As the conflict in Syria is propelled into a third year of relentless violence, thousands of injured Syrian civilians and Free Syrian Army fighters make their way across borders in seek of medical attention.

State hospitals in Syria are a definite no-go area for anti-government soldiers or civilians deemed loyal to the opposition, where they would most certainly be targeted. Field hospitals run by non-partisan groups like the Red Crescent (The Red Cross in Muslim-dominated countries) as well as ad-hoc medical facilities in rebel-held areas facilitate the treatment of wounded civilians and fighting men caught in the crossfire.

Most field hospitals are equipped with only basic medical accouterments with capacity for minor operations and treatment; those severely wounded are smuggled through Syria’s borders into rebel areas and out to safe zones in neighbouring countries like Turkey.

In refugee camps, civilians are assessed and given basic medical care and in extreme cases are treated in regional hospitals in host countries.

But for seriously injured Free Syrian Army fighters who are no longer able participate in hostilities special medical centres at the border treat soldiers seriously wounded in battle and in need of immediate medical and surgical attention.

The Syrian Medical Centre in Reyhanli - a hospital set up 14 months ago - supports those coming from Syria in need of surgery, treating around 100 patients at any one time.

“Most of the injuries are from bombing; most of the treatment is for amputation, there are a lot of paraplegic’s here who are trying to work on rehabilitation” explains its Executive Director, Dr. Yasir Alsyed.

90 per cent of the patients are male and the others are either female or children injured through crossfire.
The hospital is funded by, among other groups, the Syrian Expatriate Medical Association.

Its two-story facility is small and grey but brightly lit by the searing sunshine that lifts the corridors for a while each day, albeit with a sweltering heat. Each room contains at least two male patients treated for a variety of war-inflicted injuries. Two orthopedic surgeons and one neurologist treat the vast majority of emergency cases involving spinal cord injuries, brain injuries and nerve injuries as well as seeing to outpatients who require recasting and wound cleaning.
4 physiotherapists and 8 nurses tend to rehabilitation or assistance with paraplegic and quadriplegic cases.
For many who arrive here it’s likely that they’ll never leave.

Musafa,( below) is a 28 year old fighter from Aleppo who was injured 3 months ago from a bomb and sniper bullets – the shrapnel infected his body and he has had both legs amputated from the pelvis.  

His wounds are deeply infected from remnants of poisoned shrapnel; the wound, he has been told will remain permanently infected as doctors admit it is impossible to remove all of it, despite the fact that his legs have been fully amputated.

Lying on his stomach as he receives routine, invasive cleaning of his deep, hideous wound, Mustafa has no regrets about his sacrifice as part of Syria’s revolution.
He laments however, the destruction of his city by regime forces and impotent western governments, refusing to intervene.

“Bashar al Assad has destroyed all of my city (sic) – there’s no city left”

“We don’t expect anything from the west – it’s clear they are going to support the regime by not helping us”
Mustafa’s frequent gallows humour is a world away from his grim new reality. He winces in pain as a nurse and doctor continue with their invasive procedure.

“Bashar and Obama are made for each other – they love each other”

“God is on our side so we will win, we don’t need the west” he insists.

Upstairs, 28 year old Rassim Khoudur, a Free Syrian Army fighter, paralysed from the waist down from an exploding bullet over one year ago shares a tiny, characterless room with a fellow soldier who wishes not to be identified.

His compatriot lies in pain on his stomach and visible are several bullet wounds from his top to lower back.
Rassim was imprisoned by the Assad regime over a year ago. It was before he became politically involved and he believes it was a case of mistaken identity. 

 

“A lot of women were raped in the prison I was in”

“They tortured us in many ways, mainly with electricity or hanging you with your hands for hours and hours”

He took up arms against Assad after his release and broadly welcomes all fighters – foreign or national – as long as they rid Syria of Assad:

“I support everyone that fights against the regime, whatever they do, it can’t be as bad as the regime”

“This is about injustice that we have had from Assad”

“We can raise the Islamic flag, it is our religion” “We are Islamic but we will respect all the religions ”

“We have God on our side, Inshallah, we will win”.

“It’s a joke to us now that the west would intervene, it’s just a lie”

“This is what God wants and we will carry on”.