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Listen: Munjed Al Muderis chats to Katrina Roe
Munjed, the Australian of the Year candidate for NSW, is the Iraq-born surgeon who came to Australia as a refugee in 1999, and famously went on to pioneer a futuristic form of surgery called osseointegration.
What began as a boyhood dream while he watched The Terminator movie, Munjed has turned into a reality: fusing robotic parts onto humans. But, unlike in many movies, Munjed’s incredible sci-fi work is not being used to destroy, but rather to restore mobility to amputees, and transform peoples’ lives for the better.
Munjed escaped the evils of Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship, after he was asked to use his surgical skills to cut off the ears of political dissidents. He fled at the risk of being shot to death, and took a long and winding journey that landed him at Christmas Island in a leaky, non-seaworthy boat.
He then spent a year in Curtin immigration detention centre in Western Australia (an experience he describes as “hell on earth” due to inhumane treatment), before being granted refugee status and allowed into the Australian community.
Immediately he began working towards his dream of making a positive difference in the world.
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