BEIRUT: A number of wounded Syrian refugees were expelled from a hospital in north Lebanon Sunday over a dispute between an aid organization and the hospital’s management, the Syrian Refugees in Lebanon Affairs Office said.
“Twenty-eight wounded Syrians were kicked out in a very humiliating way,” Aisha Dandash from the office told The Daily Star.
She said the office had paid the monthly fees required for the treatment of Syrian refugees to Dr. Amer Alameddine, the director of Minyeh Hospital, but that “another man called us and demanded the money.”
“I think the two have personal issues,” Dandash said. “As a result the man, known as Abu Jawad, kicked out all the Syrians, claiming we failed to make the payment.”
Sources close to the hospital’s management disputed the number of Syrians dismissed, saying only seven had to leave because the office stopped paying its dues.
They added that the hospital had kept the patients who were in serious condition but would no longer receive more patients due to a lack of funds. Some of the incoming patients, the sources said, were being treated for minor issues.
The 28 Syrian men, the office said, have been in the hospital for over a month receiving treatment for wounds sustained during the clashes in the Syrian border town of Qusair.
The office said it had made payments amounting to $28 per patient each day, and contacted Dr. Alameddine to transfer the wounded individuals from the International Committee of the Red Cross to his hospital.
“The wounded are suffering from broken legs and shrapnel wounds on their arms and many other [injuries],” Dandash said.
In a statement, the office said it transferred the patients to Al-Zahra Hospital while their medicines and equipment were still at the previous hospital.
It added that the Minyeh Hospital also banned anyone from entering the premises to get supplies “although many figures attempted to settle the issue, but failed because of the hospital’s chaotic management.”

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16/07/2013
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