Dying of neglect: the state of Iraq's children's hospitals

[Oilwellian]

The wards are filthy, the sanitation shocking, the infections lethal. Sewage drips from the roof above cots of premature babies. This is the state of Baghdad's top children's hospital, 10 months after the fall of Saddam, reveals Justin Huggler

21 February 2004


In Iraq's hospitals, children are dying because of shockingly poor sanitation and a shortage of medical equipment. In Baghdad's premier children's hospital, Al-Iskan, sewage drips from the roof of the premature babies' ward, leaking from waste pipes above.

In the leukaemia ward, the lavatories overflow at times, spreading filthy water across the floor that carries potentially lethal infection.

Rubbish is piled on the stairs and in the corridors: old broken bits of machinery, discarded toilet cisterns, babies' cots filled with mountains of unwanted paperwork. The fire escape is blocked with discarded razor wire.

Nearby lie blankets still black with the blood of Iraqi soldiers wounded during the war - for months, they must have been fetid breeding grounds for disease.
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=493560

[salinen]

1. chimp will be drown

with the blood of innocent iraqis.

[fortyfeetunder]

2. Where in the hell is this humanitarian aid?

This is effin outrageous. Instead of sending folks over there to fight Iraqis, we need to be sending some to help these people out...

simply disgusting :puke:

[Demonaut]

3. Oil is a great antiseptic, and it tastes great too!

[burrowowl]

4. Humanitarioan aid!?

Like do you mean in 'compassionate conservatism'?
A war protest sign I saw I think sums it up: If all the Iraqis were fetuses would we bomb them?
Of course, Pat Robertson or one of he ilk approves abortions for the Chinese. Go figure.

[Columbia]

5. It'll take a lot of work

To fix what decades of neglect has done and it won't happen overnight.

[burrowowl]

6. Like since 91

and sanctions with the U$ insisting sewer pipes and pencils could not be sent to Iraq.
Something like over 20,000 sorties, many including bombing during that time, DU (depleted uranium), etc. etc.

[Gemini Cat]

7. One good thing is

the 'murkins won't havta worry thar purty little heads off bout them Iraqis becoming turrist, 'cause all them future baby turrists will be dead and all that wonderful oil will be for the 'murkins. Yaah-f*cking-hoo.

Thanks bush and blair. Thanks for killing all those beautiful, beautiful children. I'm sure I'll sleep well tonight. /sacr.

Yeah, right.

:dem:

[leftchick]

8. The Governors must have missed the hospital.....

on their "Iraq is Peachy Tour" this month....