Somalia Hospital

[Intel]

Mark Corcoran follows two expatriate Somalis on their journey home to a country ravaged by a decade of civil war and famine. Issa Farah is a relentlessly optimistic and charismatic character who’s made the same journey already seven times in the past year, evacuating 17 seriously ill children to Australia for medical treatment. His travelling companion is a slightly apprehensive orthopaedic surgeon Dr Aidarus Farah, who fled Mogadishu at the height of the civil war and now lives with his family in New Zealand.

 

Farah has persuaded Aidarus – despite the fears of his wife, who is terrified he’ll be kidnapped or killed – to return for a month to operate at a hospital in Puntland where there are barely any beds, let alone a qualified specialist. With the war in the rest of the country still raging, and Mogadishu a dangerous urban jungle fought over by trucks of gun-toting kids, the town of Bosaso, on Somalia’s northern Red Sea Coast, is a relative haven of peace. It’s the capital of Puntland, a self-styled state that declared its autonomy from the rest of Somalia six years ago, and is presided over by warlord Abdullahi Yusif, one of the great survivors of Somali politics.

 

Bosaso used to be small town of some 5,000 people – now, as the refugees flood in from Mogadishu, it’s become a teeming city of more than 400,000, all attracted by that rarest of commodities in Somalia – peace. The hospital offers the only medical treatment for half a million people in the region, yet has few facilities. As word spreads of Aidarus’s arrival, patients desperate for help from the only “bone doctor” they’re ever likely to see, flock to the hospital from kilometres around. For Aidarus, it’s overwhelming. “I wasn’t expecting this,” he tells Corcoran. “The cases that are coming through that door – it’s unbelievable!”

 

As the orthopaedic surgeon sets to work as best he can, using instruments and beds donated by a hospital in Melbourne, Farah takes Corcoran on a tour of the town. Just across from the hospital is the local drug market, turning over around $US50,000 worth of “qat” a day. The market is controlled and taxed by the local militia and not surprisingly, none of the profits find their way to the struggling hospital on the other side of the street. The dealers are none too pleased by the attention, and Corcoran, Farah and the crew have to beat a fast retreat when they’re mistaken for American spies.

 

Down at the once sleepy port, business is booming, as it’s one of the few places still safe enough for goods to be traded. Farah even runs into an old mate from Melbourne – Kadir Mohmmed, who used to be in IT but has returned to the country of his birth to run a seafood import business.

 

Back at the hospital, Aidarus has decided that he simply can’t leave yet, although Issa is returning to Melbourne with yet another child needing help. “You can’t just come here once and go,” he says. “I’m a Somali. If I don’t help, who will?” He’ll stay for a few more weeks, and then return again for regular visits.

 

But far to the south, in Kenya, it may all be unravelling. The long-awaited Somali peace talks are in danger of collapsing, following a threatened walk-out by 17 warlords – including Puntland’s ruler, Abdullahi Yusef. It’s a grim future for the 7 million Somalis who remain in the country, and the two million exiles who would like to return home.

 

 

For those of you who are living in Australia please

watch the full documentary on ABC on Tuesday March 30th @ 9:20 pm

[Saxardiid]

“You can’t just come here once and go,” he says. “I’m a Somali. If I don’t help, who will?” He’ll stay for a few more weeks, and then return again for regular visits.

they are undoubtedly good men, i think this is one thing we can do for our country and its people. thanx sxb for the artical

[BN]

Salaam,

 

This seems to be the sad reality in Somalia; no matter how many telephone companies or hotels, basic services such as hospitals and specialists are in short supply(if at all available).

 

rokko,

Are you able to tape it and send it to me? I would, of course, reimburse you for the shipping....

 

 

Wasalaamu Alykum

[Intel]

^^^^^ will do mate