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As the rest of the society in Syria, the doctors also joined the Syrian revolution since it’s first appearance.
They suffered the atrocities and harassment of the Assad regime because of their effective participation and the great role they played, from taking part in peaceful protests to providing medical services,in addition to their contribution to other revolutionary activities,but as the revolution shifted from peaceful protests to armed resistance ,they (the doctors) were split into two parts :
The first part :
They continued their participation in the revolutionary activities,treating and taking care of the injured civilians and rebels,moreover they were in charge of the field hospitals and trained the young people on medical services,besides other activities they did for the sake of the revolution,but it should be noted that this type of doctors are very few.
The Second Part :
Contrary to those doctors offering help for civilians and the rebels as best they could,there were those who withdrew from the revolutionary actitvities since they were busy and immersed in their personal lives,their main concern was only to make as much money as they could,they were also caresless of those wounded civilians who needed their help in hospitals.
Consequently,the city of Deir Ezzor witnessed a degradation of medical services,represented in the shortage of medical stuff,doctors and nurses in all specialties,mainly bone , Joint and Surgical specialists ,along with a significant lack of medical equipment due to the Syrian regime bombardement of the field hospitals and medical points in the province.
Following the arrival of ISIS in Deir Ezzor ,the medical situation became worse than before.It imposed strict rules which were meant to damage and degrade the medical sector in the province.ISIS closed down several medical points and field hospitals under the pretext that they were funded and sponsored by organizations run by infidels or the National Coalition for Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces.
ISIS also forced the remaining medical stuff to attend its ”Sharia courses” and shut down all the clinics run by males and prevented female doctors from treating males,in addition to the confiscation of the property of the doctors living outside ISIS-held areas.
ISIS imposed new unfair rules in which the doctors were obliged to treat their patients for free in the clinik Permanence run by the organization.The doctors also had to determine the wages of medical examination and surgeries.Because of these strict rules imposed by ISIS ,many doctors decided to move to non ISIS held areas or even outside Syria which furthered the degradation of the medical situation in Deir Ezzor , especially in the rural areas and the principal towns in the province.
For example : the area ,situated between al Shadadi (South Hasakah) and the city of al Bassira in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor,became devoid of any obstetricians following the departure of Sivtlana Nikolay,Russian obstetrician who fled the area for fear of ISIS atrocities and terror ,there was a male doctor who was also banned from his job in the aea.
The medical situation in Assad regime- held areas is as worse as it is in ISIS conrolled areas,both of ISIS seige on Assad held districts in Deir Ezzor and the regime’s harrassement forced many doctors to flee and move to Damascus and other areas,therefore Deir Ezzor province is witnessing a catastrophic situation at the current time concerning medical services coincided with international silence and no media coverage at all.