In 2011, prior to the start of the civil war, Syria’s healthcare system was at a peak. Medical schools were filled with soon to be doctors, the country was producing all of their drug and medicine needs, and the life expectancy was over 75 years old. Almost every patient was receiving ample medical care. Now, seven years into the destruction of Syria, over 60% of healthcare has been taken away and the production of drugs has declined by over 70%. The country has entered a state of disaster, with war and chaos spreading, and millions of people dying. Majority of the population has been displaced and put in refugee camps across Europe and the Middle East, where conditions are far worse. Political turmoil and unrest in the Middle East has forced refugees to live in unsanitary camps with limited access to medical care, contributing to the spread of diseases and rising mortality rates. This issue does not receive enough attention and countries around the world must address the problem by providing assistance.
Living in refugee camps comes with extremely unsanitary conditions. Camps are exceedingly overcrowded and there is hardly any clean water or sanitation. The weather conditions are either extreme heat or extreme cold, making it challenging to maintain a healthy immune system. All the war and violence around the Middle East has created a heavy smog which has caused an increase in a severe skin disease called Leishmaniasis (“A Devastating Toll”). Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease that affects several internal organs, and that can cause horrific ulcers and permanent disfigurement. Streets are filled with pollution and garbage, as there is no sanitation system anymore, attracting many harmful insects. These horrifying conditions would be relatively manageable, but with no healthcare, refugee camps become a catastrophe of illness and deaths.
Majority of the healthcare facilities in Syria have been demolished, and poorly built homes and tents have become makeshift doctor offices. Treating an open wound in an unsterile environment with dirty equipment most likely leads to growing infections, most of which become life threatening. These areas are infected with cholera, E.coli, and many other harmful bacteria. Furthermore, many of the previously trained physicians have either died or fled the country, forcing inexperienced individuals to treat each other. Studies show that 0.3% of health staff are actually qualified doctors or nurses. Even in areas where there is a qualified doctor, there is still very limited medical supplies and equipment. One general practitioner that works in Syria said, “I feel so desperate and useless when I can’t help sick or injured people because I don’t have the medicine or the equipment, but I go on working and I will continue, whatever the conditions.” The issue with this is that if we think about this problem being in America, it is considered outrageous. However, in a less developed nation, this isn’t seen as a crisis to the rest of the world.
As for physical injuries, almost every refugee arrives to camps with injuries such as deep burns and wounds and open fractures. In many cases, patients are forced to have their limbs amputated just because the normal resources to treat the infection are inaccessible. 60% of injuries are due to explosive weapons, and of the injured, 20% are children. To cover the newly amputated limb, doctors use old clothing and rags as bandages. Without access to anesthesia, patients go so far as to being knocked out with a metal bar in order to endure the extreme pain of the amputation. A healthcare worker in Syria reported on the healthcare access in the camps and wrote, “We received a little girl with critical injuries; we could do nothing but wait for her to die because we didn’t have the equipment or the medicines. Till now I can’t remove her face from my mind,” (“A Devastating Toll”). An innocent young girl’s life was taken away from her because her country didn’t have access to proper medical supplies to take care of her, and the most tragic part is that there have been millions of other refugees in her exact situation. The media often puts an emphasis on major humanitarian crises such as Africa’s impoverished society, however the Middle East refugee crisis is not nearly covered as much.
Refugees who survive living in refugee camps and are fortunate to get asylum suffer with long-lasting, horrific memories that remain in their brains for eternity. Mohsen Mahdawi, a student at Lehigh University who grew up in Palestinian refugee camp, recounts his time in the refugee camp and how the limited access to medical care effected him and those around him. He remembers ibuprofen and bandaids being the only medical supplies around in the camp’s medical clinic. The clinic had one nurse and closed at 2pm each day, and after then there wouldn’t be any medical professional to assist. In the event someone was severely injured or in life threatening condition, they would not be able to go to a hospital right away. Prior to leaving the camp, a refugee would need an approval letter to be sent to Jerusalem, Israel, to be processed and sent back before the refugee could proceed with treatment. This would take over a week and many patients ended up slowly and painfully dying from their illness before the paperwork had been processed.
Aside from physical trauma, many refugees also suffer from mental illness. A study showed that more than half of Syrian refugees experience mental illness such as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from experiencing war and violence in their home country (Karaspan). It is estimated that over 50% of refugees are in need of psychological treatment, yet only 5% actually recieve therapy. Another study showed that 79 percent had experienced a death in the family; 60 percent had seen someone get kicked, shot at, or physically hurt; and 30 percent had themselves been kicked, shot at, or physically hurt (Sirin). This issue is especially prevelant in women and young girls, as most of them become victims to gender-based violence and sexual assault in the refugee camps. The attacker is usually one who is mentally ill and has not recieved treatment. Speaking up about the issue, Jill Biden, spokeswoman of Save the Children, stated, “These children really have, you know, they have PTSD. They’ve been traumatized. But there aren’t enough psychological services available. And that’s what we have – that has to be a priority,” (Kakissis). Mentall illness for refugees is often left ignored and seen as a less serious problem, as it is considered not to be a life threatening disease. Left untreated, these mental illness have severe long-term implications that are detrimental to the refugee’s future. Untreated mental illness also makes getting a stable job in the future and maintaining a normal life very challenging.
Women in refugee camps face severe difficulty in receiving prenatal and postnatal care. There is a very high risk for infections and complications, and birthing procedures are often done poorly. This results in an increase of premature births, extremely low vitals, and breathing problems for infants (“A Devastating Toll”). One woman recounts that her baby was so premature and there was no care to help him survive that he lived for just two hours. Additionally, most women’s pregnancies from the start present complications as the mothers themselves are not properly nourished to carry a child. If the infant is lucky enough to survive, an estimated 25% contract pneumonia, hepatitis, and measles. The refugee crisis is so severe that it is disrupting reproduction, which is a vital key to a functioning society.
Although not nearly enough, the refugee crisis has made some progress with providing medical care. Now in Turkey, refugees are granted free basic health care once they register with the government. Family health centers have been set up that are staffed with Syrian doctors who can properly communicate with Syrian refugees and meet their needs (Sikora). Furthermore, the organization CARE has extended assistance to refugee camps in Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon and inside Syria and has helped more than 3 million people in Syria (Ddubose). The United Nations Security Council Resolution 2139 was also passed which calls on all parties in the Syrian Civil War to permit free access to humanitarian aid.
Despite some countries providing aid, there are still nations that are not lending a hand to the crisis. The United States under the Trump administration has severely withdrawn their assistance and has closed their doors to refugees (Kerwin). U.S. border officials are increasingly denying access to refugees seeking asylum and have even gone as far as attempting to kick out refugees previously entered under the Obama administration. The Trump administration has also recently decided to take away $300 million in aid to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNHCR) that was going toward supporting refugees in Jordan (Karaspan). The UNHCR was paying for 85% of primary health care costs for refugees, and without funding, they are no longer able to afford to do so. This leaves even more refugees untreated, drastically increasing the amount of deaths.
There are major economic setbacks and challenges in providing assistance to refugees. In the beginning of the refugee crisis, Jordan had allowed registered refugees free access to healthcare, but by late 2014 Syrians were being required to pay a fee (Karaspan). Fees have greatly increased, including the cost of a hospital birth increasing from $85 to $338. Having the economic means to pay for care is extremely challenging, considering 80 percent of refugees are living far below the poverty line. A country like Jordan that has been supporting refugees for many years now doesn’t have the economic means to do so anymore, but other countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States are wealthy enough to be providing funding.
The Syrian refugee crisis is an extremely urgent humanitarian crisis that has existed for over seven years now and has made little to no improvements. Each and every day, innocent civilians die either by fighting in the war or suffering in refugee camps with atrocious living conditions. In such a developed nation where there are hospitals and doctors in every city, standing back and watching others die is inhumane. Providing aid to refugees doesn’t just need to be government-run: every individual can make an impact on their own. There are tons of organizations such as CARE, Save the Children, and Medical Teams International that are working tirelessly to help refugees, but they can’t do it alone. Even as simple as donating a dollar or two, donating an extra pair of crutches or bandaids, or volunteer work of any sort makes a difference. It is our duty as humans to help those in need. Not everyone on this planet has the capability to treat a patient, but everyone has the capability to lend a helping hand in some way and it is now that we start eliminating deaths and fighting for the cause.
Works Cited
“A Devastating Toll: The Impact of Three Years of War on the Health of Syria’s Children.” Resource Centre, The Save the Children Fund, 23 Apr. 2019, https://www.savethechildren.net/sites/default/files/A%20Devastating%20Toll%20low%20res%20non-embargoed%20SC%20net.pdf#overlay-context=article/millions-children%25E2%2580%2599s-lives-risk-collapse-syrian-health-system
Ddubose. “Syria Refugee Crisis.” CARE, 19 Mar. 2019, www.care.org/emergencies/syria-crisis.
Kakissis, Joanna. “Refugees Struggle With Mental Illness, Suicide Attempts Increase.” NPR, NPR, 20 June 2017, www.npr.org/2017/06/20/533631145/refugees-struggle-with-mental-illness-suicide-attempts-increase.
Karasapan, Omer. “The Challenges in Providing Health Care to Syrian Refugees.” Brookings, Brookings, 15 Nov. 2018, www.brookings.edu/blog/future-development/2018/11/15/the-challenges-in-providing-health-care-to-syrian-refugees/.
Kerwin, Donald. “How America’s Refugee Policy Is Damaging to the World and to Itself.” The Economist, The Economist Newspaper, 19 June 2018, www.economist.com/open-future/2018/06/19/how-americas-refugee-policy-is-damaging-to-the-world-and-to-itself.
Sikora, R. “Turkey Improving Medical Services for Refugees.” Orient Net, 4 Feb. 2016, www.orient-news.net/en/news_show/101804/0/Turkey-improving-medical-services-for-refugees.
Sirin, Selcuk R., and Lauren Rogers-Sirin. “The Educational and Mental Health Needs of Syrian Refugee Children.” Migrationpolicy.org, 16 Feb. 2017, www.migrationpolicy.org/research/educational-and-mental-health-needs-syrian-refugee-children.
