|
Disability Rights, Syria was established in September 2012, with the aim of protecting the rights of persons with disabilities during the Revolution.
The work has started with a study on disability focusing on the magnitude and other characteristics of persons with disabilities in Syria during the Revolution, in order to evolve a successful programme for protection, integration and rehabilitation.
Data and information relating to type, age and causes of disability, will be collected to plan and provide emergency rehabilitation programme. The study will assess the economic, social and psychological impact of disability as a result to the military operations in Syria.
Project proposals will be prepared based on the needs assessment, and will focus on capacity building of a national multidisciplinary team; a clinic for injured persons with disability will be established that provides the rehabilitation programme including surgery; physiotherapy, and prosthetic devices (wheelchairs, hearing aids, crutches and other needed equipment will be provided); Community-based Rehabilitation Programme (CBR) will be established in several cities and villages that will provide psychological and emergency rehabilitation and other supporting services.
The programme was launched last week with a national awareness campaign on the rights of persons with disabilities in Syria during the revolution, with the aim of making the general public aware of the causes of disabilities during the Revolution resulting from military operations, and try to teach the community methods of protection with the aim of reducing the casualties and providing the needed medical attention. The campaign will make the people aware of the needs of persons with disabilities for rehabilitation and work towards mobilizing the needed financial and human resources.
The Disability Rights, Syria was established as a response to the urgent needs of persons with disabilities who were deprived from all kinds of medical and emergency support and rehabilitation services. The Syrian military operations against the Syrian people during the revolution generated thousands of casualties (63,400), although there are no clear statistics for the number of persons left disabled because of the military operations in Syria, but casualties caused by gunshot, bombs and other explosives increased the number of persons with disability. The Syrian authorities’ war against the people of Syria has caused long-term and, permanent disabilities in large segments of the Syrian population.
The Syrian Coordination Committees reported increase in military repression in certain regions, the frequent use of weapons with high destructive power and shortages imposed by war have truly devastating consequences for the most vulnerable and defenseless groups of society such as women and children. They highlighted the fact that the main victims of air bombings were women, children, adolescents and elderly people.
Among the injuries that are usual causes of permanent disabilities in children during armed conflicts are injuries to the brain and spinal cord, bone deformities in the arms and legs and loss of sight, hearing or mental capacity. That is to say, diseases producing disabilities, spread again during the crisis, such as meningitis, tuberculosis, poliomyelitis, etc., have now been joined by diseases that are the result of war and of lack of care, such as: compound fractures, bone and tendon infections and deformities due to delay in medical care or lack of proper treatment.
From the psychosocial point of view, the traumas caused children by conflicts usually have a very harmful effect on them psychologically. Many children deprived of the security that is the basis for a child's natural development and subjected to constant tension for a lengthy period of time, become chronically sad and anxious and display behavioral disturbances of varying degrees of intensity.
Much of what has been said concerning the situation of children during the military operations also applies to women as a sector of the civilian population that is particularly affected by violence.
Amnesty International and Doctors Without Borders reported that hospitals have increasingly come to be seen as dangerous places for people whom the authorities suspect of opposing the government. People wounded in the unrest have become fearful of using state-run hospitals in case this leads to their being seen as government opponents and targeted for reprisals. The field hospitals, however, face problems in obtaining adequate medical staff and supplies, to provide medical treatment to people wounded during anti-government protests or other unrest-related incidents. They provide emergency care under very difficult circumstances.
Many of those who were injured during the military operations sustained permanent disabilities owing to the severity of their injuries and/or the lack of adequate and timely medical attention and rehabilitation. Many injuries cases resulted in amputations or disfigurement. Many injured persons are expected to have long-term disabilities. (e.g. brain injuries, amputations, spinal injuries, hearing deficiencies, mental health problems) as a result of the military operations. It reported speculations that there might be some hundred cases of amputees; while the exact number of people who will suffer permanent disabilities is still unknown. We understands that many persons who sustained traumatic injuries during the conflict still face the risk of permanent disability owing to complications and inadequate follow-up and physical rehabilitation.
The moral impact of conflict situation on persons with disabilities due to mental disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder is increasing in Syria. There is a need to consider how traumatic combat situations can impact a person moral health later on in life. Suffering “moral injuries” can cause feelings of betrayal, shame, and grief.
We have interviewed several persons of the seriously injured, who described their daily lives as a constant ordeal. People, who were paralyzed, for example, need colostomy bags, physiotherapy to avoid bedsores, special anti-bedsore mattresses, wheelchairs, pain relief medication, and anti-coagulants. Some of them had to rely on charitable donations to pay the cost of hospitals. In addition, many of the injured cannot return to their previous jobs, or have lost work and study opportunities. The loss of income affects both the victims and their families.
The Syrian military operations against the Syrian people represent a grave breach to the International Humanitarian Laws. These actions could be considered violations the Third and Fourth Geneva Conventions of 1949 and Protocols I and II additional thereto, placing particular emphasis on the prohibition of violations of humanitarian law which might cause disability or have a particular impact on disabled persons.
The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2006, (which was ratified by Syrian Government in 2008) determines that all necessary measures to ensure protection and safety for persons with disabilities in situations of risk, including situations of armed conflict …“have to be taken. The rights of persons with disability need to be protected in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Up to this date, there are no studies, research or any kind of information on injured persons and persons with disabilities as a result to the military operation in Syria, and urgent efforts needed to address the needs of persons with disabilities and their families. Disability Rights; Syria is taking the lead to respond to the need of persons with disabilities in Syria and deserves to be supported by all.
| 
No comments:
Post a Comment