Hobbling along on his crutches along the corridor of VPS Rockland Hospital in the national capital, 19-year-old Mouthanna can barely contain his excitement at the thought of being fitted with a prosthetic limb.
The teenager is one of a group of 63 injured soldiers and pro-government militia fighters from Yemen who are in India for medical treatment as part of a humanitarian effort coordinated and financed by the United Arab Emirates and the Red Crescent. They are accompanied by 27 caregivers.
As the brutal civil war between Yemeni government forces — backed by the Arab coalition — and the Houthi rebels enters its eight year, Mouthanna is one of thousands whose life has been devastated.
The war began when he was just 12. “When the Houthis arrived in Aden on bikes and pick-up trucks, we decided to fight them. But I was not a regular soldier, so I joined the army as a volunteer,” he said.
On February 14, 2017, he was in an armoured vehicle when a bomb under the road exploded. Mouthanna’s left leg was almost severed below the knee in the blast.
“For a year, they tried to help me walk. But I hope I will receive proper prosthetics to be able to walk again,” said the teenager, pacing the hospital corridor to improve agility and strength. “Doctors have asked me to be active and not sit quietly,” he said as hospital staff look on.
Under special care
Under the present humanitarian initiative, two branches of the private healthcare provider VPS Rockland Hospitals in Delhi and Gurugram are hosting the patients, setting aside a separate floor. The floor includes a prayer room and options for indoor games like chess for those with at least limited mobility.
The group was evacuated from Aden and flown to Delhi in specially-fitted aircraft earlier this week. The youngest patient in the group is nine-years-old; some of the patients are comatose with gun shot wounds while others are paralysed.
Most of them are expected to undergo orthopaedic, plastic, general and neurosurgery to make a full recovery.
As part of the medical process, the specialists have allowed the patients a few days to recover following which the more challenging phase of treatment will begin. “The upcoming medical contingent of patients will be supported by 10 medical professionals including paramedics, doctors, nurses and respiratory therapists,” VPS Rockland Hospitals said in a statement. The healthcare provider has extensive hospital network in the UAE and North Africa and hence was chosen for the initiative.
Captain Sabri Ahmed Ali Al Jabri, 45, is among those who will require surgical intervention. He suffered multiple bullets injuries on June 1, 2016, while fighting near a garrison in Aden. The bullets perforated his abdomen and left him bound to a wheelchair as he can barely stand.
But Capt. Al Jabri is proud of his injuries. “I was injured twice before. This was my third round of bullets,” he said, with a grin, pointing to an older bullet wound in his leg.
The group of patients includes a few women but they were not part of the media interaction.
Speaking exclusively to The Hindu , the injured soldiers said the war was nowhere near its end and the country would take a long time to recover. At least 9,245 persons have died since 2015 in the war that has its roots in the sharing of power between the late President Ali Abdullah Saleh and his opponent and current President Abdurrabbuh Mansur Hadi.
While the city of Aden has returned to government hands, the Arab Coalition and the Houthi rebels battle are locked in combat over the southern part of the country.
A nation devastated
Yemen, one of the poorest in the Arab world, is yet to reconcile itself to its recent violent history. “I want to go back and join the military,” said Ammer Abdellah. He lost his left arm when a high-calibre bullet hit him. “The bullet sliced my hand,” he said matter-of-factly.
The 63 soldiers in India are a small part of the humanitarian disaster which has not received enough attention from the world community. These Yemeni government personnel are but one part of the war’s victims. The other part consists of the Zaidi Shias who make up the Houthi rebels. Given the continued bombardment of Houthi targets by the Arab Coalition, international relief organisations have warned of a humanitarian catastrophe, unless the war ends soon.
Organisers of the present medical initiative expect many more injured victims to seek treatment in India.
“I will fight again if the war continues,” said Ammer Abdellah. But, then after a pause, he says with a touch of hope, “Well, I will go back to repairing cars, if the war ends by the time I return.”
