Hospital treats victims of Middle East conflicts

Chahd Tahrawi was injured in an Israeli bombing in Gaza. In Iraq, an explosion severely burned Houssam Abderrahmane. Injured in a raid in Yemen, Mohamed Zakaria undergoes several operations. All are being treated in a Jordanian hospital, alongside other victims of conflicts in the Middle East.

In a room at al-Mouwasat Hospital in Amman, Houssam Abderrahmane does not hide his grief as he looks around at "civilians, victims of wars, burned by their flames, whose lives have been transformed forever," as he tells AFP.

In this facility, also called the Reconstructive Surgery Hospital and managed by Doctors Without Borders (MSF), this 21-year-old Iraqi is awaiting a ninth operation for third-degree burns on his face, neck, abdomen, back, and hand. He had been a victim of unexploded munitions after the offensive against the Islamic State group in Samarra, north of Baghdad.

He has already undergone 17 surgical procedures in Iraq. "I was a child when I was burned, ten years ago. My life was destroyed, my future too. I had to leave school, when I dreamed of becoming a pilot," he says. "Through all these painful operations, I am trying to regain some part of my appearance, and my life."

'Feeling of exile'

The young Iraqi says he has forged bonds with other patients from various backgrounds: "Especially with Palestinians and Syrians. We spend long months here, and these friendships mitigate our loneliness and our feeling of exile."

The hospital also provides psychological support. Merel van de Geyn, MSF's communication officer, explains: "Here, patients feel safe, surrounded by people who have experienced similar situations. Mutual support is extremely beneficial." 'They come from conflict zones across the Middle East: Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Gaza. We ensure complete and free treatment for them, including flights, medical care, food, and accommodation," she adds.

Chahd Tahrawi, 17, recalls the night of Dec. 9, 2023, in Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip. Her family of seven was sleeping when an explosion pulverized their house. The Israeli bombing killed her father and her 11-year-old sister. Tahrawi and her mother were injured. The teenager has undergone five operations — two in Egypt, three in Jordan — for fractures and injuries to her left leg. "We were sleeping. I woke up to the sound of an explosion, debris was crashing down on me, a smell of gunpowder was spreading ...Then I lost consciousness," she reports.

'Don't cut off my leg'

She regained consciousness in an ambulance. "The rescuers were pressing on my leg to stop the bleeding. I told them: +Please, don't cut off my leg." From her hospital room, she takes her classes remotely and dreams of becoming a doctor, "to save lives as the doctors saved mine."

Created in 2006 to accommodate Iraqi wounded after the American invasion, the hospital gradually extended its mission with the multiplication of conflicts in the region.

In nearly twenty years, the establishment has performed some 18,323 operations on 8,367 patients from Iraq, Yemen, Palestine, Sudan, Libya, and Syria. Injured by bullets, mines, shrapnel, airstrikes, or building collapses.

The hospital, which spans eight floors, has 148 beds, three operating rooms, a physiotherapy service, and another dedicated to psychological support.

MSF doctors assess the wounded in their country of origin. Those whose health condition allows for care are transferred by plane to Amman.

'Destruction'

In another room, four Yemenis share the same space. One of them, Mohamed Zakaria, 16, dreamed of becoming a professional soccer player. That was before he was severely burned in 2016 in Yarim, south of Sanaa, during the explosion of a gas truck hit by an airstrike. "The attack killed six of his relatives and friends," says his father, Zakaria Hail, sitting by his bedside.

Mohamed Zakaria cannot speak because of a recent operation on his jaw. "He has undergone two procedures in Yemen, and six here, including several skin grafts," his father specifies. "The war has brought us nothing but destruction," he states.