300 000 PEOPLE KILLED AND TENS OF THOUSANDS OTHERS INJURED AND WOUNDED SINCE 2011
By Subry Govender
While Germany, Britain, Spain, France, Italy, and other European countries are trying to cope with the thousands of Syrian and other refugees escaping from their war-torn countries, concerns are also being expressed about the tens of thousands people caught up in Syria itself.
The South African-based Gift of the Givers, which has been providing medical and other assistance to thousands of Syrians caught up inside the country itself, has thanked the German president, Angela Merkel, and other European leaders for offering assistance to the Syrian refugees.
"Our special thanks to Angela Merkel and the people of Germany for their enthusiastic and compassionate welcome of traumatised refugees. Thanks to all other individuals and governments whose assistance may not be publicly known. The Almighty sees and rewards. Our South African efforts continue," said Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, Founder and Chairperson of the Gift of the Givers.
Merkel, British Prime Minister Mr David Cameron, and other leaders were forced to take concrete steps to assist the migrants after the picture of a dead three-year-old Syrian boy, Aylan Kurdi, being carried by a Turkish soldier had dominated the front news pages, and the international television stations and radio media throughout the world over the past 24 hours. The young boy, his five-year-old brother, Galip, and their mother drowned in the Mediterranean after the boat in which they were escapaing to European began to take in water and sank.
The tragedy led to the media and concerned people in Britain, Germany and other countries calling on their leaders to show compassion and assist the fleeing migrants.
Dr Sooliman said in a statement on Friday, September 4 that the suffering of the people in Syria was immeasurable.
Dr Sooliman released some pictures taken while his team helped the people caught up in the war in Syria.
The released pictures were "mild" to others that his organisation had in its files. He could not impose the horror of those pictures on the general public.
BARREL BOMBS, VACUUM BOMBS, CHEMICAL WEAPONS, MISSILES AND ATTACKS BY AIRCRAFTS
"The reality," said Dr Sooliman, "is that this tragedy has been unfolding since March 2011 and ever increasing in intensity to the present".
"The greatest tragedy however, is INSIDE Syria, not only because of the millions of internally displaced civilians but because of the horrific crimes committed against them in various forms.
"These include detention, torture, cutting off the supply of food, water, medical services, medicines, the deliberate bombing of hospitals and the specific targeting of medical personnel. The use of barrel bombs, vacuum bombs, chemical weapons, missiles and attack by aircraft on predominantly civilian populations has resulted in a death toll reaching 300 000 and casualties of immeasurable proportions."
GIFT OF THE GIVERS HOSPITAL IN SYRIA ALSO REPEATEDLY ATTACKED
Dr Sooliman said Gift of the Givers response from 2013 had been concentrated almost exclusively inside Syria.
"To this date the policy still remains the same. The three floor Ar Rahma Hospital that we have established and manage with a compliment of 180 medical specialists and support staff is a living witness to the humanitarian crimes inside Syria. This South African Gift of the Givers hospital has been subjected to repeated attacks by the Assad regime, fortunately, till now, it has avoided major damage. On two occasions we had to evacuate equipment, medical personnel and patients. Two months ago we received 1 700 casualties in 10 days. We have seen injuries through all kinds of weapons mentioned above including chemical weapons."
He added: "Life saving medical support, provision of food, shelter, food, milk powder, shelter, clothing, blankets, generalized feeding through a permanent kitchen and education through our involvement in schooling are our continuous efforts inside Syria."
He appealed to the public to help the Gift of the Givers in their efforts in Syria.
Contributions can be made into Gift of the Givers, Standard Bank, Pietermaritzburg, Account No. 052278611, Branch Code 057525. ends - Subry Govender Sept 4 2015
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