DUBAI: A Syrian refugee has finally realized his life dream to become a doctor, graduating in London 10 years, four countries and 21 homes since he first started his training.
Dr. Tirej Brimo, now 27-years-old, was 17 when he first attended medical school in Aleppo, Syria, London daily the Evening Standard reported.
But when the civil war broke out in 2011 – just 10 months before he was due to graduate – he was forced to flee.
He moved across the Middle East, traveling through Lebanon, but he became separated from his family.
Brimo spent time in Egypt, where he twice attempted to finish his course but had to leave.
He eventually arrived in the UK four years ago, and continued in his efforts to finish his training by applying to every medical school in the country, but was rejected.
Some of the schools even suggested he retake his A-levels – the exam taken by 17-year-olds in British high schools. But his persistence finally paid off when St. George’s hospital in south London offered him a place on the five-year course. He was able to join the third year.
He was interviewed by Dr. Philippa Tostevin, the university’s medicine course director and reader in surgical education.
“I interviewed Tirej when he applied to St. George’s and I did not hesitate to offer him a place. I remember the passion for medicine that he demonstrated at that interview and I am so proud of what he has achieved. I am truly delighted to see him graduate this year,” Tostevin told the Standard.
Dr. Brimo says he now wants to specialize in emergency medicine or trauma surgery.
“Now I know what pain is, I am so ready to start my new role as a doctor and I am so ready to look after others’ loved ones. I promise I will do it with a heart full of love and a smile full of hope,” he explained.
He has since been joined by his mother, brother and sister in the UK — a country which he said welcomed him, gave him love and believed in him.
“I feel attached to (Syria and the UK) and want to contribute to both of them. One day I might go somewhere where there is war because I understand how difficult it is to lose everything at once, and how important it is to have someone be compassionate toward you. But that wouldn’t compromise the love I feel toward the British community,” he told the newspaper.
He is now working as a junior doctor at County Hospital in Stafford.
Syrian refugee finally qualifies as doctor in London, 10 years after starting course in Aleppo
Syrian refugee finally qualifies as doctor in London, 10 years after starting course in Aleppo
St. Francis relics go on public show for first time in Italy
Assisi, Italy: Saint Francis of Assisi’s skeleton is going on public display from Sunday for the first time for the 800th anniversary of his death, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors.
Inside a nitrogen-filled plexiglass case with the Latin inscription “Corpus Sancti Francisci” (The Body of St. Francis), the remains are being shown in the Italian hill town’s Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi.
St. Francis, who died on October 3, 1226, founded the Franciscan order after renouncing his wealth and devoting his life to the poor.
Giulio Cesareo, director of communications for the Franciscan convent in Assisi said he hoped the display could be “a meaningful experience” for believers and non-believers alike.
Cesareo, a Franciscan friar, said the “damaged” and “consumed” state of the bones showed that St. Francis “gave himself completely” to his life’s work.
His remains, which will be on display until March 22, were transferred to the basilica built in the saint’s honor in 1230.
But it was only in 1818, after excavations carried out in utmost secrecy, that his tomb was rediscovered.
Apart from previous exhumations for inspection and scientific examination, the bones of Saint Francis have only been displayed once, in 1978, to a very limited public and for just one day.
Usually hidden from view, the transparent case containing the relics since 1978 was brought out on Saturday from the metal coffer in which it is kept, inside his stone tomb in the crypt of the basilica.
The case is itself inside another bullet-proof and anti-burglary glass case.
Surveillance cameras will operate 24 hours a day for added protection of the remains.
St. Francis is Italy’s patron saint and the 800th anniversary commemorations of his death will also see the restoration of an October 4 public holiday in his honor.
The holiday had been scrapped nearly 50 years ago for budget reasons.
Its revival is also a tribute to late pope Francis who took on the saint’s name.
Pope Francis died last year at the age of 88.
‘Not a movie set’
Reservations to see the saint’s remains already amount to “almost 400,000 (people) coming from all parts of the world, with of course a clear predominance from Italy,” said Marco Moroni, guardian of the Franciscan convent.
“But we also have Brazilians, North Americans, Africans,” he added.
During this rather quiet time of year, the basilica usually sees 1,000 visitors per day on weekdays, rising to 4,000 on weekends.
The Franciscans said they were expecting 15,000 visitors per day on weekdays and up to 19,000 on Saturdays and Sundays for the month-long display of the remains.
“From the very beginning, since the time of the catacombs, Christians have venerated the bones of martyrs, the relics of martyrs, and they have never really experienced it as something macabre,” Cesareo said.
What “Christians still venerate today, in 2026, in the relics of a saint is the presence of the Holy Spirit,” he said.
Another church in Assisi holds the remains of Carlo Acutis, an Italian teenager who died in 2006 and who was canonized in September by Pope Leo XIV.
Experts said the extended display of St. Francis’s remains should not affect their state of preservation.
“The display case is sealed, so there is no contact with the outside air. In reality, it remains in the same conditions as when it was in the tomb,” Cesareo said.
The light, which will remain subdued in the church, should also not have an effect.
“The basilica will not be lit up like a stadium,” Cesareo said. “This is not a movie set.”
