Selkirk has served as home practice for Dr. Demsas for 35 years
After 45 years of practising medicine, 35 of which have been in Selkirk, 71-year-old Dr. Habtu Demsas retired from the Selkirk Medical Centre on September 1.
Born in Eritrea in Eastern Africa, Demsas said he always wanted to be a doctor.
“Even in elementary, you know when you play, I always played the role of a doctor. By grade 9, I decided I wanted to become one,” he said. “I felt it was one of the professions that would be the most useful. … I also felt medicine was challenging. I like challenging things. I felt like it was a field where you can help a lot if you do it the proper way.”
Demsas moved from Eritrea to Ethiopia for educational opportunities, but in 1972, he had to leave the country because of the political situation. He went to Italy, where his uncle lived. Fulfilling his childhood dream, Demsas studied medicine in Italy, specializing in orthopedics and traumatology.
While studying in Italy, he took part in a university exchange program and did practicums in hospitals in Germany for four months at a time for six years. With all his experience with various cultures, Demsas speaks about seven languages, which has been useful in his practice.
Prior to 1991, Ethiopia and Eritrea were one country, but Eritrea became independent in 1993 after a 30-year war.
“I settled in Italy because I could not get farther with my Ethiopian passport,” he said. “I come from Eritrea, and I was to serve Ethiopia, but the concern was that I was afraid for my future. People who went back at that time were being imprisoned. Whether you wanted it or not, you somehow got involved in warfare, so I came to Canada as a refugee.”
Demsas arrived in Canada in 1983. He worked in Winnipeg in an emergency department, then started thinking about going into family practice to get away from shift work.
He looked into nearby communities, including Stonewall, Winkler, and Selkirk. His wife, Letty, was taking classes at the University of Winnipeg at the time, so they wanted to stay fairly close to Winnipeg.
Demsas decided Selkirk would be a good fit for his career.
“It was close for everything, and yet it was rural at the same time,” he said.
Living in St. Andrews and working in Selkirk, Demsas said he enjoyed the area.
“I don’t believe in “the grass is greener on the other side,’” he said. “Because things were going smooth, I couldn’t find any reason to move from Selkirk.”
He enjoyed the convenience of the community and the opportunities for his children. He and his wife have four boys, and one of the girls they sponsored from Africa became like a daughter to them.
Demsas and his family have helped sponsor many refugees from East Africa. He said people in Selkirk and surrounding areas have been supportive of their efforts.
“I’ve been very grateful to many people in the area. Our family has been blessed,” he said. “People would ask us what we were doing, especially sponsoring refugees. You can’t do it unless you have collaboration from other people. So many families around Selkirk and the region have helped us.”
Demsas said so far, he’s been so busy during his retirement that he hasn’t had to even think about how to fill his time yet. He’s been spending time with some out-of-town visitors — his family and friends celebrated him and his career at a retirement party earlier this month.
He plans to take it easy over the next month, and eventually, he’d like to spend some time in Italy. Once back in Manitoba, he plans to do some volunteer work.
“I still kept my [medical] licence because you never know in case I want to do some medicine in some very casual way,” he said.
