Wounded victims of war with "Israel" face long, lonely road to recovery

Wounded victims of war with "Israel" face long, lonely road to recovery
Rehabilitation centers rely mostly on private funds to treat patients
Source: Daily Star, 30-7-2007
By Rym Ghazal
SOUTH LEBANON: Even though 17-year-old Rasha Mohammad Zayoun lost her left leg this winter when she reached into a patch of fresh zaatar and found a cluster bomb, she considers herself lucky. "I don`t have to wait for a leg as people heard of me and came to help me," said Zayoun, who became the poster child for many international and local outlets raising awareness about the plight of the southern Lebanese who have been wounded by "Israeli" cluster bombs since the summer 2006 war with "Israel".
UN officials have said that "Israel" fired as many as 4 million cluster bombs into South Lebanon during the war last summer, mostly in the final days of the conflict. Cluster munitions spread bomblets over a wide area. Many of the bomblets do not explode on impact, but can do so later at the slightest touch, making them similar to anti-personnel land mines.
There is no direct support provided by the state for cluster bomb victims like Zayoun.
Zayoun is getting treatment and physiotherapy at the Nabih Berri Rehabilitation Compound in Sarafand before she gets her leg and other assistance from an international non-governmental organization. Unlike the hundreds of others who lost a limb during the recent summer war or after or even in previous wars, she will not have to wait for the government or any of the local services to feel like a "complete" human again.
"I am lucky, I will be walking soon," she beams shyly as she poses for yet another photo.
Nearly a year has passed since UN Security Council Resolution 1701 ended the summer war with "Israel" on August 14, 2006, but for many Southerners and even visitors to the South the pain of the war is ongoing as they struggle to live without an arm, a leg, or even a jaw.
"What government? I am not waiting for this or the next government, I am going to deal with the crisis on my own," said former civil defense worker Mohammad Nahle, 32, who lost his leg on August 12, two days before the 34-day conflict came to a close.
Nahle, whose optimism had been an inspiration to many of the locals in the South, particularly in his home town of Nabatiyeh, was out on a rescue operation with the Lebanese Civil Defense in Nabatiyeh when he stepped on a cluster bomb and lost his leg.
Nahle didn`t get the same media exposure as Zayoun, and therefore no one has offered him a flexible prosthetic leg, but he said he is content walking around with a fixed one. "It is not the best, but better than nothing," said Nahle.
A basic fixed prosthetic leg costs about $700 while flexible limbs cost thousands of dollars, and hence it is unlikely that most Lebanese can afford a flexible prosthetic unless it is obtained through a donor. Prosthetic legs are in higher demand in Lebanon than arms, as most of the bomblets detonate underfoot, shattering the lower limbs. There is currently a waiting list for prosthetic legs.
In addition to waiting for their turn to purchase a limb, amputees must also find the financial means to make their homes more livable.
"Going to the washroom is the most difficult chore," Nahle and Zayoun agreed, echoing similar sentiments of other amputees interviewed by The Daily Star.
Nahle and Zayoun`s stories are not unique as at least 200 of the thousands of Lebanese wounded during the war last year lost a limb or two to the conflict, if not immediately then over time due to inadequate treatment or supervision.
Maha Shuman Gebai, director of the Nabih Berri Rehabilitation Compound in Sarafand, wouldn`t comment on the performance of the government in assisting the wounded victims of the conflict, content to say: "these are difficult times, and there is no magic wand to fix everything so fast."
Operating under the motto "Turning disability into ability," the center is one of the only comprehensive facilities in South Lebanon dealing with amputees and other severely disabled persons. The center is a key member of the Lebanese Welfare Association for the Handicapped. The center opened in 1996 to cater to the needs of those wounded during "Israel"`s "Grapes of Wrath" operation that year in South Lebanon, and is currently struggling to keep up with increased demand for prosthetic limbs after the latest conflict.
Hundreds of amputees visit the center, which has a staff of 130, including 30 physicians. The center sometimes receives funding in the form of government contracts, but currently the center, like most facilities of its kind in Lebanon, relies entirely on non-governmental organizations for financial support.
"We are always in need of funds," Gebai said.
Gebai highlighted the fact that most of amputees have "multiple injuries," such as the loss of an eye and an arm, and that each patient must first undergo a complete medical exam before entering into a full rehabilitation plan.
"It is a life-changing experience, and it is hard on everyone," Gebai said.
In Lebanon, amputees can wait for up to a year before receiving a prosthetic limb, a length of time that Dr. Fateha al-Hurr, the head supervisor at the Sarafand center said is "too long" and is yet another blow to those already victimized. "As an amputee sits there for months waiting for the limb, the anger and sadness they feel for the loss of a limb gets replaced with almost an obsession with getting a new limb," said Hurr. "They tell themselves, `if I just get that new limb, I will be happy again."
Hurr said the amputee file in Lebanon is "a mess" and there is "never enough money."
"No one is keeping tabs on the various cases, as the same person is often registered at several places and others are not registered at all," Hurr said.
"They come feeling lost; they don`t know who and where to turn to," she added.
In addition to the strain on the amputee, their families are also suffering, Hurr said, as they come to the center "angry" and feeling helpless without any visible assistance from officials.
Hurr said that even though officially the state plays an active role in funding the Lebanese healthcare system, average citizens afflicted with a disability cannot see this contribution. Therefore, over the years Lebanon`s "laissez-faire tradition" led to the formation of a "de facto state encouragement of, or tolerance for, these non-state providers."
"This how it is in Lebanon, somehow surviving on NGO`s and assistance," said Hurr.
"There is just not enough money channeled into prosthetics, even though it is their right to get one," she told The Daily Star.
Last week, Parliament`s Human Rights Committee issued a report stressing the importance of the Lebanese "right to health," which was hailed as a critical step in acknowledging the rights of amputees and disabled citizens, both of which were included in the report.
One of the leading researchers present at the meeting, MP and Dr.Ismail Sukaria called the report "an important step, and a first of its kind."
But so far, the change has only occurred on paper and only time will tell how the idea of a right to health translates into action on the ground through services and facilities, said Sukaria.
A common complaint among many of those who spoke to The Daily Star for this article, was "Where is the government?" and "Why is it not doing anything to help amputees?"
When contacted by The Daily Star, the officials at the Health Ministry responsible for the disabled refused to comment on this issue.
However, a bureaucrat at the Health Ministry defended the ministry, telling The Daily Star under conditions of anonymity that "the ministry is overwhelmed with more urgent cases before it can deal properly with the handicapped and amputee files."
"There is a backlog of files and the current political situation has made it even more difficult to cope with the demand," said the source.