Origin No Bar to Israel Lifesavers vy Dave Sharma, Australia’s Ambassador to Israel
Though Damascus is only about 200km from Jerusalem (shorter than the distance from Canberra to Sydney), the conflict in Syria can feel like a world away.
But in the town of Safed in the north of Israel, better known as one of Judaism’s Four Holy Cities, the frontline of the conflict in Syria feels very close.
At Ziv Medical Centre, without fanfare or publicity, they are treating a steady and growing stream of wounded Syrians from the conflict.
About 72 Syrian patients have been admitted to Ziv Medical Centre since February. When I visited earlier this week, 15 hospital beds were being used to treat such victims, the youngest a girl of only eight.
They have harrowing stories and horrific injuries. Suffering from shrapnel and bullet wounds, burns and crush injuries, they have somehow managed to limp to the border with Israel, from where they are then transferred to Ziv Medical Centre.
On admission they are malnourished, fatigued and traumatised. Many have lost family members, but they are immensely relieved — if they had stayed in Syria, the extent of their injuries means most would have died or been permanently incapacitated.
At Ziv Hospital they get the best medical care on offer to any Israeli, from surgeons and physicians who are the best in their field. On the day I visited, I saw how doctors had managed to save the leg of an eight-year-old girl from amputation by use of some of the most advanced surgical techniques and injury treatment protocols.
A 15-year-old girl whose leg was amputated in Syria had been fitted with a prosthetic limb. Against the odds, the doctors at Ziv had managed to save her other leg. This girl was learning to walk again, taking her first steps.
Arabic-speaking doctors, nurses and social workers are all available to communicate with the Syrian patients and help ease their anxieties. They are provided time and space to recover and rehabilitate and supplied with basic provisions, including clothes and toiletries donated by generous residents from Safed.
The multi-ethnic staff at Ziv Hospital — drawn from the Jewish, Arab and Druze communities — reflect the diversity of Israel.
They do not stop to ask the patient’s nationality or religion as she is wheeled into theatre in a critical condition. They simply do their utmost to save life and treat injury.
Ziv Hospital is a profound example of humanity and decency at its most compelling.
It is Israel at its very best, and a side of Israel that the world too rarely sees or acknowledges.
With all the tales of human woe and misery that continue to emerge from Syria, such small stories of hope should be cherished.
Dave Sharma is Australia’s ambassador to Israel
Comments are closed.
