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In Syria's rebel-controlled Idlib province, February's deadly earthquakes on the Turkish-Syrian border devastated a medical system already weakened from years of civil war. Rebel leaders warn of medicines running out as many quake survivors face disease and infections. Dorian Jones reports for VOA from Istanbul.
Content TypePackage
LanguageEnglish
Transcript/ScriptSYRIA QUAKE HEALTH
HEADLINE: Syrian Rebels Warn of Health Crisis After Quake
TEASER: With medicine running out and many hospitals destroyed, insurgents say survivors face disease and infection.
PUBLISHED AT: 02/23/2023 AT 12:54p
BYLINE: Dorian Jones
CONTRIBUTOR: Berke Bas editor -DO NOT USE NAME FOR SECURITY REASONS.
DATELINE: ISTANBUL
VIDEOGRAPHER: Mouneb Taim -Moawia Atrash -Ahmad Fallaha
PRODUCER:
SCRIPT EDITORS: LR, Steve Hirsch
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA ORIGINAL
PLATFORMS: WEB __ TV _x_ RADIO __
TRT: 2:29
VID APPROVED BY: Reifenrath
TYPE: TVPKG
UPDATE:))
((INTRO)) [[In Syria's rebel-controlled Idlib province, February's deadly earthquakes on the Turkish-Syrian border devastated a medical system already weakened from years of civil war. Rebel leaders warn of medicines running out as many quake survivors face disease and infections. Dorian Jones reports for VOA from Istanbul.]]
((VIDEO SHOT: DOCTOR WORKING HOSPITAL -original))
((NARRATOR))
Doctors at Sham hospital are waging a life-and-death battle every day. Even before the earthquake, the hospital was struggling to cope after more than a decade of civil war.
((VIDEO SHOT: CHILD -original))
((NARRATOR))
Sham hospital was badly damaged by the quake but survived.
[[RADIO VERSION: Pediatrician Dr. Omar Al-Ali says staff now face being overwhelmed.]]
((Dr. Omar Al-Ali, Sham Hospital -original - male in Arabic)) “Our hospital was near three children's hospitals...All were demolished because of the earthquake. Therefore, we are doing the work of three hospitals. The area was suffering before the earthquake because of limited aid. Hospitals were not working properly. But after the earthquake, a disaster happened.”
((VIDEO SHOT: HOSPITAL -original))
((NARRATOR))
Sham hospital has lost staff to the quake, along with valuable equipment
((VIDEO SHOT: Health Directorate Building -original))
((NARRATOR))
It is a story that is repeated across the rebel-controlled Syrian Idlib province, and now the medicine is running out.
[[RADIO VERSION: ...so warns Dr. Zuhair Al-Qurat, health director of Idlib Province]]
((Dr. Zuhair Al-Qurat, Idlib Province Health Director ((male in Arabic) -original))
“During the first 12 hours after the earthquake, we exhausted all the medical stocks. So, we had to start relying on local associations and organizations and even individual donors to secure medicine to save these injured. On the fifth or sixth day, aid began to enter, but so far, everything that entered only covers 10 to 15% of our needs.”
((VIDEO SHOT; BORDER GATE TRUCKS -original
TRUCKS -original))
((NARRATOR))
But some positive news: two new border gates from Turkey to Idlib province have been added to the Bab Al Hawa crossing point, facilitating the faster delivery of urgently needed supplies.
[[RADIO VERSION: Yakzan Shishakly is the co-founder of the Maram Foundation an aid agency working in Syria.]]
((Yakzan Shishakly, Maram Foundation ((male in English) ORIGINAL))
((Mandatory cg: Zoom))
“This one gate, Bab Al-Hawa, was not enough to deliver aid logistically. Let's say you want to send a thousand trucks to go through one gate. That would not be possible in one day. That would take like a week.”
((VIDEO SHOT: CAMP -original))
((NARRATOR))
Aid cannot come fast enough for those quake survivors.
((VIDEO SHOT: CAMP PEOPLE -original))
((NARRATOR))
They have lost the little they had and are now just trying to stay alive, as the threat of illness stalks the tent camps.
[[RADIO VERSION: Khadija Al Ali and her family survived the quake but is desperate for medicine for her children,]]
((Khadija Al Ali, Quake Survivor: -original ((Female in Arabic))
“Our children have a fever and need medicine. They also need treatment for sore throats. We are struggling. The simplest things are no longer available. The hospitals have nothing, even painkillers for our children. They tell us they have nothing as the aid has run out. So, we are in dire need.”
((VIDEO SHOT: Khadija Al Ali with children -original))
((NARRATOR))
With many survivors packed into tents in freezing winter conditions, doctors warn disease and infection are now the new threat and challenge to a medical system that's working beyond breaking point.
((Dorian Jones, for VOA News, Istanbul))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)
ISTANBUL
Embargo DateFebruary 23, 2023 17:07 EST
Byline
((Dorian Jones, for VOA News, Istanbul))
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
