One doctor for 10 thousand people in Shengal (Sinjar) BOTAN GULAN - SINJAR 13.01.2015 10:30:10 People from the Yazidi community who took shelter on Mount Sinjar following the attacks by ISIS gangs are in urgent need of medicine and health workers. Some 10 thousand people are currently sheltering on the mountain as fierce clashes continue taking place in Sinjar town centre as well as surrounding towns and villages. Delivery of aid material to Sinjar has been enabled through Rojava since the corridor between West and South Kurdistan was reopened on December 20. The aid sent to Sinjar however doesnt suffice the needs of the thousands of people who are struggling to live under challenging circumstances, especially after the onset of winter. Rojava and Sinjar Aid Organisation RAP state that winter clothes, heating and basic foodstuff are among the basic and urgent needs of the Kurdish Yazidis who havent left their land despite the still ongoing attacks of the inhumane ISIS gangs. Medicine and health workers are among the other primary needs of the Yazidi people who are continuing to stay in summer tents in the depth of winter. Dr. Seid Sileman and volunteer Agit who have turned a house in the Kolka village into hospital are struggling to offer a remedy to 10 thousand people on Mount Sinjar. Apart from the hospital in Kolka, a doctor guerrilla is providing service to those wounded in the battlefield. The two ambulances in the area were brought to Sinjar with the contributions of the Rojava Aid Organisation. Sileman tells that he started treating the people from Sinjar after he wanted to join the ranks of resistance forces in order to defend his lands against ISIS attacks but, was objected by fighters who instead asked him as a doctor to provide the treatment the people needed. He started the work by turning a house into a hospital which actually lacks all the basic equipment needed in a hospital, even in a health care center. Dr. Sileman tells the followings regarding his fight for saving lives amidst impossibilities: I am here since the corridor to Sinjar was first closed. I formed the Kolka hospital amidst shortages. The people around here also helped very much. Many people from different areas came here for treatment despite the lack of any means of transport. We treated those we could, sent the others to other places in helicopters. The number of the patients we referred to other places has exceeded a thousand, the names of all are recorded. Many people died though. Children died from the cold, lack of food and severe conditions. Remarking that the reopening in December of the humanitarian corridor to Sinjar has once again played a life-saving role, Dr. Sileman said that the medicine delivered to them thanks to the efforts of the Rojava Aid Organisation has greatly helped but remained insufficient to meet the needs of all those people on Mount Sinjar. With the onset of the winter, people mainly need antibiotics and medicine against infection. The people are facing more health problems as their living conditions have changed. When patients come here, we treat those we are able to and send those in more critical condition to Rojava or South Kurdistan, he adds. Dr. Sileman stresses that there is a need for more medicine and health workers and calls, especially doctors, to come to the aid and assistance of the Sinjar people.
Posted on: Tue, 13 Jan 2015 20:00:09 +0000
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