V CORPS ARTILLERYMEN TAKE ON PROJECT TO REHABILITATE BAGHDAD REHABILITATION CENTER
V Corps Release
Release Date: 10/3/2003
By Spc. Ryan Smith 372nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Broken, rusted wheelchairs lie in heaps behind a center for disabled Iraqis. Inside, X-ray machines and rehabilitation equipment rot away, unused and in disrepair.
The Ekrema Rehabilitation Center here specializes in treating and rehabilitating handicapped people living here. Before the war, it belonged to Iraq's Ministry of Defense and its staff treated only wounded Iraqi soldiers. But now, thanks to coalition forces and the Coalition Provisional Authority, the center is now a part of the Iraqi Ministry of Health, meaning all handicapped citizens now can receive care at the center.
But the center was in poor condition to treat anyone. Neglect under Saddam Hussein's regime and damage from looting left it in a state of disrepair.
That's changing now, thanks to soldiers from the 4th Battalion, 1st Field Artillery Regiment of V Corps's 1st Armored Division and the 490th Civil Affairs Battalion, an Army Reserve unit from Abeline, Texas. The units have begun work to clean up the center and help to repair or replace damaged equipment and fix structural damage, according to Maj. Kevin West, operations officer for 4/1st Field Artillery.
West and Capt. Judith Christians, civil affairs officer with the 490th, visited the center to meet with its director and to assess its facilities Sept. 25. The major first learned of the center when soldiers from his unit were conducting a money exchange earlier this year. The soldiers were exchanging 250-dinar notes for defunct 10,000-dinar notes when a large number of handicapped people arrived. In order to better accommodate the handicapped, West came back to the Ekrema Rehabilitation Center to exchange money there. He found the facility in poor condition.
Though helping to stand a medical center back on its feet is hardly what a field artillery officer is trained for, West said he saw that these people needed help.
"We had a lot of looting damage," said Dr. Abdul Rahman, the director of the center. At one point during the soldiers' visit, Rahman pointed at a vacant spot on the ceiling of a room where a fan once hung and said, "Ali Baba" -- thieves.
Because of the damage the center had been unable to function.
"There were about 4,000 war handicapped who came here, but with the civilians now there are 6,000 or more," Rahman said. Because of the damage the center was unable to function. But with help from the U.S. soldiers, the center should soon be able to operate again.
"There's a lot of cleanup to be done," Christians said, "Many of the windows and doors need to be replaced, and they need new furniture and rehabilitation equipment."
While Christians and the other civil affairs soldiers will work through CPA and non-governmental organizations, West has another source in mind.
"Back home, I have a cousin who is a retired missionary," he said. "He'll be able to get donations of equipment to send here to help these people."
Christians says she is motivated to help because she feels a sense of empathy for the former soldiers who receive treatment at the center. In one room sits a pile of thousands of medical records.
"These thousands of files are loosely bundled on the floor of this room," Christians said. "From soldier to soldier, I'd like to see these records sorted out and for these soldiers' families to know what may have become of their loved ones."
Work on the center is set to begin soon, West said. First, he will bring a team of hired Iraqis to clean up the site. Once the center is cleaned up and the structural damage is repaired, the soldiers will focus on helping to bring the rehabilitation equipment back up to standard.
To help Iraq manage its own future, Iraqis will do the majority of the work, and the Ministry of Health will oversee most of it.
"It's good to know there will be a place where disabled people can get help," Christians said. "I only wish more people could contribute."
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