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Lebanon: Injured Syrian refugees seek medical treatment inaccessible at home

14-03-2014 Photo gallery

War-wounded Syrians continue to cross into Lebanon seeking medical treatment unavailable to them at home. Many arrive with badly infected wounds that were partially treated at field hospitals lacking basic medicines and equipment. For over two years, the ICRC has secured treatment for hundreds in hospitals in the Bekaa and supported Lebanese post-operation centres for Syrian war casualties.

  • Mirvat was visiting her mother in Moodamiya when she was severely injured in the shelling which also killed her brother and sister. Now receiving treatment in Hamed Farhat Hospital, Mirvat wishes she could stand on her feet again to care for her four young daughters.
    • Mirvat was visiting her mother in Moodamiya when she was severely injured in the shelling which also killed her brother and sister. Her knees were completely crushed and she needs prosthetic limbs to be able to walk again, but has no money to pay for the surgery. Now receiving treatment in Hamed Farhat Hospital, Mirvat wishes she could stand on her feet again to care for her four young daughters. Like hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees, this 33-year-old woman and her family sought refuge in Lebanon two years ago.
      / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Andre Wolff
  • Afraa' is happy now that she is able to whisper, having undergone several operations to restore her vocal cords which were severed by shrapnel. She was wounded in December 2013 in her village in Qalamoun and suffered throat, shoulder and hip injuries.
    • Afraa' is happy now that she is able to whisper, having undergone several operations to restore her vocal cords which were severed by shrapnel. She was wounded in December 2013 in her village in Qalamoun and suffered throat, shoulder and hip injuries. She is now staying with her uncle's refugee family in Jib Jannine in eastern Lebanon. The 24-year-old university student hopes to be able to finish her education in the near future. In the meantime, Afraa' is completing her treatment at a local hospital.
      / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Andre Wolff
  • The future looks grim for 15-year-old Jawad who was badly injured by an exploding shell that also killed his teenage cousin in their village near Damascus last year. Jawad has lost a hand, is suffering from a lacerated belly and has shrapnel in his neck. Like scores of young Syrians, he has been deprived of education for almost two years, and is a vivid example of a generation permanently scarred by war.
    • The future looks grim for 15-year-old Jawad who was badly injured by an exploding shell that also killed his teenage cousin in their village near Damascus last year. Jawad has lost a hand, is suffering from a lacerated belly and has shrapnel in his neck. Like scores of young Syrians, he has been deprived of education for almost two years, and is a vivid example of a generation permanently scarred by war.
      / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Andre Wolff
  • After being injured, Jawad fled Syria together with his family, including six brothers and sisters. They now rent a two-room apartment in Joub Jannine in eastern Lebanon, close to the medical centre where he can get the treatment he needs.
    • After being injured, Jawad fled Syria together with his family, including six brothers and sisters. They now rent a two-room apartment in Joub Jannine in eastern Lebanon, close to the medical centre where he can get the treatment he needs. The family was previously displaced seven times inside Syria after fleeing Ghouta, near the eastern part of Damascus. Rubble is all that is left of what they once called home.
      / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Andre Wolff
  • Ibrahim has been lying in hospital in Rachayya, eastern Lebanon, for two weeks, receiving treatment for deep burns to his legs. He was passing a gas station when it was hit by shelling and burst into flames.
    • Ibrahim has been lying in hospital in Rachayya, eastern Lebanon, for two weeks, receiving treatment for deep burns to his legs. He was passing a gas station when it was hit by shelling and burst into flames. For a whole month the 29-year-old schoolteacher could not access medical care in his besieged town in the Qalamoun area, and by the time he arrived in Lebanon his burns were severely infected.
      / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Andre Wolff
  • Ibrahim is determined to overcome his ordeal. His burns are healing and he is now able to walk using crutches. His young wife is expecting their first baby, an event to look forward to and a good reason to hope for the future.
  • Large numbers of children are among the casualties of Syria's raging conflict. Four-year-old Omar was injured more than a year ago in the shelling of Ghouta Sharqiya, suffering deep wounds to his head, chest and belly that affected his spinal cord and deprived him of his ability to walk.
  • Omar’s family is staying in a rented place in Gaze in eastern Lebanon. His father has no money to pay for the drugs and medication that his son needs. He wishes his son could be sponsored by a charity that would provide for his long-term treatment. In the meantime, Omar spends his days lying in bed watching television with his six-year-old brother Wael.

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