Friday, April 10, 2020, was not an ordinary day in Yemen. On that day, the first case of coronavirus was announced in Yemen. All Yemenis were afraid and worried that this would amount to declaring another humanitarian catastrophe in view of a country burdened with war, poverty and other diseases. In the midst of this public panic and anxiety, a humanitarian hero Hossam Abdullah Ali (pseudonym), was the first nurse to care for the first infected person with the Corona virus in Yemen.
Hossam works in the Tayseer Medical Complex in the city of Al-Shihr in Hadramout, where this case was discovered. Known among his colleagues for perseverance and sincerity at work, in light of weak capabilities and limited protection and prevention measures, this young man played a heroic role in confronting the virus. Hossm remained in the first line of defense to confront this hidden enemy, and exercised his medical duties with full responsibility and honesty.
However, Hossam role and dedication did not satisfy the tyranny of the authority and its security forces. On Saturday, April 11, he was beaten by the security forces inside the Tayseer Medical Complex. Thus, instead of raising hats and salutations, an automatic weapon was raised in his face and he was beaten by the butts of the guns all over his body. This heinous act against this doctor reflected the bitter reality faced by medical staff in the time of Corona and war.
More than a year after the first case of coronavirus infection in Yemen, the virus has spread again in a third wave since the beginning of this August, which led to the alerting of health authorities in the areas of the internationally recognized government that are witnessing a rise in the number of HIV infections. While Sanaa continues to follow its policy of opacity and undisclosed information about number of cases infected with the Corona virus or take any precautionary measures to combat it, despite health assurances that there are many cases infected with the Corona virus in the Yemeni capital.
Psychological suffering
Hossam and his colleagues at the Tayseer Medical Complex faced inhumane attacks by the security forces and they went through unbearable moments, in addition to the psychological pressure as a penalty for their discovery of the first infection with Corona.
Moreover, they were detained by security forces inside their medical compound for two days which doubled their psychological and health suffering, so that many of them suffered from nervous breakdowns and other complications.
Hossam revealed his most difficult moments to "Khuyut", by saying that Friday the tenth of April 2020 is an unforgettable day in his personal life. Hossam added: "Since that day I have been deprived of kissing the head of my mother and father, embracing my brothers, and meeting my loved ones and friends."
Additionally, Husam was subject to social bullying due to his contact with the infected case as many people uttered hurtful words to him after the period of home quarantine which constituted another tough situation in his daily life, and hurts his feelings.
Hossam said about this: "Some people slandered us (stigmatized us) and bullied us, and one of them described us as dogs and infected with the Corona virus, and they demanded that we have to stay inside the center." An hour and a half was the last moments in contact with the infected case, but it was the most difficult time in his life inside the ambulance when he was transferred from Al-Tayseer Complex to the isolation room in Al-Shahr Hospital.
It was a defining moment in Hossam's life, which he described as long as a year and half. In those moments, Hossam’s role to dealing with the infected case came to an end. However, what provoked his anger was that the medical team supported by the World Health Organization refused to receive the infected case at Al Shahr Hospital. They have even asked him to continue taking care of the case and offered him financial temptations as if he had become an infected person who deserved to be infected.
This behavior, which Hossam describes as immoral among his colleagues, increased the amount of suffering he experienced. This is how Husam and his colleagues’ misery multiplied, which illustrates the bleak picture that medical staff are exposed to in the time of Corona and the war in Yemen, and calls for creating governmental and societal awareness about respecting health cadres, preserves their dignity and appreciates their noble humanitarian work.
The Corona virus has so far claimed more than 100 lives of doctors and health professionals since the first case of infection was announced in Hadhramaut Governorate, southeast of Yemen, in April of last year who was cared by these health staff champions.
In the same context, the Supreme National Emergency Committee for Combating Corona, affiliated with the internationally recognized government, announced the implementation of a series of measures within the framework of the health sector plan to confront the third wave of the epidemic aiming at strengthening the capabilities of isolation centers, and intensifying precautionary and preventive measures, to halt the spread of the epidemic.
Moreover, the most important of these measures include reopening and activating the isolation centers, mechanisms for disbursing incentives for their employees, in addition to accelerating the procedures for completing the installation of some oxygen plants. Besides, the health authorities in Taiz Governorate, southwest of Yemen, directed the isolation centers in the governorate to raise their readiness and preparedness to the fullest capacity to fight the third wave of the emerging Corona virus (Covid-19) during the coming period.
