Less than a week ago I heard that Dr Jamil Habib Attamimi,a lecturer of ours died from cancer.
I remember he told us that he was born in Iraq,raised there,studied medicine in Russia and worked in Kuwait before the war broke out,he then moved to Russia and was married to a Russian practicing in Volgograd as a Gastroenterologist.
He was a charismatic lecturer, stern but also with a fun side, I don’t know how many students cried because of his scoldings, but when he knew that some students was mocking him,saying that he looks like Saddam Hussein(even writing/drawing about it on the desk)..he laughed about it saying “Yes,I think I’m the Russian Saddam Hussein”
He taught my group for 3 semesters and even though initially we thought that it was our bad luck to get the strictest lecturer of all,but in the end we really bonded. I can still see him smiling from afar when he came for our graduation ceremony congratulating every student that he taught with pride,knowing he put us through hell earlier so that we can be better doctors(I later learnt that he requested to teach us on the 2nd and 3rd semester.Alhamdulillah)
Being the only Muslim lecturer from the mainly Atheist and Christian workforce, we were blessed when he talked about keeping our Amanah and showing Akhlaq for our patients,in between Hypothyroidism and Chronic Renal Disease,no other lecturer could have done that.He even taught us a little about cooking..a full recipe of Russian Plov(rice dish) that I’ve not tried yet.
There were also some funny moments in his class when a big black dog suddenly appeared and went straight for us…and that was when Dr Jamil learnt that we Malays really..really are afraid of big black dogs…:)
But to me,the most memorable thing was when he commented about the American invading Iraq
“You know..Saddam Hussein is not a very good man,he really did kill our people,but at least he had the humility to do it discreetly,the American came and killed my people in front of TV camera and no one can do anything”..
May Allah bless his soul..and may the knowledge that he taught us be beneficial to him and for all his students and their patients…
Al Fatihah to Dr Jamil Habib Attamimi..
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AlFatihah to the good doctor. I wish the Arabs in general, including their rulers, see the distinction between Saddam and the so-called the liberating force. He may have a similar view of Ghadafi.
I wish your comment box is simplified like many of other bloggers
thank you Pak Cik..he is a good mentor…
sorry for the complex comment procedure of wordpress…i’ll try to do something about it..
anyway..i’m planning to balik kampung this chinese new year..will u be around sir?hopefully i’ll be able visit you in terengganu…