CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK: Corsairs without borders

Carmel Alum to speak of service in danger zone

People missing limbs. Dead bodies stacked on the ground wrapped in white shrouds. A constant threat of missile strikes.

These are only a few of the risks and horrors that Dr. Samer Attar faced on a daily basis while in the war torn city of Aleppo in Syria.

As part of Catholic Schools Week, Attar is returning to Carmel to help students learn more about the legacy of Carmel.

Organizers believe that on this Legacy Day, Attar, Carmel Alum, Orthopedic surgeon and humanitarian, is a perfect example of Carmel values, specifically those of Mission and Justice.

“Our Carmel values are inspired by our founding orders,” Campus Minister Kambra French said. “Justice is a BVM core value that inspires the Carmel core value of Mission.”

Attar’s service to underserved people around the world exemplify those ideas. Today he will be speaking with all students about his time working in an underground hospital in Aleppo.

 

Former foreign language teacher Tony Recchia taught Attar at Carmel and has known him for 27 years. He remembers Attar being a model student and an inspiration to his classmates.

 

“He was the one to always give you something extra,” Recchia said. “You asked him for a paragraph and he gave you three to get his point across.

Like Recchia, Latin teacher Michele Bertaud was also teaching at Carmel when Attar was still a student. Although he was never in any of her classes, she got to know Attar when they both attended a Carmel-sponsored trip to Europe. She said she always knew that Attar would do great things.

“He would send Mr. Recchia and me notes and postcards from different places in the world,” Bertaud said, “They were mostly spontaneous trips from which he didn’t even know which hotel he would be staying at. He was always adventurous.”

Recchia describes Attar as very altruistic since his main concern is the well-being of others.

“Sam Attar is there to help people in need of that push,” Recchia said. “He is the type to not go to bed unless he helps someone.”

Attar has spoken out about his time in Aleppo to many national news networks in an effort to help raise awareness for the crisis occurring there.

“The only reason he is talking about it is because of how bad the situation is,” Bertaud said, “It’s never about how great he is. It’s always about how bad it is and how all the people are struggling.”