussein runs downstairs and kisses Ali

ALI:  They called me and told me I’d been approved and should come to the hospital tomorrow.  “We can do the implant so you can have the new leg, and you will be taken care of.”  I was so happy.  

10:32

Amane at hospital waiting for Munjed

SOPHIE McNEILL:  Waiting patiently to see Dr Munjed is 18-year-old Amane. 

11:14

Munjed examines Amane

DR MUNJED:  Come up, lie down. 

SOPHIE McNEILL:  When was the explosion?

DR MUNJED:  What year were you injured?

AMANE:  2009.

DR MUNJED:  2009.

SOPHIE McNEILL:  Amane was just ten years old when a heater fell on her and she was badly burnt. 

11:20

Amane interview

AMANE:  They said they have to amputate my legs because if they don’t I will die.  So they amputated both my legs.  I stayed at the American hospital for nine months. 

11:36

Munjed examines Amane

DR MUNJED:  Have you tried prosthetics? 

AMANE:  I tried but they didn’t work. 

11:46

Amane interview

AMANE:  I can’t live like a normal girl and go out without someone bothering me.  Now I am in a wheelchair, I can’t move freely.  I can move it myself now and I won’t let anyone push me. 

11:52

Munjed examines Amane

SOPHIE McNEILL:  Amane has done her best to

12:04

Photos. Amane competing in javelin

challenge the stereotypes here.  She’s a committed para-athlete, representing Iraq in the javelin. 

12:08

Amane

AMANE:  I won a medal in the Emirates Championship.  I also won another medal in the Asian Championship in Malaysia.  I have three gold medals. 

12:17

Photo. Amane receives medal at games

SOPHIE McNEILL:  Munjed says he can help Amane’s dream come true. 

12:25

Munjed with Amane

DR MUNJED:  What is your wish?

AMANE:  I want to walk. 

12:30

AMANE’S MUM:  If she can walk this will be an achievement for all the people of Iraq!

12:35

DR MUNJED:  I can make her walk.  Do you see this man, how he’s walking?

12:45

Munjed shows Amane robotic leg footage

12:50

AMANE:  I hope I’ll be able to walk like him. 

12:53

SOPHIE McNEILL:  But at this stage, the Iraqi government is prioritising treatment for injured soldiers, not civilians like Amane.  They won’t pay for her to receive robotic legs. 

12:57

Munjed interview in hospital corridor

DR MUNJED:  If we do osseointegration for her, she will walk, for sure.  She has a very high chance that she will be a very high performing amputee.  But the problem is, the limiting factor is money.  So I am happy to provide her the surgery for free.  But she needs to buy the prosthesis and she needs to buy the implants. 

SOPHIE McNEILL:  So, what’s she looking at?

DR MUNJED:  $100,000.  That’s cost price.

13:11

Amane interview 

AMANE:  I’ve been like this for nine years.  When the doctor came I hoped that I will walk and leave this chair. 

13:32

Munjed with Amane

DR MUNJED:  Ok my dear, let’s stay in contact, we will see what we can do.  Ok?  Shake hands?  I’d be happy to help you, nice meeting you.

13:43

Amane interview

AMANE:  I don’t have the money to undergo the operation. 

13:53

Munjed interview

DR MUNJED:  Ultimately, everybody deserves to be treated equally.  Ultimately, there is no difference between Iraqis - civilians, military, whatever, they are patients.  And it's my job to treat people according to their need, and it’s my job to make that happen. 

14:04

Inside hospital

On the ground, this may not be the case.

14:27

SOPHIE McNEILL:  22-year-old Ghadban from Mosul is another civilian who desperately wants Munjed’s help. 

14:34

Munjed looks at Ghadban’s x-rays

DR MUNJED:  Can you move your knee ok?

14:42

Photo. Ghadban

SOPHIE McNEILL:  He lost both legs after he was hit by a mortar when walking to college. 

14:49

Ghadban and mother in hospital with Munjed

GHADBAN:  I pulled my leg like this and it was broken into pieces.  My mother came out and she saved me.  I told them I want to die and not have my legs taken off.  They went to my mother and said: “His life or his legs.”

14:55

Ghadban and mother in hospital with Munjed

DR MUNJED:  Do you wear a prosthesis?

GHADBAN:  No, I don’t have one. 

15:13

Photo. Ghadban

SOPHIE McNEILL:  Ghadban found out about Munjed after trawling the internet

15:19

Ghadban and mother in hospital with Munjed

and seeing videos of patients walking with their new legs. 

GHADBAN:  I thought here is a person who will make me walk as well as possible. 

15:22

Ghadban interview with mother

He is pretty much the best in the world.  The walk is normal.  That night I was so happy I couldn’t sleep. 

SOPHIE McNEILL:  Like Amane, Ghadban will have to pay for this new technology himself. 

15:29

Photo. Ghadban and mother with food

His mum, Amira, sold their family home to do it.  

15:43

Amira interview

AMIRA, GHADBAN’S MUM:  I don’t want him to spend his life in a wheelchair.  He’s part of me.  I just want to make my children happy.  For me, life has ended.  My life is for my children. 

15:48

Photo. Ghadban

SOPHIE McNEILL:  For Ghadban, this surgery is the chance to try and live a normal life. 

16:04

Ghadban interview with mother

GHADBAN:  I am in love with a girl.  I was going to propose to her after we got rid of Daesh.  When I was injured, her mum said this can’t happen, that man is crippled.  I was very sad.  My girlfriend said, if you start walking maybe then my mother would agree.  I am trying to do the operation to walk again.  I promised her to do the operation in November if God allows.  I will then propose to her, and she said to me – when you walk again my parents will agree. 

16:11

Hospital interiors

SOPHIE McNEILL:  Even though Ghadban’s family has organised the money, there’s another problem – the Iraqi authorities haven’t given Munjed permission yet to operate on civilians. 

16:56

Ghadban and others in hospital corridor with Munjed

MALE:  Doctor, he must have the surgery.

MALE ON CRUTCHES:  I’m staying, I’m waiting.

SOPHIE McNEILL:  What’s happening here?

17:10

DR MUNJED:  Well, we still haven’t got the authorisation from the government to go ahead with civilians so far.  So they’re frustrated and I don’t have any answers, and we’re still waiting.

SOPHIE McNEILL:  What’s the hold up?

DR MUNJED:  I don’t know.

17:14

Amira waits in corridor

SOPHIE McNEILL:  For now, all they can do is wait and pray.

17:30

Ali is prepared for surgery

Music

17:37

SOPHIE McNEILL:  Today is the day our first patient, ex-soldier, Ali, will receive his implant.  He’s the first person in Iraq to do so. 

17:43

ALI:  See you guys... have a good evening.

18:02

DR MUNJED:  Ok my friend, good luck.

18:09

DR MUNJED:  I had to ask him whether he is ready to go ahead.  Does he understand the risks and is he happy to take that task of having the surgery?  And he said, yes, he’s ready.

18:11

Medic takes photo of Ali and surgical team

Music

18:21

DR MUNJED:  Having this surgery in Iraq, in a country that’s regarded as a developing country, is a landmark.

18:28

Surgery begins

SOPHIE McNEILL:  Ali is just one of a dozen people Munjed will operate on today, and there’s plenty more surgeries ahead.

18:37

DR MUNJED:  I need a wire, have you got the wire?

18:44

DR MUNJED:  People do have good skills here.  They’re very well educated, and they’re very well motivated.

18:47

Munjed during operation

DR MUNJED:  So this is very critical, you need to be in the middle.  Ok that’s good.  So this is the implant, ok?  You can take photos of it.  Is he behaving?  Is he good?  Is his lungs ok?  It’s already rotationally stable.  Ok, size 1 dual cone, open, for God’s sake, yeah?

18:55

SOPHIE McNEILL:  Many of Dr Munjed’s key staff in Sydney volunteered to be part of this special mission. 

19:20

DR MUNJED:  Have you got the next patient?

19:26

Simi in operating theatre

SOPHIE McNEILL:  Simi Masuku is his chief surgical nurse.

19:29

SOPHIE McNEILL:  Simi, tell us how did that all go?

19:33

Simi interview

SIMI MASUKU:  I think that went well actually for the first case.  Kind of like didn’t know what to expect and having to modify a few things to make it work for where we are, it went perfectly well.  I think perfect patient for the first case.

19:35

Patients arriving in waiting room

SOPHIE McNEILL:  New patients keep arriving.

19:51

Dr Abbas

DR ABBAS:  Rush hour, everybody come to hospital seeking for Dr Munjed’s help!

19:54

Munjed consultation with Mohammad

SOPHIE McNEILL:  31-year-old Mohammad has just arrived from Basra.  In January, he was in a unit fighting ISIS, when his vehicle struck an IED – shattering both of his lower legs.  After six operations, they still haven’t healed.

19:59

Munjed explains x-rays

DR MUNJED:  Look at it, the bone is white.  But this is not white, it’s grey.  When it’s grey it means the bone is dead. 

DR MUNJED:  Every time I look at an image, I couldn't

20:15

Munjed interview

stop hiding my shock to the severity and the complexity of the injuries these people have.  And unanimously, every single member in my team, the minute they look at an image they say, oh my God, what are we gonna do with this?

20:28

Munjed consultation with Mohammad

SOPHIE McNEILL:  Munjed has some bad news for the father of four.

20:47

DR MUNJED:  Has anybody talked to you about amputation?  It has to be done, it’s the only option.  This leg I can fix, but this leg no one can fix.  Only God can fix it. 

20:52

MOHAMMAD:  I’m still taking it all in.  I don’t know what to do.  If amputation is the only choice then I’ll have to accept it.

DR MUNJED:  Yeah, so we’ll do the right side, yes.

21:04

Amira wheels Ghadban in hospital

SOPHIE McNEILL:  Meanwhile, Ghadban and Amira continue to wait.

21:23

Amira interview

AMIRA:  The doctor told me he didn’t have any news.  They haven’t approved it yet.  He said it’s out of his hands. 

21:29

Munjed walks down hospital corridor

SOPHIE McNEILL:  But Munjed has been working behind the scenes to get things moving.  Amira’s persistence is paying off.

21:39

Munjed with Amira

DR MUNJED:  There are two gentlemen from the PM’s office who are looking into your case.  They have got your names, they are here especially for you. 

AMIRA:  Oh thank you very much!

DR MUNJED:  So stop following me! (jokingly) 

AMIRA:  God bless you!  You have no idea how happy I am. 

21:49

Advisors meet with Amira

SOPHIE McNEILL:  This is Mohammad - one of the prime minister’s advisors.

22:08

AMIRA:  Please help us!  Can you do anything to help us?

MOHAMMAD, PM’S ADVISOR:  We are here to help.  You must understand it could take time.  It needs time, we’re trying to help.

SOPHIE McNEILL:  There’s only few days left before Munjed has to leave and Amira is getting desperate.

PM’S ADVISOR:  We will do our best.  We will try.

22:12

Amira interview

AMIRA:  Time is passing fast.  The days of Dr Munjed being here are few now.  I’m very afraid he might go without operating on my son’s leg.

22:30

Dr Munjed with government advisors

DR MUNJED:  What are we gonna do?  These two are ready.  All I need is to operate on them.  I just need the ok.  All you need do to is allow me to take them from this floor to the second floor. 

22:47

SOPHIE McNEILL:  The advisors promise to try to get the prime minister to approve the surgery for civilians. 

22:58

Mohammad interview

MOHAMMAD:  The priority is for the army.  So I would like to help these civilians to maybe do surgery for them.  That mum, she broke our heart.  Everyone who heard her story, they very cry.  So I guess he will help us, I hope. 

23:04

Amira with Simi

SIMI MASUKU:  Hopefully all good, fingers crossed.  I don’t know how to say that in Arabic, but-

AMIRA:  Inshallah.

SIMI MASUKU:  Yes. 

23:23

Patients wait in corridor

Music

23:31

Operating team

SOPHIE McNEILL:  Munjed and his team have been performing over a dozen surgeries a day, trying to help as many people as they can before they go. 

23:38

McNeill to camera in hospital corridor

Dr Munjed now has three operating theatres on the go at once.  His team has been working 17 hour long days.  And already Dr Munjed has performed more osseointegration surgery here in Iraq than he has performed in all of the United States. 

23:47

Operation in progress

CLAUDIA:  It’s three minutes to midnight and we are just finishing our eighth case, and hopefully home soon. 

24:05

Iraqi surgeon in hospital corridor

IRAQI SURGEON:  He is a machine.  We never catch him.  No-one here in the operating room ever catch him, no patient, anaesthesia, really, we can’t!  Even the instruments, we can’t.  He is running from a room to another room really.  He’s a machine.  Everyone here is exhausted and he still works.  Really.  I am impressed.   

24:16

Hospital GVs

Music

24:38

Travelling to visit Ayatollah

SOPHIE McNEILL:  Despite their busy schedule, the team has to stop operating for a day.  An invitation has come from the most powerful religious leader in Iraq: Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani.  We are heading to the southern cities of Najaf and Karbala.  These roads are much safer than they used to be, but there is still a risk of attack.  An armed escort accompanies our convoy. 

24:53

Munjed assists McNeill with hijab

DR MUNJED:  Don’t fold it, don’t fold it.  Yes, like that.

25:32

Munjed and McNeill walk to mosque

Just be careful.

25:39

SOPHIE McNEILL:  We’re visiting the Imam Ali Mosque, one of the holiest sites for Shiite Muslims. 

25:50

McNeill and Munjed with guide

This is the Imam.

GUIDE:  Yes, that’s the Imam Ali Holy Shrine.  All this area is for Imam Ali Holy Shrine.  From this way, site of grave of Najaf. 

SOPHIE McNEILL:  Next to the shrine is Wadi al-Salam, believed to be the world’s largest cemetery. 

26:05

SOPHIE McNEILL:  Munjed was born Sunni.  These days he’s an atheist.

26:23

Munjed interview

DR MUNJED:  I grew up in Iraq.  We never knew who was Sunni, who was Shiite, who was Kurd, who was Christian.  Nobody cared.  Everybody was looked at being an Iraqi.

26:31

Inside mosque

Music

26:42

Team meet with Ayatollah’s representative

SOPHIE McNEILL:  The team is granted an audience with Ayatollah Sistani’s second in charge.

27:05

DR MUNJED:  We put in the implants, but these are smart implants.  The smart implants makes it move like a robot. 

27:09

SHEIKH: Is this one an amputee?

DR MUNJED:  Yes, an amputee.

DR MUNJED:  The religious leaders in the country are supporters of this project, including Ayatollah Sistani and his deputy.

SHEIKH:  We hope to see you again.  Come visit us again.  It was nice having you here, and I don’t say that to everyone!

DR MUNJED:  They gave their blessing for the project. 

27:21

Mosque GVs

Iraqis have a great deal of respect toward these figures.

27:49

Hospital GVs. Morning

Music

27:57

Munjed visits Ali in hospital

SOPHIE McNEILL:  The next morning, Munjed comes to check on Ali, his first implant patient.

28:05

DR MUNJED:  Good morning, how do you feel today?  We operated on your leg, why are you covering it?  Lie  back.  Any pain?

ALI:  No.

DR MUNJED:  You’re a strong man.

ALI:  How’d the surgery go?

DR MUNJED:  It all went fine.  It all went totally fine. 

28:11

Any pain?

ALI:  No.

DR MUNJED:  Any pain?  Still ok?

ALI:  Yep.

DR MUNJED:  Yeah.

28:27

Ali

ALI:  This is a good surprise.  He pushed it after surgery and I didn’t feel any pain.  This is good news.  Thank God. 

28:40

Ali’s father and Hussein visit

SOPHIE McNEILL:  Ali’s father and his son Hussein arrive to see how he’s going.

28:50

ALI’S DAD:  How does it work?

ALI:  They will attach a leg to it. 

29:08

HUSSEIN: Thank you for operating on my dad.

29:16

Team visit Amira and Ghadban

SOPHIE McNEILL:  Finally some good news for young college student, Ghadban, and his mum.  The prime minister has approved the surgery for civilians. 

29:25

McNeill hugs Amira

AMIRA:  I feel like I’m going to fly in the sky!  I’m so happy!  Happy, happy, happy!

29:36

Munjed

DR MUNJED:  A patient is a patient whether they are military or civilian.  To me, a patient is a patient

29:42

Amira and McNeill

AMIRA:  I’m happy!  I’m happy!  I thank you!  All of you!

SOPHIE McNEILL:  It’s Dr Munjed, not me.

AMIRA:  Dr Munjed!  All of you have provided help.  I couldn’t be happier. 

29:48

Amira helps Ghadban dress

GHADBAN:  I’m so happy that I’ve forgotten the pain and depression.  I feel really good.  God willing it will be successful and I will walk again.  Now I’m feeling hopeful once again that I will walk again and live my life.

30:06

AMIRA:  Good, good!  Fly!

30:21

Ghadban into surgery

Music

30:26

Amira kisses Ghadban

AMIRA:  Good luck!

30:34

Munjed interview

DR MUNJED:  I can't claim that I am a machine.  I try to be non-emotional and I try to separate feelings from my work, and then try to be as pragmatic as possible.  But sometimes it does get into you.  Seeing the number of people that are desperate, but what you do?  I just try to do as much as I can and set an example for people to follow, and hope that things will pick up.

30:5

SOPHIE McNEILL:  Been a big week.

DR MUNJED:  It has.

SOPHIE McNEILL:  What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned?

31:35

DR MUNJED:  Human beings deserve to live, and deserve to live better.  And people here are sick of fighting.  They just want to move on with their life. 

31:43

Ghadban on operating table

Music

32:02

Amira waits

DR MUNJED:  So if you get going with him quickly, because this one I’ll finish it, I’ll come and do that one and then I’ll come back and do that one.

32:07

Operation in progress

DR MUNJED:  I'm not in the business of building fighters.  I'm in the business of giving people their mobility back, to go back to their families and feed their kids. 

32:12

Munjed interview

I hope that the money that they spend on weapons will eventually be spent on building hospitals, schools, improving the life standards of their own people. 

32:24

Ghadban out of operating theatre

SOPHIE McNEILL:  Ghadban’s surgery has gone well.

32:36

Amira at Ghadban’s bedside

AMIRA:  How do you feel my son?

32:43

Team in hospital corridor

SOPHIE McNEILL:  Munjed and his team go home to Australia today, but they will return to Iraq soon.

33:22

Simi

SIMI MASUKU:  It’s been hectic, man.  I’m so tired.  Long hours every day, doing as much as we can before we leave.  So it’s been pretty emotional.  Some of the cases have been tough.  Nothing that I’ve experienced in Australia. 

33:33

Munjed farewells patients

SOPHIE McNEILL:  They have performed more than 50 surgeries in their time here. 

33:48

DR MUNJED:  My job is done.  Their job and your job starts.

34:00

Claudia with patients

CLAUDIA:  Lifting, up, up!  Yes!  And down.  Up again. 

SOPHIE McNEILL:  The patients who received an implant, all going well, will have their new robotic legs attached when Dr Munjed returns.

CLAUDIA:  20 minutes, okay?

34:10

Photos in hospital corridor. Fade to black

Music

34:31

Sunrise

34:41

Munjed and team return

SOPHIE McNEILL:  It's been nearly three months since Dr Munjed and the team were in Baghdad.  Now he’s back.

DR MUNJED:  Where are we going?

34:46

SOPHIE McNEILL:  And with him this time is a prostheses expert –

34:56

Bogdan fits prostheses on to patients’ implants

Bogdan Dimitriu.

BOGDAN DIMITRIU:  This has to be shorter.  Now we play Lego, like kids.  Now is the funny side.

34:59

SOPHIE McNEILL:  Everyone is excited to try and walk. 

PATIENT:  I’m so happy.  I will make you dance with me.

35:09

BOGDAN DIMITRIU:  Make balance 30 times, three zero, yeah?  Okay.  Try to breathe.  Take my hands, okay.  Make the first step.  Easy.  Easy, look at me. 

35:22

MALE:  I’m so happy my heart will burst!

35:47

Bogdan with patient

BOGDAN DIMITRIU:  Control your body.  Feel your position in space. 

SOPHIE McNEILL:  It’s like learning to walk all over again. 

35:52

Munjed examines Ali’s implant

Ex-soldier Ali has spent the last few months building up muscle around his implant.  He’s hoping to have his new leg fitted today.

36:05

DR MUNJED:  It’s looking very good, excellent, all good.  Down.  All good.   It looks perfect, looks absolutely perfect. 

36:16

Ali

ALI:  God willing, I have the will to walk today.

36:36

Bogdan fits Ali’s prosthesis

BOGDAN DIMITRIU:  I’m doing the alignment.  That means that I try as much as possible to fit the patient biomechanically.  This alignment help him to walk easier without pain.  If I don’t make the alignment, he will stumble. 

36:39

Ali stands and walks

Music

37:01

Ali

ALI:  The most important thing is I can stand and balance myself. 

37:17

Bogdan walks with Ali

37:24

Munjed with Ali as Ali walks

DR MUNJED:  How much can you feel now?  Does it feel like your leg?

ALI:  It feels like a real leg.  

DR MUNJED:  Can you walk?

ALI:  It’s a little bit painful.

DR MUNJED:  You feel pain?

ALI:  A bit.

DR MUNJED:  Where does it hurt?.. He has pain only in his knee.  Yes, that’s good… Keep going. And he can feel the ground and it’s amazing.  I’m astonished to the way these people healed, as the wound is amazing.

37:47

It is extremely rewarding.  I can’t put words to it.  The joy that I have is enormous, because who would expect that such number of people who have been devastated with such injuries end up walking again, getting their mobility back?

38:20

Ali and Hussein in Physio ward

SOPHIE McNEILL:  Ali’s son Hussein loves his dad’s new leg.

38:46

ALI:  Do you think this is better than the crutches?

HUSSEIN:  This is much better.

ALI:  Then say thank you Dr Munjed Al Muderis.

HUSSEIN:  Thank you Dr Munjed … for fixing my dad’s leg.

SOPHIE McNEILL:  Now his dad is more mobile, Hussein has a long to-do list.

38:51

ALI:  What did you like about the zoo when we used to go?

HUSSEIN:  The monkeys.

39:11

Ali walks with Hussein

Music

39:16

Team and Amane in Hospital Director’s office

SOPHIE McNEILL:  There’s one more person who Munjed has asked to return to the hospital.  Amane, the para-athlete who didn’t have the money to do the surgery last time.  She’s waiting to see if Dr Munjed has any news for her.

39:26

Munjed with Amane

DR MUNJED:  We will do the operation for you.  Okay?  Okay? 

39:55

SOPHIE McNEILL:  Munjed is going make Amane walk.  He says he’ll pay for her legs himself. 

40:08

Amane cries and hugs nurse

Music

40:16

Amane interview

AMANE:  I really trust Dr Munjed, I trust he will do my operation and make me walk again. 

40:39

Amane’s mum

AMANE’S MUM:  The first time we came we had high hopes.  But she felt so broken.  Thanks to God, now I have faith and hope in Dr Munjed.  Thanks be to God.  My feelings can’t be expressed.  I’m so happy. 

40:47

Amane

AMANE:  The operation is going to be a success and I will walk again.  It’s my wish to walk and see how tall I am. 

41:15

Photo. Ghadban and Amira

SOPHIE McNEILL:  The young college student, Ghadban, from Mosul is due to receive his new legs and be walking by the end of December.

41:25

Munjed with patients

SOPHIE McNEILL:  Dr Munjed and his team are going to spend the next several weeks in Iraq, working just as hard as they did last time. 

41:37

Munjed on yacht on Sydney Harbour

Music

41:59

SOPHIE McNEILL:  Despite Munjed’s commitment to Iraq and the demand for his services around the world, Australia is home. 

42:04

DR MUNJED:  I'm very grateful to Australia.  I never feel complacent

42:11

Munjed interview

and I never take things for granted, because the way I lived in Iraq, which is sad, I never get the chance to feel comfortable. 

42:16

Munjed and family on yacht

I'm very grateful that my kids do not share the same feelings that I had. 

42:28

Munjed

They're so happy with the way they are, and I wish that they live all their life not having the same fear, not having the same feelings that I do, because it's not a comfortable feeling. 

42:42

Family on yacht

I live all my life with one eye open, and I think this will not change.

MAN: How is it?

42:52

Munjed in water

DR MUNJED:  It’s very warm!

43:06

Credit start

Reporter - Sophie McNeill
Producer - Bronwen Reed
Camera - Brant Cumming, Mathew Marsic
Editor - Leah Donovan
Assistant Editor - Tom Carr
Executive Producer - Marianne Leitch
Special thanks to - Michelle Nairne

abc.net.au/foreign
© 2107

43:13

Out point after credits

43:36