来自也门的义乌医生

何翼格

“大家在家憋了好幾天了，我知道那很无聊，但是专家提醒，近期仍不可出门。只要家里有面包，坚决不出门！”

2020年的春节，在义乌稠州医院工作的外籍医生阿马尔，穿着白大褂、戴着蓝色医用口罩，出现在抖音短视频上。他挥着手，一遍又一遍告诉所有在中国的外国人，面对疫情，最好的个人防护方式就是“宅在家里，不要出门”。15秒，不能再多，也不能过少，阿马尔精确计算过，这样效果最好，为此，他还用上了学相声时练灌口的技巧。

15秒的短视频，阿马尔分别用中文、阿拉伯语、英文录制了3个版本，发到了微信朋友圈，很多外国人迅速转发，因为他们觉得非常重要。一夜之间，阿马尔成了明星，他像手握哈利波特的魔法棒，身居浙江义乌这座小城，却几乎联通了所有在中国的外国人。

“阿马尔想帮助别人，他每天几乎都24小时在线。我们一家都支持他。”阿马尔的太太妮丝琳原本也是一名医生，因为孩子现在做“全职煮妇”。阿马尔的努力，妮丝琳看在眼里疼在心里，也会想方设法尽力帮助丈夫。平日孩子不闹的时候，她会把丈夫微信朋友圈里的信息转发到她自己的微信朋友圈。“很多在中国的阿拉伯女性会看到的。”妮丝琳说，她动动手就行了，但可能自己每转发一条，丈夫就会少接一个深夜里的电话。

来自也门的阿马尔从小就对中国医生有着深厚的感情。在他的家乡，一直有来自中国的援助医疗队。他13岁那年，得了面瘫的父亲一定要找中国医生看病，觉得中国人医术更好，后来中国医生用针灸治好了父亲。从那时起，阿马尔就梦想到中国学习。

1997年，18岁的阿马尔作为公派留学生进入山东大学中文系学习。后来，他在天津医科大学顺利地读完了硕士学位，又到浙江大学攻读博士。读书期间，阿马尔多次参加中央电视台举办的“汉语桥”在华留学生汉语大赛，获得了第二届的“汉语之星”，并在第五届“汉语桥”担任评委。2017年，阿马尔从浙江大学医学院毕业并获得博士学位后，被义乌稠州医院聘请成为脑科医生。

阿马尔说，他在浙大读书期间就常常到义乌，因为义乌有来自世界各地的美食包括自己国家的美食。渐渐地，阿马尔在义乌找到了归属感。所以一毕业，他就举家到义乌定居。

2021年5月，阿马尔被公立三甲医院浙大四院聘为全科医学科国际门诊医生，在新的平台为更多在义外国人提供周到细致的医疗服务。

工作之余，阿马尔还是义乌市曲艺家协会唯一的外籍会员。阿马尔告诉记者，他是在天津学医时接触到相声这一中国传统艺术的，十分喜欢。“我还是郭德纲的粉丝，他的相声是语言的艺术，给很多人带去欢乐和精神上的力量。” 操着一口流利的汉语，熟练地在演出中编排插科打诨的经典段子，阿马尔常常和自己的相声搭档一起下乡演出，将欢声笑语带到义乌各地……

与此同时，阿马尔还是义乌世界商人之家“丝路文化俱乐部”的CEO，他常常会组织会员品茶、过中国节、参加志愿活动，帮助来自全球各地的外国人融入义乌，感受中国文化的博大精深。

随着阿马尔的影响力越来越大，阿拉比亚卫视台、半岛电视台、英国BBC阿拉伯语频道等境外电视台纷纷找到他，视频连线让他介绍中国的疫情。由于时差，连线采访的时间大多是国内的凌晨两三点，阿马尔几乎没有推辞过，每次都是精神抖擞地出现在视频上。“我必须得去做。”阿马尔对朋友说，“很多在中国习以为常的问题，外国人不理解，有歧义。我宣传中国的抗疫情况，实际上也是给世界各国吃定心丸。”

2022年的春节，阿马尔一家将在义乌度过了又一个中国年。在做好门诊服务的同时，他将继续做好新冠肺炎疫情防控宣传工作。

阿马尔说，他现在在中国度过的时间比在也门的时间还要长，所以其实他的一半是中国制造的，在义乌这个第二故乡，能够帮助更多的人，是他义不容辞的责任。

Ammar’s “China Story” in Yiwu

By  He Yige

“I understand that you have been kept indoors for days and you are quite bored. But we have been warned by experts， we shall not go out， as long as we have enough bread at home！”

During the Chinese Spring Festival of 2020， Ammar， a foreign doctor working in Yiwu Chouzhou Hospital， appeared in a Tiktok short video wearing a white coat and a blue medical mask. In that video， he kept explaining with firm hand gestures for all foreigners in China that the best way to protect themselves from the epidemic is to “stay at home， don’t go out” . The video lasted for precisely 15 seconds， which as calculated by Ammar was the most effective. He also used the skills he learned from doing crosstalk to make the video better.

Ammar recorded this video in Chinese， Arabic and English respectively， and shared them in his WeChat moments， which were quickly forwarded by many foreigners who were aware of their significance. That made him a star overnight. Living in the small city of Yiwu， Zhejiang， he connected with almost all foreigners in China， like holding Harry Potter’s magic wand in his hand.

“Ammar wants to help people， and he’s online almost 24 hours a day. We want to be supportive.”  said Ammar’s wife， Nisreen， who was also a doctor but now a housewife because of her children. She tried to help her husband， for instance， by forwarding the information from her husband’s WeChat moments.  “A lot of Arab women in China will see that.”  For her， it was just some finger clicking， but for her husband， it might mean one less late-night phone call.

Ammar comes from Yemen and has developed a deep affection for Chinese doctors since he was a child. In his hometown， there has always been an aid medical team from China. When he was 13 years old， his father had determined to see a Chinese doctor for his facial paralysis and later was cured by one with acupuncture. Since then， Ammar has dreamed of studying in China.

In 1997， the 18-year-old Ammar entered the Chinese Department of Shandong University as an international student. Later， he successfully completed his master’s degree at Tianjin Medical University and went on to study for his doctorate degree at Zhejiang University. During his study， Ammar participated in the  “Chinese Bridge”  Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students held by CCTV several times， and won the “Chinese Star”  at the second competition. After graduating from Zhejiang University in 2017， Ammar was appointed as a brain specialist in Yiwu Chouzhou Hospital.

When studying at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou， Ammar often went to Yiwu， for this city has delicious food from all over the world， including the cuisine of his own country. Gradually， Ammar grew a sense of belonging towards Yiwu， where he settled with his family as soon as he completed his doctorate program.

In May 2021， Ammar was appointed as an international outpatient doctor in the Department of General Medicine at the Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine， where he has provided considerate and meticulous medical services for more foreigners in Yiwu.

In his spare time， Ammar also participated in the Yiwu Musicians Association and became its only foreign member. Ammar told the reporter that he came across crosstalk， a traditional Chinese art， when he was studying medicine in Tianjin and fell in love with it.  “I am also a fan of Guo Degang， whose performance is the art of language and has brought joy and spiritual strength to many people.”  As a foreigner who speaks fluent Chinese and is able to do Chines jokes skillfully， Ammar often performs in some rural areas with his comic partner， bringing laughter to every corner of Yiwu.

At the same time， Ammar also serves as the CEO of Yiwu World Business House  “Silk Road Culture Club” . He often organizes local club members for tea tasting， Chinese festival activities and volunteer works to help them fit in and feel the profundity of Chinese culture.

As Ammar’s influence grew， he was approached by foreign TV stations such as Al Arabiya TV， Al Jazeera， BBC Arabic for real-time online interviews to introduce how the epidemic is affecting China. Due to the time difference， most of the interviews took place at 2：00 or 3：00 a.m. in China， but Ammar hardly ever turned them down and appeared on TV in high spirits every time.  “It is something I need to do.”  Ammar told a friend.  “For there are so many common practices here in China simply not understood by foreigners. By publicizing China’s fight against the epidemic， I’m actually giving the world a piece of mind.”

In 2022， after spending another Chinese New Year in Yiwu， Ammar will continue to promote the prevention and control of COVID-19， while devoting himself to the outpatient services. Having lived in China longer than in Yemen， Ammar said that he was in fact half  “made in China”. Therefore， he felt obliged to help more people here in Yiwu， his second hometown.