Ang Swee Chai

Ang Swee Chai (Chinese: 洪瑞钗) is an orthopedic surgeon and author. She is a co-founder of the charity Medical Aid for Palestinians.

Ang Swee Chai
Ang Swee Chai in the refugee camp in Beirut in 1985.
Born1948 (age 72–73)[1]
Penang, Malaysia
CitizenshipBritish, Singaporean[2]

Life

Ang was born in Penang, Malaysia but raised in Singapore. She attended Kwong Avenue Primary School, Raffles Girls' School, and the National University of Singapore where she studied medicine. She then received a master's degree in Occupational Medicine in 1976.[1]

In 1977, Ang married Singapore's human rights lawyer Francis Khoo. Two weeks after the marriage, she was briefly detained during a government crackdown on dissidents as the authority attempted to arrest her husband. She fled to London to be with her husband and they were granted asylum there.[3] She trained to be an orthopaedic surgeon in Britain, where she obtained her FRCS (Eng) and completed her training in Newcastle. She later became the first female consultant orthopaedic surgeon at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London.[1]

In August 1982, Ang responded to an appeal for medical personnel from Christian Aid to treat war casualties in Lebanon and went to work at the Gaza Hospital near the Sabra and Shatila refugee camp in Beirut.[4][5] The following month, she became witness to the Sabra-Shatila massacre during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982.[6] She and two other hospital staff testified to Israeli Kahan Commission on the Sabra and Shatila massacre on September 1982.[7]

With her husband, Francis Khoo, and some friends, Ang helped to form the British charity, Medical Aid for Palestinians, following the 1982 massacres.[5]

Awards and honours

In 1987, President Yasser Arafat awarded Ang the Star of Palestine, the highest award for service to the Palestinian people.[8]

In 2016, Ang was inducted into Singapore Women's Hall of Fame.[9] However, she could not receive the award in person in Singapore as she is holding onto her British citizenship and refused to give up either British or Singaporean citizenships.[10] Singapore does not allow dual-citizenship.

Controversies

On 24 September 2014, The Telegraph reported that Ang Swee Chai had forwarded a video entitled “CNN Goldman Sachs & the Zio Matrix” featuring Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke.[11] Ang Swee Chai responded by saying “I am concerned that if there is any truth in the video, that Jews control the media, politics and banking, what on earth is going on? I was worried.”[11][12]

Publications

Ang Swee Chai wrote a book on her experience, From Beirut to Jerusalem: A Woman Surgeon with the Palestinians.[13] The book has been translated into Chinese.[4] She also co-authored War Surgery: Field Manual with Hans Husum and Erik Fosse.[14]

References
  1. "Ang Swee Chai /Singapore Women's Hall of Fame". Singapore Women's Hall of Fame. 3 March 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  2. "Re-entry issue for Singaporean with UK passport". The Straits Times. Singapore. 16 March 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  3. "38妇女节：舍身为教育、生命付出的奇女子！". JadeMag. 8 March 2019.
  4. 苏颖欣 (14 December 2016). "流亡40年的新加坡人——访战地医生洪瑞钗". Malaysia Kini.
  5. Dr Toh Han Chong, Editor and A/Prof Paul Ananth Tambyah (10 October 2006). "Dr Ang Swee Chai - Surgeon With A Mission" (PDF). SMA News. Singapore: Singapore Medical Association. 38 (10).
  6. Syed Mohd Khair, Syed Ahmad Fathi (21 June 2019). "Ang Swee Chai – From Christian Zionist to Palestinian Activist – Book Review". theindependentinsight.com. Archived from the original on 21 June 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  7. Farrell, William E. (2 November 1982). "Doctors Testify About Massacre". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  8. Bedi, Rashvinjeet S. (2 November 2016). "Palestinian plight not a religious issue but a humanitarian one, says social activist". The Star Online. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  9. Terry Xu (16 March 2016). "Dr Ang Swee Chai, a self-imposed exile, faces issue with ICA over dual citizenship". The Online Citizen.
  10. "Dr Ang Swee Chai, a self-imposed exile, faces issue with ICA over dual citizenship". The Online Citizen. 16 March 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  11. Simons, Jake Wallis (22 September 2014). "Lancet 'hijacked in anti-Israel campaign'". ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  12. Bernstein, David. "Leading British medical journal refuses to retract open letter on Gaza written by authors concerned that "Jews control the media, politics and banking"". Washington Post. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  13. Murray, Nancy (1 January 1990). "Book reviews : From Beirut to Jerusalem By SWEE CHAI ANG (London, Grafton Books, 1989)". Race & Class. doi:10.1177/030639689003100307.
  14. "War surgery: Field manual. H. Husum, Swee Chai Ang & E. Fosse. Penang: Third World Network, 1995. 764 pp. Price US$100 (softcover), US$ 140 (hardcover) plus postage. Available to 'Third World' countries at US$ 25 (softcover), US$ 35 (hardcover) plus postage. ISBN 983-9747-14-2". Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. 91 (3): 368. May–June 1997. doi:10.1016/S0035-9203(97)90116-4.
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