Reports | 25 05 2020
Hundreds of thousands of Syrians have been permanently disabled due to the ongoing battles and constant bombardment in their country. The situation is worsening every day due to the lack of medical resources and services, in addition to the difficulty in following up with those in need because of the constant displacement and migration.
Ahmad M, a 47-year-old man from “Masaken Hanano” in rural Aleppo, miraculously survived what should have been instant death when an explosive barrel hit his neighborhood, but he lost his whole arm. But the life he knew ended, because he could not return to his work in car maintenance.
Because of the intense bombardment, losing his arm and his job, and a lack of money and medical services, Ahmad, a father of eight, moved with his wife and children to Turkey, hoping to find someone who would help him.
Slow Death
Every now and then, Ahmad writes about his situation on pro-revolution websites, in an attempt to find someone who might help him. “I cannot work because I lost my whole arm. I have eight kids and I am unemployed. I have been living in Ankara for eighteen months, and I still have not found a job. I do not know what to do. My children and I are slowly dying,” he said.
Obtaining a prosthetic limb is almost impossible for Syrians, both inside and outside of Syria. The high costs, which range between $500 and $1,200, make it an impossible procedure unless the person receives aid from a charity or an international organization. Unfortunately such organizations cannot provide for everybody, since the numbers of people in need are very high, and are on the rise due to the war.
Some injured people received locally made prostheses, but unfortunately they do not fully benefit from them. Bilal S., from Douma in rural Damascus, lost his right leg three years ago, when a missile hit his neighborhood, and he received a prosthesis, but it did not help. The prosthesis was very bad quality, according to him, because it was manufactured by a local charity, using primitive methods and material. Bilal has been contacting international organizations attempting to get a new one, but his efforts have all gone in vain.
Locally
There are no precise statistics on the numbers of people who have lost limbs due to the conflict on Syria. This is due to a lack of systematic survey methodologies, the daily bombardment that leads to continuous displacement, the fact that cities are disconnected and controlled by conflicting groups, and the continuous migration of those who have lost limbs and are seeking better care.
In a statement he gave to al-Watan newspaper in October, 2015, HussienNofal, President of the "General Organization of Forensic Medicine" in the regime’s government, said that is 1.5 million are disabled because they have lost limbs during the war. The National Coalition for Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces released a report in 2014 stating that, “the war waged by the regime in the country has left nearly 270,000 permanently disabled people.” The opposition has not released any statistics in 2015.
Internationally
In March 2015, Handicap International warned that one million wounded Syrians are permanently disabled, but it did not give precise numbers of those who have become disabled since the beginning of the war in Syria. Handicap International also warned that a whole generation of Syrians will be injured, deformed and disabled if the international community does not take serious steps.
According to the World Health Organization, in January 2015, the number of disabled people in Syria constituted 10% of the country’s population. The World Health Organization did not provide a specific number, but rather a proportion, which makes it hard to estimate due to the lack of a precise count of the number of Syrians still living within the country. Many parties, however, have warned that the numbers are on the rise, due to the ongoing war.
Blockade
Losing limbs is not always a direct result of shelling and bombardment. The blockades imposed on many areas led to severe shortages of medicine and medical equipment. According to a report released in 2014 by Save the Children Fund, doctors, in many cases, had to amputate children’s limbs in Syria due to the lack of necessary equipment for treatment. The report stated that the number of children who have had polio since the beginning of the war rose to 80,000 children. Additionally, the Red Cross stated in 2015 that 5.5 million Syrian children were in need of urgent help.
In September, 2015, Peter Salama, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, reported that “millions of Syrians are living in blockade-like conditions, and for the first time in Syria’s modern history, many cases of acute malnutrition among children have been reported.”