What makes us different? Read our Declaration of Journalistic Independence Home | About Natural News | Contact Us | Write for Natural News
Search our 25,000 free articles and special reports
hospital

A Look Inside a Baghdad Hospital

Friday, April 04, 2008 by: Jo Hartley (see all articles by this author)
| Key concepts: hospital, medication and Iraq

Want stories like this e-mailed to you? Click here for free email alerts

Email this article to a friend Printable Version

Personal Health Solutions from NaturalNews

Replace your toxic laundry detergent with natural laundry soap that grows on trees! (NEW source!)
This top "underground" natural health newsletter brings you amazing new natural cures each month. Save $100!
How to treat and cure over 100 health conditions using little-known health secrets
How to halt type-2 diabetes with nutritional therapy - over 50% cure rate proven in studies
End cravings with this guide to natural appetite suppressants (Download edition available.)
How to blend nutritious meals in minutes with Adams' Superfood smoothie recipes (Delicious!)
Breakthrough LED lighting technology prevents global warming, saves 90% on your lighting bill

Browse more health books...
Shop our eco-friendly products...

All sales help fund naturalnews operations.
(NaturalNews) Instead of being a safe refuge, city hospitals are some of the most dangerous places in Baghdad. Iraqi filmmaker and former physician, Omer Salih Mahdi recently spent six weeks filming daily life inside of the hospital Al Yarmouk. He also spent time filming on the streets with the hospital's ambulances. His documentary “Baghdad Hospital: Inside the Red Zone,” shows an unusual glimpse of the routines of this city hospital.

Dr. Mahdi endured threats, beatings, interrogations, and even death threats in the process of creating his documentary. At one point, his safety was so threatened that he decided to suspend filming. The director of security, who was responsible for the approval of the filming project, was shot and killed during the project.

The overwhelming feeling captured by the film was chaos. The individual civilian patients who are caught in this chaos seem overwhelmed and bewildered. At one point in the film, three people in an ambulance are shown. They are very angry and yelling that they want Saddam back. This seems to be a common Iraqi sentiment. They yearn for the Saddam days – not because they were necessarily good, but because at least the people felt secure.

Before the war, Dr. Mahdi explains that the hospital was a very quiet place that received few trauma patients. Since the war began, they now receive many people each day due to explosions, shootings, and stabbings. At the same time as the increase in traumas, they started to lose security in the hospital. There were many times when people would come into the hospital and they were angry -- they had lost a loved one -- and they blamed the doctors. Many physicians were even beaten.

Another issue is a shortage of medication, anesthesia, and equipment. This has worsened since the war began and since the fall of Baghdad. "We were telling people to bring medications from outside because they weren't available in the hospital. If a patient needs a blood transfusion, he had better have someone with him who can donate some blood. If you need surgery, your only anesthetic may be your family holding you down." Not only is there a shortage of medications, there is also a shortage of caregivers. The morgue is ill-equipped as well. Most of the refrigerators for storing corpses are broken leaving deceased patients literally lying on the ground in the sun in some cases.

The hospital in the documentary, Al Yarmouk, received 50-60 civilian casualties per day. This is only one hospital in one part of Baghdad. The total number of civilian casualties likely exceeds 600,000. In addition, many people are killed and buried without any registration.

Dr. Mahdi practiced medicine in Iraq for almost four years before he quit to become a journalist. He is now studying for his master's in journalism on a Fulbright scholarship at Ball State University in Indiana.

About the author

Jo Hartley
Wife, Mother of 8, and Grandmother of 2
Jo is a 40 year old home educator who has always gravitated toward a natural approach to life. She enjoys learning as much as possible about just about anything!
http://www.loftymatters.com


Related Articles

New Study Shows Need for a Major Overhaul of How United States Manages Chronic Illness (press release)

Hospitals may be hazardous to your health

Unnecessary surgery exposed! Why 60% of all surgeries are medically unjustified and how surgeons exploit patients to generate profits

Human medical experimentation in the United States: The shocking true history of modern medicine and psychiatry (1833-1965)

Vaccines and Medical Experiments on Children, Minorities, Woman and Inmates (1845 - 2007)

Additional Resources:

hospital
medication
Iraq

Take Action: Support NaturalNews.com

Email this article to a friend

Share this article on: NewsVine | digg | del.icio.us

Permalink to this article: http://www.NaturalNews.com/022945.html

Reprinting this article: Non-commercial OK, cite NaturalNews.com with clickable link.

Receive our Natural Health Newsletter for FREE

Subscribe now (it's free!) to win. We randomly choose a subscriber each month to send $100 in eco-home products or a RealGoods.com gift certificate (our choice). Plus, you'll receive FREE news, articles and action alerts from NaturalNews.com editors and join over 800,000 monthly readers who report extraordinary health improvements after becoming a subscriber!
  • Receive breaking news alerts on natural health solutions, renewable energy, the environment, global warming and more.
  • Receive a free instant download of our $29 Secret Sources guide that reveals top sources for little-known health and diet solutions.
Your Email Address:
Free Subscription Code:
Enter the numbers you see:
100% free of charge. Unsubscribe anytime.
Absolutely no spam. We respect your email privacy.

Recommended Special Report:

Seven Words that can Change the World
by Joseph R. Simonetta

Read this special report now...

"Seven Words That Can Change the World reveals the astonishing, simple truths that have the power to forever transform our world for the better while freeing our minds from the enslavement of limiting beliefs. This is not a text for the simple-minded; it is a guiding philosophy for the mindful, intelligent few who are wise enough to seek out -- and recognize -- the higher simplicities of truly purposeful living." - Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, editor of NaturalNews.com

More on NaturalNews.com:

Streaming Health Ranger Videos
CounterThink Cartoons
FREE Special Reports
Podcasts

Also Posted Today

Nutrient Profile: Vitamin D and its Many Functions

Former FDA Deputy Commissioner Gottlieb Now Pushing Big Pharma Drugs

Fasting One Day a Month Causes Significant Reduction in Clogged Arteries

Why the 'Best By' Date Label on Pet Foods Is So Important

Review: Zyflamend Supplement for Inflammation; Tips on Anti-Inflammatory Foods and Herbs

Beat Disease With Juice Feasting!

NEW 6-CD audio set reveals amazing new protocol for reversing cancer, diabetes, obesity, heart disease and more. Click to learn more.

Own Health Ranger Report Podcasts on Audio CD

Own the first 8 Health Ranger Report audio programs on 6 CDs. Covers weight loss, ADHD, vaccinations, processed meats, bone health and more. Click to learn more.

Featured Videos

Short clip on Aspartame
A short clip on aspartame from the documentary All Jacked Up.
Click here to view now...

Exclusive video on Aspartame
The dangers of aspartame! Exclusive interview footage from Cori Brackett of Sweet Remedy.
Click here to view now...

Exclusive Footage from All Jacked Up!
See interview footage featuring the Health Ranger in the upcoming junk food film, All Jacked Up.
Click here to view now...

Drug Ad Parody
See the Health Ranger's satire parody of Merck's cholesterol drug ad.
Click here to view now...

Free Health Reports!

Amazon Herb Company review
The pH Nutrition Guide to Acid / Alkaline Balance
Pet Food Ingredients Revealed! (shocking)
Medicine From Fish
The Water Cure
The Healing Power of Sunlight and Vitamin D

Featured CounterThink Cartoons

Meet the Hospital Staph


The Speeding Doctor


Negotiating with Big Pharma


Health Product Companies We Recommend

Read recommendations on supplement companies, health food manufacturers and personal care product makers that you can trust. Our 100% independent review list tells you who to trust and who to avoid in the natural health industry. Click to read.
This site is part of the Natural News Network © 2008 All Rights Reserved. Privacy | Terms All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing International, LTD. is not responsible for content written by contributing authors. Truth Publishing sells no health or nutritional products and earns no money from health product manufacturers or promoters. The information on this site is provided for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for professional advice of any kind. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. Your use of this website indicates your agreement to these terms and those published here. All trademarks, registered trademarks and servicemarks mentioned on this site are the property of their respective owners.