Arab Spring Solidarity Defies National Boundaries

By Jasmin Ramsey

VANCOUVER, May 25, 2011 (IPS) - Ever since the ousting of Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, ordinary citizens have been leading uprisings all over North Africa and the Middle East against unwanted rulers. But what is now known as the "Arab Awakening" is not confined to people resisting within their own borders. Some Arabs are helping the fight in neighboring countries too.

Sameh Saeed, a 26-year-old Egyptian orthopedic surgeon, was among the thousands of protestors who braved tear gas and water cannons during the famous battle on Kasr al-Nil Bridge in January. He also helped take Tahrir Square and camped there at night until Hosni Mubarak stepped down.

But even while acknowledging Egypt's long road ahead, on Feb. 24, Saeed and two other Egyptian doctors arrived in Libya on a medical convoy organized by the Arab Medical Union.

"After our revolution we understood the meaning of freedom," he told IPS in a telephone interview from Cairo last weekend. "And when you see people in other countries right next to you fighting for the exact same purpose, you can't just sit back and watch."

In the first five days of violence in February, an estimated 100-250 people were killed in the northern city of Benghazi. During that same time, Médecins Sans Frontières reported an influx of 1,800 injured taken to medical centers around the city.

While MSF noted that Benghazi's main medical centers were "well- equipped" prior to the conflict, emergency team member Simon Burroughs said the city's healthcare workers were overwhelmed during the heaviest fighting.

A substantial number of foreign health workers who were in the country prior to the conflict - the largest number existing in the nursing sector - fled the violence, leaving Libyans to fill the gaps.

According to Ryan Calder, a PhD Candidate from UC Berkeley in the United States who traveled through eastern Libya in March and April, there are several reasons for the large number of foreign care workers there.

"Some foreign doctors and Libyans I interviewed said healthcare centers hire foreign staff because there is a perception that the quality of medical training in Libya is not as good as it should be," he told IPS.

Calder also says that having a large number of foreign nurses is common among many Arab oil-rich countries. "They are often highly qualified for cheaper," he said.

Libya's healthcare system isn't popular among the population. Calder found "many people blaming Muammar Gaddafi in particular for not providing an adequate medical system."

Libyans also complain about the high cost of good care and often travel to neighboring Tunisia or Egypt for procedures instead.

Both Calder and health NGOs noted a shortage of local specialized health workers during the conflict, an important requirement during critical health situations and a vacuum Saeed helped fill.

After Benghazi, Saeed and his colleagues took their needed expertise to the besieged city of Misrata. In April, 1,000 people were reportedly killed with several thousand injured since March.

Saeed arrived when part of the city was still under the control of pro-Gaddafi troops. "There was hundreds of mercenaries in the streets and snipers everywhere," he told IPS.

The emergency health situation in Misrata was much worse than what he'd seen in Benghazi. "Some days while I was operating they didn't have enough time to sweep blood off the floor," he recalled.

In April, Human Rights Watch reported indiscriminate attacks on civilians in Misrata by Gaddafi's forces. According to emergencies director Peter Bouckaert, "Libyan government forces have repeatedly fired mortars and Grad rockets into residential neighborhoods in Misrata, causing civilian casualties."

Saeed says he operated on civilians in both Benghazi and Misrata, but the injuries sustained by the victims in Misrata were the worst he's ever seen.

One of his patients included a six-year-old girl who ended up losing two younger siblings and a leg. "It was horrible seeing so many injured women and children wounded by Grad rockets and shells in front of you," he said.

While fighting continues in Misrata, rebel fighters have expanded their hold on the city. After the emergency health situation stabilized there in late April, Saeed returned to Cairo, but only to get a visa from Tunisia which will allow him to cross over into the western Zintan city.

Most of Libya's Western mountains have been under rebel control, but Gaddafi's forces have been launching a recent major offensive there. The difficult terrain has made it hard for health workers to reach it and the health situation is still unknown.

All over Libya, foreign members of the press and health workers have been reportedly targeted by Gaddafi's forces. In Misrata, Saeed says doctors were targeted while in ambulances and he described instances where he thought he was going to die too.

"One day I had to perform an operation while a gun battle was happening in the room beside me in Misrata," he said.

But despite worried complaints from his family and university who are urging him to get back to his residency, Saeed is determined to take his medical skills where they're most needed.

"I've been working in Egypt for the past three years, but I've never seen anything like what I saw in Misrata…you feel that you're being useful. That makes it worth all the risk," he said.

While waiting to get back into Libya, Saeed is following developments of the Egyptian revolution, debating next steps with other activists. He also says he's not at all tired despite going days without adequate food and water in Misrata.

"In Libya and in Egypt there is still so much work to do," he said.

Source: Inter-Press Service (IPS).
Link: http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=55782.