Doctors flee Iraq
2004-05-30 22:30
Baghdad - Iraq's top surgeons, neurologists and other doctors are fleeing Baghdad, bullied into exile by a growing gang of kidnappers seeking hefty ransoms from the country's affluent elite.
"The kidnapping of doctors has risen over the past few months, forcing the best practitioners to leave Iraq and settle in neighbouring countries to protect themselves," said health ministry public affairs officer May Yassin.
May Yassin confirmed that some of the country's most qualified specialists had been abducted recently and released in exchange for ransoms ranging between 1 000 and 10 000 dollars. "They were all kidnapped in their offices," she said.
Many of the country's most renowned neurologists, cardiologists, gynaecologists, emergency surgeons and plastic surgeons have been kidnapped in recent months.
"Several dozen doctors or their children were abducted, especially in Baghdad," Yassin said, although no official figure was available.
Even those who have so far been spared the ordeal of being abducted are starting to pack their bags. Two leading plastic surgeons, one allergist and a well-known eye doctor have already left the country.
Interim deputy health minister Amr al-Khuzai has called for help.
"This phenomenon does not only threaten doctors but the whole future of our country. We contacted the coalition and the interior ministry so that they take measures to protect our doctors, especially when they are in their clinics," he said.
"We cannot sit idly by and simply watch our doctors leave one after the other. Those who are leaving are the best ones. It is absolutely vital we find a way to protect them," said Dr Mohammad al-Hassuni, a ministry official dealing specifically with the issue.
Conference
In a bid to explore means of tackling this health crisis, the ministry has organised a conference scheduled for June 1 after which a document will be presented to the security establishment.
A British-trained Baghdad doctor, who asked to be named as Mohammad Baghdadi, barricaded his office with a new armoured door and huge locks a few weeks ago.
As he sat at his desk, he pulled out a pistol from one of his drawers. "You see, I'm a doctor and I've got a gun. But what can I do?
"The police cannot protect me in the street, how do you expect them to protect me in my office?"
"It has become extremely dangerous to go to work. We have three options, we either stay at home, leave the country or carry on despite the dangers," he explained.
His hands tightly locked on his Kalashnikov assault rifle, Mohammad's brother scanned the patients filling the waiting room.
The doctor admitted to feeling a little edgy during the first few minutes of every medical examination.
"I used to work all week and until 10 at night, but now I only come to my office three times a week and go home before dusk," he said.
- AFP