"Israeli" weapons suspected in poisoning of young boy
By Andrew Wander
Source: Daily Star, 15-9-2008
NABATIEH: When the smiling six-year old with the big dark eyes set off in March last year on a school trip to visit the battle-sites of the summer 2006 war with "Israel", he was looking forward to a day away from the classroom. Two months later, little Ali Badreddine lay on a hospital bed recovering from the amputation of both legs and his left hand, the result of a mystery illness that doctors believe could be linked to weapons used by "Israel" during the conflict.
"Ali was sick the same evening he returned from the trip," his mother Dalal Nahal told The Daily Star. "We took him to hospital and they said he could die within four hours."
But Ali survived, battling a high fever for days before his legs went black and his skin began to fall off.
Early suspicions of meningitis were ruled out, but no one could make a firm diagnosis.
As his condition deteriorated, doctors were forced to amputate his limbs. He began a slow, painful process of recovery, gradually adjusting to life without his legs.
His familyhave never found out what caused the illness, but they have their suspicions.
"A Spanish doctor said it could have been from a chemical used in the war that affects some people more than others," Dalal Nahal said. Staff at the Nabatieh Rehabilitation Center where Ali receives his treatment agree that this is the likely cause of the illness.
Ahlam al-Hatab, the project coordinator at the center, said Ali's case was not unique. "Many poisoning cases happened after the war. We have another patient with the same symptoms," she said. "He touched something weird left over from the war and that night the symptoms started."
In the months after the conflict "Israel" admitted to having used controversial white phosphorus weapons on villages in the South. White phosphorous causes horrific burns, often consuming all tissue to the bone. It is not forbidden by international law, but there has been pressure on the international community to reclassify it as a chemical weapon and outlaw its use in future conflicts.
Staff at the center say they have informed the National De-mining Office of so-called "mystery cases" - those that they suspect are linked to "Israeli" weapons. But not every case at the center is shrouded in the same mystery. Unlike Ali, many of the patients know exactly what caused their injuries - cluster bomblets left over from the fighting. In the last 48 hours of the war, "Israel" dropped 4 million cluster bombs on southern Lebanon. A quarter of them didn't detonate and continue to claim lives.
On the walls of the corridor in the special needs school attached to the center, posters warning of the danger of unexploded munitions are pinned next to colorful drawings by their victims. The school dedicates time to teaching children to recognize the types of ordnance that they may find lying around, but for many, it is a lesson that comes too late.
"We show them the shapes of the weapons, and also let them see what they look like for real," Hatab said, gesturing to a box containing a collection of blank explosives.
Cluster bomb injuries are so common that the center boasts its own workshop to repair or modify replacement body parts. At least 12 of the regular patients at the center are children who have lost limbs after stumbling on unexploded bomblets left over from the fighting.
As well as those who were left disabled by the conflict and its aftermath, staff work to rehabilitate people suffering from other disabilities. Using a range of equipment provided by the Italian NGO behind the center, Controinformazione Terzo Mondo (CTM), therapists work with people suffering from speech impediments to strokes. They have the capacity to treat up to 60 patients for a range of conditions.
For Ali, the center has given him the chance of living a relatively normal life. He is expected to be able to attend an ordinary school in the future, although since he was struck down with the illness he hasn't been in education.
Nada Ismail, the president of the Philanthropic Association for Disabled Care told The Daily Star that the work done at the center was crucial for disabled people living in the area. "All people with disabilities from around Nabatieh benefit from this center," she said. "Due to the continuous wars by "Israel" on this area, the number of disabled people here is higher."
As Ali waited to change the bandages on the stumps where his legs used to be, his mother paid tribute to the work of the NGOs behind the facilities.
"I would have rather died than see my son in this situation," she said. "I appreciate the center's help. It's much more than I expected."
Source: Daily Star, 15-9-2008
NABATIEH: When the smiling six-year old with the big dark eyes set off in March last year on a school trip to visit the battle-sites of the summer 2006 war with "Israel", he was looking forward to a day away from the classroom. Two months later, little Ali Badreddine lay on a hospital bed recovering from the amputation of both legs and his left hand, the result of a mystery illness that doctors believe could be linked to weapons used by "Israel" during the conflict.
"Ali was sick the same evening he returned from the trip," his mother Dalal Nahal told The Daily Star. "We took him to hospital and they said he could die within four hours."
But Ali survived, battling a high fever for days before his legs went black and his skin began to fall off.
Early suspicions of meningitis were ruled out, but no one could make a firm diagnosis.
As his condition deteriorated, doctors were forced to amputate his limbs. He began a slow, painful process of recovery, gradually adjusting to life without his legs.
His familyhave never found out what caused the illness, but they have their suspicions.
"A Spanish doctor said it could have been from a chemical used in the war that affects some people more than others," Dalal Nahal said. Staff at the Nabatieh Rehabilitation Center where Ali receives his treatment agree that this is the likely cause of the illness.
Ahlam al-Hatab, the project coordinator at the center, said Ali's case was not unique. "Many poisoning cases happened after the war. We have another patient with the same symptoms," she said. "He touched something weird left over from the war and that night the symptoms started."
In the months after the conflict "Israel" admitted to having used controversial white phosphorus weapons on villages in the South. White phosphorous causes horrific burns, often consuming all tissue to the bone. It is not forbidden by international law, but there has been pressure on the international community to reclassify it as a chemical weapon and outlaw its use in future conflicts.
Staff at the center say they have informed the National De-mining Office of so-called "mystery cases" - those that they suspect are linked to "Israeli" weapons. But not every case at the center is shrouded in the same mystery. Unlike Ali, many of the patients know exactly what caused their injuries - cluster bomblets left over from the fighting. In the last 48 hours of the war, "Israel" dropped 4 million cluster bombs on southern Lebanon. A quarter of them didn't detonate and continue to claim lives.
On the walls of the corridor in the special needs school attached to the center, posters warning of the danger of unexploded munitions are pinned next to colorful drawings by their victims. The school dedicates time to teaching children to recognize the types of ordnance that they may find lying around, but for many, it is a lesson that comes too late.
"We show them the shapes of the weapons, and also let them see what they look like for real," Hatab said, gesturing to a box containing a collection of blank explosives.
Cluster bomb injuries are so common that the center boasts its own workshop to repair or modify replacement body parts. At least 12 of the regular patients at the center are children who have lost limbs after stumbling on unexploded bomblets left over from the fighting.
As well as those who were left disabled by the conflict and its aftermath, staff work to rehabilitate people suffering from other disabilities. Using a range of equipment provided by the Italian NGO behind the center, Controinformazione Terzo Mondo (CTM), therapists work with people suffering from speech impediments to strokes. They have the capacity to treat up to 60 patients for a range of conditions.
For Ali, the center has given him the chance of living a relatively normal life. He is expected to be able to attend an ordinary school in the future, although since he was struck down with the illness he hasn't been in education.
Nada Ismail, the president of the Philanthropic Association for Disabled Care told The Daily Star that the work done at the center was crucial for disabled people living in the area. "All people with disabilities from around Nabatieh benefit from this center," she said. "Due to the continuous wars by "Israel" on this area, the number of disabled people here is higher."
As Ali waited to change the bandages on the stumps where his legs used to be, his mother paid tribute to the work of the NGOs behind the facilities.
"I would have rather died than see my son in this situation," she said. "I appreciate the center's help. It's much more than I expected."
