New missions, new places: Afrin and Raqqa ... an Update from Syria

Three hours from Afrin - and still a long way to go. The new Mobile Hospital crew from our partner organisation Heyva Sor a Kurd (HSaK) / Kurdish Red Crescent (KRC) is on its way and currently waiting for permission from the syrian government to pass to Afrin. Once they arrive in a camp near Afrin, they will serve internally displaced persons (IDPs). There are approximately 250,000 internally displaced persons who cannot return to their homes in the Afrin area due to ongoing conflict. Before departure, the truck was stocked with medical consumables such as gauze, dressings for burns, intravenous catheters and surgical equipment.

Chris and the HSaK technicians in front of the trucks, everything is ready for take-off. Photo: CADUS

Technicians from KRC joined Chris, the CADUS technician, to take another look at the trucks, make sure all the technical supplies were in place and in good working order, and go through any last-minute questions.

KRC placed all new signage on the mobile hospital trucks to proudly display Kurdish Red Crescent insignia. Photo: CADUS

Meanwhile, we finally found a place in Raqqa to set up the joint Urgent Care Clinic which is equiped to stabilize trauma cases together with HSaK.

The clinic in Raqqa as it is now - before we set things up. Photo: CADUS

We are in the process of making the final agreements with the local authorities and getting all the correct permits to work in Raqqa. We visited other health facilities in Raqqa to have a clear understanding on what is all there, where are the gaps and where we can refer patients to if we cannot treat them in our center.

The completely destroyed former national Hospital in Raqqa. Some organisations are building it up again. Photo: CADUS

Raqqa city is pretty much completely destroyed. Its a very sad sight to see all the completely broken building structures.

A normal street in Raqqa city as it is now after the long times of fighting. Photo: CADUS

However, it is good to see that now that people have returned and continue to return, a lot of construction is happening and the local infrastructure is being build up again.

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