Irish physiotherapist in Iraq - RTE report
international |
anti-war / imperialism |
other press 
Saturday November 03, 2007 17:28
by Damien Moran
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I remember meeting Dublin physiotherapist Pearse Stokes at an anti-war demonstration in 2003. I vaguely recall a conversation starting up after I handed him a leaflet about our Ploughshares action at Shannon, the resulting trial, etc. (http://www.indymedia.ie/article/77460). Pearse is one of those rare humanitarians who embody modesty. He reminds me of the way Tony Galvin, the former Irish soccer player, used to play: 'Head down, socks down, corner flag here I come.' This analogy is merely to denote the 110% focus and commitment Pearse seems to go about in achieving his humanitarian goals - one can safely guess he is a better physiotherapist than Tony was a soccer player.
I had often wondered where Pearse ended up after our brief chat on the demo. I kept an eye out for him at subsequent political marches and debates, one of which I remember he articulately made a contribution from the floor about the Iraq and Iraqis he knew - it was the best input of the night.
His story about working in Iraq in the 80's and 90's in Baghdad's Irish medical staff run Ibn al-Bitar, the city's main cardiac hospital, has been an inspiration for many, so I was pleasantly surprised to see Mark Little's recent RTE report from Iraq about two Irishmen in Baghdad: one a soldier with the U.S. army, and the other - Pearse Stokes.
Full report here:
http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/1102/irishinbaghdad.html
War in Iraq - Women have the Power by Pearse Stokes - February 10, 2003
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/28262
The St. Patrick's Day Peace Group
http://ireland.indymedia.org/article/34060