The hospital to which the ‘Is Anybody There’ Foundation has been sending aid is void of even a stock of cotton.
In a country where military intervention is unpreventable, François Bozize, who had come to power through the 2003 coup in the Central African Republic, had no other choice than to flee his country with the coming of another coup. When the soldiers of Michel Djotodia, the leader of the political structure known as Seleka, entered the capital Bangui, Bozize found the solution in fleeing to Cameroon. All foreigners, among whom were also doctors, left the country. The ones who did not leave the Central African Republic as it was shaken with civil war were the teachers of the Turkish schools that functioned in the country.
The teachers, having sent their wives and children to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, did not abandon their students into the fate of war. As the most gruesome battles took place outside the walls of the Turkish school, Ecole Turk, the teachers were able to do nothing more than take shelter in prayer.
70 people were killed in the conflict that took place in front of the Turkish school. When Seleka took control of the country, it was the Is Anybody There Foundation that once again embarked on the task of bringing aid to the people of the country. Is Anybody There was the first organization to enter the country after the coup. A committee of health officials, which included four doctors, two surgical nurses and an anesthesia technician, came into the country to bandage the wounds of the people of the Central African Republic.
The Foundation’s Director for Health Services, Veysel Kayabaşı, explains that all flights into the Central African Republic come in from France and notes that they are only able to reach the country after a 24-hour journey. He shares his first impressions of the country:
Despite the fact that the Central African Republic is a rich country in terms of resources such as gold, diamonds and uranium, it is among the ten poorest countries in Africa and among the poorest countries in the world. There has been disorder in the country ever since November of 2012. The rebels are called the Seleka and are composed of Muslims. When the Seleka neared the capital city, all foreigners within the country, except for the Turks, fled from the country. There are still traces of the battles that took place near the Turkish school. Nonetheless, the safest, most secure part of the city is the Turkish school that bears the name Ecole Turk.”
The President of the Istanbul Gold Refinery Had Also Passed Away Here
While noting that they are being nicely hosted in the country, Kayabaşı also underlined that the Ministry of Health assigned them Amity Hospital in order to carry out their services. The health committee had brought 256 kg of medicine and surgical supplies with them to the Central African Republic. Kayabaşı claims that they have run out of medicine and supplies within a period of only one week.
Pediatric Specialist Dr. Önder Önem is also a part of this committee and this is the second time that he has come to Africa. His first journey had been to Uganda. When he was called up by the foundation, he immediately accepted. He mentions that they performed 40 surgeries and 800 outpatient services during the one week they stayed in the country. The most frequent disorder they encountered in the patients was parasites. He informs that people are suffering in the claws of such an illness due to grave hunger and poverty. Second is malaria. The CEO of Istanbul Gold Refinery, Ömer Halaç, too had passed away after catching malaria during his visit to the Central African Republic in 2008.
Following malaria, the people of the country are most stricken with hernia. The people have to manually carry the water to use in their homes and this leads to the hernia cases that are very common in Central Africa. Önem says, “We went to the Central African Republic at a time when everyone else was fleeing the country to show those people that we were with them. The misery of the people was written clearly in their eyes.” He says that the people of Central Africa have high hopes of them. In fact, he hasn’t been able to forget their words, saying, “You came to us, bringing us hope. If you were going to leave, why did you come in the first place?”
General Surgeon Cem Oruç talks about how people from other cities are flocking into the hospital for care. His words are, “These people are in need of every kind of medical service. While there we had to perform surgeries that wouldn’t demand further medical follow-up. When we returned to Istanbul, we had left all those people behind us. I cannot stop thinking about them. I came to Istanbul, but my mind has stayed behind with them.” Towards their last days there, they had started to accept the patients under the supervision of the soldiers.
“The Surgeries I Witnessed Were Inhumane”
The most striking words regarding the sending of Turkish doctors to Central Africa were from Ali İhsan Ataş, the anesthesia technician in the committee. Ataş is a first-hand witness that the healthcare in the country has been turned into a kind of business. He notes that the hospital they carried out the surgeries in was previously used by Chinese doctors but that the doctors had fled after the coup. They were unable to use the surgical supplies that were locked up and left behind. The worst part of the case was that the anesthetic apparatus in the hospital contained no gas to put the patient to sleep during surgery. There were a couple local doctors working with them in the hospital, and Ataş says he witnessed these doctors performing surgery without the use of anesthesia. He adds, “What I saw can be described with only one word: inhumanity. I cannot even describe it. Doctors have nothing to do with being a doctor. Everything in the hospital is sold for money. Surgeries are performed in exchange for money. If you have no money, then you are doomed. We weren’t allowed to use the anesthesia during the surgeries either. We applied local anesthesia with the medicine we had brought with us.”
No Cotton in the Hospital, $5 for Vivident Gum
Ataş announced that the average life span did not go beyond 40 years of age due to the lack of healthcare, while Canan Görgülü, one of the nurses in the committee, expressed their shock upon seeing the environment of the hospital when they first arrived. The hospital was void of even cotton and soap, let alone surgical supplies. She says that the beds had no sheets and touches on the fact that the patients would come in desperately with the faint hope of getting better, would lie down for a while, and then return back home.
One other point that drew Görgülü’s attention was the high cost of living. She was shocked by the fact that everything was being sold at exaggerated prices, such as 1 kg of grapes for $20, a pack of gum for $5 and hamburger for $12. She touches upon the tragedy with these words, “You can find whatever you are looking for in the stores. The rich have no trouble accessing a certain product. However, a substantial majority of the people is destitute.”
Published [in Turkish] on Hakimiyet.com, 27 May 2013, Monday
