Linda Gradstein/The Media Line
As the civil war in Syria is poised to enter its fifth year, the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has targeted doctors and hospitals, according to a new report by Physicians for Human Rights.
According to the report, at least 610 medical personnel have been killed and there have been 233 deliberate or indiscriminate attacks on medical facilities offering aid to Syrian rebel groups.
“The Syrian government is responsible for 88 percent of the recorded hospital attacks, and 97 percent of medical personnel killings, with 139 deaths directly attributed to torture or execution,” the report says. “These attacks are deliberate and have a cascading effect on the health of Syrians.”
The health sector is just one aspect of the civil war in Syria that has exacted an enormous toll on the entire society. More than 210,000 people have died in the conflict, which began when peaceful protests against Assad degenerated into an armed insurgency. At least 3.8 million Syrians have fled, putting pressure on neighboring countries especially Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan, all of which have been struggling to cope with the flood of refugees. The UN estimates that a further 7.6 million refugees have been displaced from their homes.
The economic consequences of the war have been devastating. A report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research found that 80 percent of the population in Syria lives in poverty, life expectancy has plummeted by 20 years, and the war has cost the country $200 billion since the conflict began.
Physicians for Human Rights says it has been compiling its figures on the health sector monthly since the fighting began.
“People become numb to the daily and monthly figures, but when you look at a whole year, it’s hard to ignore the appalling number of medical personnel killed and hospitals attacked,” Erin Gallagher, the director of investigations for Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) told The Media Line. “Sadly it takes bigger and more horrific numbers to capture people’s attention.”
Gallagher said there is no one central source for all of the information, so they put together information from hospitals, medical councils, NGO’s, UN agencies and various social media sites. The figures presented are conservative, she said, as it does not include hard to access areas.
The attacks on doctors and health care have intensified each year, the report found. In the second year of fighting, it says, attacks on health care tripled. In the third year, the Syrian army began using heavy weaponry such as rockets, missiles and aerial bombardment. The situation worsened when the army began using barrel bombs.
“A crude, low-cost weapon made from a cylinder filled with explosives, shrapnel, and oil, a barrel bomb is ignited and dropped from a helicopter or plane,” the report explains. “These weapons weigh between 200 and 2000 pounds and are extremely destructive and imprecise, as they break down into thousands of fragments upon impact.”
Gallagher says the international community needs to do more to safeguard hospitals and medical personnel.
“Even in war, there are lines that can’t be crossed; lines which are meant to protect civilians, injured, sick, elderly, and children,” Gallagher said. “Attacking hospitals and medical personnel should be as much a red line as attacking civilians with chemical weapons. Not only does it kill doctors and nurses, but it prevents those who are injured, those who have cancer, diabetes, heart disease from also getting treatment. The exponential effect is devastating, especially during a time of war. Even starting with disallowing the use of barrel bombs would save lives. Is that so hard to push for?”
She is especially concerned for the future of Syria’s children and youth, she said.
“I am concerned about a whole lost generation of people, especially the youth. It will take decades to rebuild the health infrastructure,” she said. Children will have injuries and diseases they would not have had otherwise, that should have been prevented. The attacks on medical personnel and facilities harm those who are already vulnerable. These are not attacks on fighters with weapons. These are attacks on children, the injured, the sick, the elderly, pregnant mothers.”