Tarek Loubani

M.D. Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...

is a Canadian doctor and humanitarian. He runs the Glia Project, which seeks to provide medical supplies to impoverished locations, and developed a low-cost

stethoscope The stethoscope is a medical device for auscultation, or listening to internal sounds of an animal or human body. It typically has a small disc-shaped resonator that is placed against the skin, and one or two tubes connected to two earpieces. ...

in 2015. He serves as Associate Professor at the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thames Ri ...

and works in emergency rooms. In 2013, along with filmmaker

John Greyson John Greyson (born March 13, 1960) is a Canadian director, writer, video artist, producer, and political activist, whose work frequently deals with queer characters and themes. He was part of a loosely-affiliated group of filmmakers to emerge in ...

, he was arbitrarily arrested and spent seven weeks in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...

Tora Prison Tora Prison ( arz, سجن طره '; ) is an Egyptian prison complex for criminal and political detainees, located in Tora, Egypt. The complex is situated in front of the Tora El Balad metro station. The main buildings in the Tora Prison complex ar ...

without charges. In 2018 he was shot in both legs while in the

Gaza strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza. ...

providing medical care during the 2018 border protests.

Early life and education

Loubani was born in

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the no ...

and lived in

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East J ...

as a child. He is the son of Mahmoud Loubani, who works at a medical clinic in

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic Canad ...

. When he was nine years old, his family immigrated to

Bathurst Bathurst may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Australia * Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia and the following things associated with the city ** Bathurst Region, the local government area for the Bathurst urban area and rural surrounds ** ...

, New Brunswick as refugees. He attended high school in Bathurst before studying medicine at

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus in Saint John, New Brunswick. Dalhousie offer ...

, completing family medicine residency at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

in Montreal and Emergency Medicine Residency at Queen’s University in Kingston Ontario.

Career

Loubani began serving as an assistant professor at the University of Western Ontario in 2010. In April 2018, the

Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) is an alliance of students' unions in Ontario, Canada. Their common objective is to protect the interests of over 150,000 professional and undergraduate, full-time and part-time university students, ...

awarded Loubani with their annual teaching excellence award.

Humanitarian work

In 2015, Loubani designed a low-cost stethoscope which could be made for $2.50 using a

3D printer 3D printing or additive manufacturing is the construction of a three-dimensional object from a CAD model or a digital 3D model. It can be done in a variety of processes in which material is deposited, joined or solidified under computer co ...

. He runs the Glia Project, which seeks to provide medical supplies to impoverished areas and has created designs for 3D printable surgical tools such as needle drivers and pulse oximeters.

Detainment in Egypt

On August 15, 2013, Loubani and Greyson arrived in Egypt, intending to travel to Gaza. On August 16, they were arrested and detained in Tora Prison, where they were held without charges and were subjected to physical violence and harsh conditions. Egyptian authorities were considering a number of intended charges against Loubani and Greyson, including murder and "intention to kill," which both men denied. They were released after more than seven weeks in detention.

Injury in Gaza

On Monday May 14, 2018, Loubani was shot in both legs near the border between the Gaza strip and Israel. Loubani was delivering emergency medicine to the protesters and believes he was targeted by an Israeli sniper. The paramedics wore high visibility vests to identify themselves as medical personnel, but in spite of that, Loubani says that a total of 19 medical professionals were shot on that day, including Musa Abuhassanin, the first paramedic to assist Loubani in the field, moments after he was shot. In a May 17, 2018 interview by

Democracy Now! ''Democracy Now!'' is an hour-long American TV, radio, and Internet news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman (who also acts as the show's executive producer), Juan González (journalist), Juan González, and Nermeen Shaikh. The show, whi ...

Amy Goodman Amy Goodman (born April 13, 1957) is an American broadcast journalist, syndicated columnist, investigative reporter, and author. Her investigative journalism career includes coverage of the East Timor independence movement, Morocco's occupati ...

, Tarek narrated the moments after he was shot and Abuhassanin's subsequent death.

Awards

* University of Western Ontario’s Award of Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, 2017/2018 *

Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry The Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry is the combined medical school and dental school of the University of Western Ontario, one of 17 medical schools in Canada and one of six in Ontario. History The medical school at the University of ...

, Bassel Khartabil Fellowship

References

External links

Glia Project, official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Loubani, Tarek Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Canadian emergency physicians Palestinian emigrants to Canada Palestinian refugees Canadian humanitarians University of Western Ontario alumni People from Bathurst, New Brunswick Dalhousie University alumni Academic staff of the University of Western Ontario