After seeing migrants from Iraq and Syria arriving at his hospital in eastern Poland, Dr Arsalan Azzaddin went on a Kurdish TV channel to warn people not to attempt the journey.
“The situation got to the point that I saw those people and what condition they are in, mentally and physically. I couldn’t take it any more and I called Kurdish television, and said there is this situation and I want to talk about it,” he said.
Dr Azzaddin was seeing migrants with hypothermia, pneumonia, broken bones and severe dehydration.
Migrants and refugees, mostly from the Middle East, have been trying to cross the border since the summer in the hope of finding better lives in Europe.
“We must teach young people that the illegal way is not a good way. If you have an education, look for a job, do it legally,” Dr Azzaddin said.
“You have to ask why people are coming," he said. "The leaders of many countries, of the United States and the European Union, must ask the Iraqi authorities why people are fleeing. These are educated people, they don’t have work, they don’t have anything to survive on, where is the money from the Iraqi oil?”
