Reports | 25 05 2020
The trade in human organs is rife in Syria today. Organs are harvested inside closed rooms completely devoid of proper hygienic conditions. In the areas under the control of the Syrian opposition in the Damascus countryside, numerous doctors and nurses are implicated in this illegitimate trade—and in exposing dozens of people to lethal danger.
A Man Sells his Own Kidney!
Abu Amer is a resident of Douma in the eastern Damascus countryside, a father of three, and working in the excavation of tunnels for several years now. The fruit of his labor is barely enough to sustain his family; he was, therefore, forced to sell his own kidney for money!
“All I cared for was that my children not die of hunger—especially my crippled and incapacitated daughter. I learned from one of my acquaintances that there are those who buy kidneys in exchange for money. I told him to put me in contact so that I could negotiate an amount—and that is what actually happened,” The man says.
Following that, Abu Amer headed to an area called Hazrameh, in the town of Marj al-Sultan in the Eastern Ghuta. He found a person waiting for him, who took him to a houses there. Abu Amer was surprised upon entering a house equipped with some medical equipment; as well as 17 individuals—including doctors and women—alert for the same procedure.
“I frankly do not know who these people are, or to which party they belong—and I honestly do not care,” says Abu Amer emphatically, adding: "They are just people buying kidneys in exchange for money. Most importantly, I returned home with 250 thousand [Syrian] pounds in my pocket.”
How was Abu Amer Caught?
There seems to be a detail missing in Abu Amer’s story, which he blithely omitted: One day while working, our “kidney seller” fell to the ground writhing in pain. His colleagues carried him and his employer, to a medical point in the city of Douma.
That is when he revealed to them the story of selling his kidney, after he woke up. This surprised the medical point personnel, prompting them to take him to the nearest station belonging to the Army of Islam—which controls Douma—so that the matter is investigated, and those responsible uncovered.
Abu Amer superior at work explains the details of what happened: "What boggled us was that there had been limited numbers of medical equipment in the entire Eastern Ghuta—so how can there exist an entire home equipped with such equipment?" He adds: “We filed a complaint, and Abu Amer was required to provide some information from Abu Amer—concerning the whereabouts of his procedure as well as the people connected thereto. We were told that they [the Army of Islam] will take the necessary actions in this regard."
The Full Story
Several weeks following Abu Amer’s incident, news of a peculiar incident spread among the people Douma; concerning the execution of seventeen Syrian regime functionaries, following their involvement in the illegal human organ trade was revealed.
Three doctors and two women were executed in the famed Ghanam square in the [Douma] city center; and during Rozana’s tour there, we met one resident who spoke to us about the incident: "I learned from a relative of mine in the Army of Islam, that a Syrian regime gang had been arrested on the account of working in the organ trade. They were ambushed, following a man revealing that he had sold his kidney to them, when he succumbed to fatigue. They were executed in the Ghanam square at night."
"God curse them! It is not enough that we have to bear the siege and hunger—now they trade in kidneys!" The man angrily concluded.
Rozana also met a lady resident of Douma, who told us that she too—like other residents—had heard of this execution. She explains: “It may well be that they were working in the kidney trade; yet what is bizarre, is the complete media blackout of this story."
In the absence of any accurate statistics regarding human organ trafficking in Syria; it is worth mention that the head of forensic medicine at the University of Damascus, Hussein Nofal, had previously revealed to [Lebanese] newspaper As-Safir the documenting of more than 18 thousand cases of human organ trafficking in Syria. He also pointed out that Syria now occupies an important rank as an exporter of such organs, as he put it.