Rebel infighting puts more strain on hospitals in Syria's Ghouta
In Eastern Ghouta, rebel infighting that erupted after the government forces lost control of the area has taken its toll on hospitals and medical facilities.
Last year, Hala al-Shami launched a medical initiative aimed at connecting amputee children from around Eastern Ghouta with local doctors. Children were bussed to a clinic and given access to much-needed physiotherapy, exercise space and even — when possible — prosthetic limbs, with parts smuggled from central Damascus through tunnels before being customized in underground workshops.
The children's stories were a testament to the incessant bombardment that Eastern Ghouta has experienced since falling from government control in 2013. But now there are added risks — from the ground as well as the sky.
"Before the infighting, I'd go to all the towns in Ghouta easily," said Shami, who preferred to use a pseudonym. "Medical services were working and available."
"Now with the start of the infighting, there's been a decline [in services] in some of these towns that have experienced heightened tensions … and doctors have been arrested at checkpoints," he told Al-Monitor on June 8.
