Page 8 - link magazine

Community News

Syria sadness for Swindon nurse who worked there

The daily news report of the intense backed by the Russian air force,
conflict across Syria has been batter opposition organisations, with
causing paediatric intensive care a range of terror groups fighting
nurse Bev Cejer, from Grange Park, each other for dominance. The
a great deal of distress as she thinks result has been half of the country’s
about the people she met there. population displaced, seeking refuge
She was part of a small team of in neighbouring countries like
specialist medical and nursing staff Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, and
from Bristol Children’s Hospital escaping to Europe.
who spent a week in May 2009 in In February this year hospitals and
the city of Homs, performing heart schools were targeted by aircraft.
operations on children unable to A recent video from a drone
travel to the country’s only children’s overflight of Homs from Russian
cardiac surgeon in the capital TV and shown on Channel 4 news
Damascus. illustrates the utter destruction
They returned to the Al-Bir hospital of what was Syria’s third largest
in 2010, but the beginnings of the city. Watching it shocked Bev who Bev with the May 2009 Link in front of the Khalidl Ibin-Al Walid mosque
civil war made further visits too fondly remembers the gratitude of in Homs. Below left, a video grab of a city totally destroyed
dangerous. The ever increasing the hospital staff she worked with are all so saddened by what’s going Whilst there she and colleagues
violence over the last five years has almost seven years ago. “The Syrians on in their country,” she said. “The provided training to local nurses
seen the Syrian regime, recently were so amazingly friendly and we hospitality of the people we met through translators and practical
was phenomenal. demonstrations. She added: “The
“Every evening we were lavishly Bristol team have had little contact
entertained by our colleagues. We since the uprising; seeing the video
were only on a short visit and it was I can hardly believe how little is left
hard for our hosts to understand of Homs.
when we had to leave social events “So many children have died in the
early to be ready for concentrated fighting or been displaced. We worry
work the following day.” about what has happened to those
The trip was arranged by a we operated on and their parents
colleague from Syria, but Bev is and, of course, the people we worked
worried for the people she worked with. Are they still alive or now in a
with and the families whose refugee camp somewhere?”
children were being treated. www.bit.ly/Homsvideo

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8 swindonlink.com n March 2016