Jordan hospital treats war casualties from across Middle East

Shahd Tahrawi was wounded successful an Israeli onslaught connected Gaza, Hossam Abd al-Rahman suffered burns successful an detonation successful Iraq and bombardment successful Yemen has near Mohammed Zakaria successful request of aggregate surgeries.

They each met astatine the charitable Al-Mowasah infirmary successful the Jordanian superior Amman, which treats immoderate of the galore civilians wounded successful conflicts crossed the Middle East.

"I consciousness bittersweet erstwhile I look astir maine successful this place" seeing "people similar me, innocent, elemental civilians" whose lives person been blighted by the horrors of war, said Abd al-Rahman, a 21-year-old Iraqi patient.

"They are victims of war, burned by its fires... but had nary portion successful igniting them," helium told AFP.

He is waiting for his ninth cognition astatine the Amman hospital, to dainty third-degree burns to his face, neck, abdomen, backmost and manus helium suffered successful an mishap with unexploded ordnance successful his autochthonal metropolis of Samarra, northbound of Baghdad.

"I was a kid erstwhile I was burned 10 years ago," helium said.

"My beingness was wholly destroyed, and my aboriginal was lost. I near schoolhouse adjacent though my imagination was to go a aviator 1 day."

Abd al-Rahman, who had 17 surgeries successful Iraq earlier arriving astatine the infirmary successful Jordan, said that done "all these achy operations", helium hopes to "regain immoderate of my quality and beingness arsenic a mean quality being".

At Al-Mowasah, besides known arsenic the Specialised Hospital for Reconstructive Surgery and tally by aesculapian foundation Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Abd al-Rahman said helium has recovered comfortableness successful gathering patients from astir the region.

"We walk agelong periods of clip here, sometimes galore months, and these friendships trim our loneliness and homesickness."

- 'They consciousness safe' -

MSF tract communications manager Merel van de Geyn said the infirmary has patients "from struggle zones crossed the Middle East, from Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Gaza".

"We supply them with implicit attraction escaped of charge" and screen the outgo of flights, nutrient and different expenses, she said.

In summation to the aesculapian procedures, the infirmary places large value connected intelligence support.

"Here, they consciousness safe," said van de Geyn.

"They're surrounded by radical who person gone done akin experiences... Mutual enactment genuinely helps them."

From her country connected the hospital's 5th floor, Shahd Tahrawi, a 17-year-old Palestinian, recalled the nighttime of December 9, 2023, erstwhile a monolithic detonation destroyed her family's location successful Rafah, successful the confederate Gaza Strip.

The Israeli bombardment killed her begetter and 11-year-old sister, and near Shahd and her parent wounded.

Shahd has had 5 operations connected her near leg, 3 of them successful Jordan.

She said that connected the nighttime of the strike, she was woken up by the dependable of the detonation and the rubble falling connected her.

"I started screaming, 'Help me, assistance me!'... and past I mislaid conciousness."

Now, she said her imagination was to go a doc and assistance "save people's lives, conscionable similar the doctors prevention mine".

- 'Nothing but destruction' -

The infirmary was established successful 2006 to dainty victims of the sectarian unit that erupted successful Iraq successful the aftermath of the US-led invasion, but has since expanded its mission.

In conscionable nether 2 decades, 8,367 patients from Iraq, Yemen, the Palestinian territories, Sudan, Libya and Syria person undergone a full of 18,323 surgeries for injuries caused by bullets, explosions, bombardment, aerial strikes and gathering collapses successful conflict.

The infirmary has 148 beds, 3 operating theatres, and physiotherapy and intelligence enactment departments.

In 1 room, 4 Yemeni patients were convalescing.

One of them, 16-year-old Mohammed Zakaria, had dreamt of becoming a nonrecreational footballer, earlier his beingness changed dramatically erstwhile an aerial onslaught blew up a substance tanker successful Yarim, southbound of the Yemeni superior Sanaa, successful 2016.

The blast killed six of his relatives and friends, his father, Zakaria Hail, said.

"The warfare has brought america thing but destruction," said the father, sitting adjacent to his lad who is incapable to talk aft caller country to his mouth.

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