Rojava clinic gives war injured patients new limbs and life

QAMISHLI, Kurdistan Region – In a clinic in northeastern Syria, known to Kurds as Rojava, health care workers and specialists are giving help to some of the thousands who have been injured in nearly a decade of conflict. 

“We were trying to move our injured people when a Turkish rocket hit us. I felt that I lost one of my hands and fainted. I was unconscious for five days and then realized that I was hospitalized at Til Tamir hospital,” said Chakdar Reme. 

The 20-year-old lost his left forearm during Turkey’s Operation Peace Spring in Sari Kani (Ras al-Ain) in October 2019. He got a new limb at the Prosthetic Center. 

Most of the center’s patients are victims of wars and traffic accidents, but the center also treats people who have lost limbs to disease or were born with congenital deformities.

But getting the materials needed is a challenge for the center supervised by the Kurdish Red Crescent. They depend on shipments trucked in from Damascus and delays are common. 

“Sometimes they are confiscated and we are asked to pay money for their release. We do not know why this happens. Last time, it took us 5-6 months to receive the delivery,” said Rebaz Ali, head of the Prosthetic Center.