Today, on International Paramedics Day, I stand with pride-and with grief.

Pride, because I am part of a profession that defines courage.

Grief, because so many of our colleagues have died doing what we love: saving lives in the harshest places on earth.

Paramedics are often the first to arrive and the last to leave. We treat wounds while under fire, stabilize patients in disaster zones, and bring dignity to death when life cannot be saved. Whether it’s responding to a roadside crash, a building collapse, or an airstrike in a war zone, paramedics run toward the suffering-because that’s who we are.

But today is not just about celebration.

Today, I remember those who paid the ultimate price.

These medics died serving humanity:

• Razan al-Najjar, a 21-year-old volunteer medic shot while tending the wounded in Gaza, 2018.
• Mohammad Al-Astal, killed in 2023 while responding to the injured in Khan Younis.
• Noura Abu Zaida, struck and killed during the 2024 attacks on medical convoys in Rafah.
• Ali Al-Jaabari, killed in Mosul while evacuating civilians during the ISIS siege.
• Firas Abu Hilal, a Syrian paramedic crushed beneath rubble after rescuing a child in Aleppo.

They were not soldiers. They were not armed.

They were medics-with nothing but a bag of supplies and a commitment to care.

Let us carry their names forward. Let us fight for the protection of all healthcare workers in conflict zones. Let us ensure that medical neutrality is more than a phrase-it’s a principle we defend.

I am proud to walk in their footsteps.

I am proud to be a paramedic.

To my colleagues worldwide: your bravery humbles me. Thank you for every life you touch.

#InternationalParamedicsDay #AdventuresWithNurseJamla #DisasterNursing #NotATarget #ParamedicsInConflict #EmergencyMedicine