UAE's new centre for physical and mental rehabilitation offers lifeline for young Gazans

Palestinians whose lives have been torn apart by conflict are trying to look to the future thanks to crucial support at Emirates Humanitarian City

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Wounded Gazans receiving refuge in the UAE from the horrors of war in their homeland are being helped to rebuild shattered lives at a dedicated treatment centre at Abu Dhabi's Emirates Humanitarian City.

Dozens of Palestinians bearing the scars of the continuing conflict with Israel – from young children tightly holding their mother's hands to patients in wheelchairs and those wearing hearing aids – have already been given crucial assistance at the Specialised Centre for Case Assessment and Support for the Injured, operated by the Zayed Higher Organisation for People of Determination.

The centre, which was officially opened on Wednesday, is part of a vital network of support in place at the EHC, a safe haven for about 2,000 Palestinians that was established as part of the UAE's continuing humanitarian operations.

The ZHO centre provides key services such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and auditory rehabilitation. As well as essential physical care, it offers education rooms delivering an inclusive learning environment for patients with a range of disabilities.

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  Wael Halhoul and Mohammad Abou Houli during class at the treatment complex at Emirates Humanitarian City. All Photos: Victor Besa / The National

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  Physical therapist Ahmed Isleem and Amir Marzouk, 12, before their therapy session

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  Mohamad El Madhoum, 19, before his physical therapy session

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  Halla Jihad with her grandmother, Waffa Ridha

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  The ZHO facility provides services such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and auditory rehabilitation

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  Amir Marzouk, 12, before his therapy session

The centre receives referrals from hospitals operated by Abu Dhabi Health Services Company, also known as Seha, the country's largest healthcare network. So far, it has treated 66 people with physical disabilities, 18 with hearing problems, six people with intellectual disabilities and another two with visual impairments.

Each individual undergoes a comprehensive assessment, after which personalised treatment plans are developed to address their specific needs. Partnering with Ibn Sina School for Deaf Education, the organisation has introduced auditory rehabilitation classes to help children with hearing impairments transition into school.

For those with visual impairments, Braille training is provided to enable their inclusion in educational settings. Prosthetic limbs are also fitted at the centre and patients are trained in their use.

Ahmed Isleem, a physical therapist at the centre, said that the majority of cases they see involve amputations. “Our treatment plan is to help them return to how they were before the injury in terms of movement and control,” he said.

“We assist them in adapting to the prosthetic so it becomes an extension of their body,” he explained. This process involves extensive physiotherapy and gait training. Currently, he said, they are managing about 22 amputation cases, with ages ranging from just a year and a half to over 30 years old.

Bomb blast survivor can dream again

From left, Mohamad El Jaffer, physical therapist Ahmed Isleem and Mohamed El Madhoum before a therapy session at the centre. Victor Besa / The National

Mohamad El Jaffer from Rafah,19, was left with shrapnel in his chest and lungs after a bombing at a supermarket near his home. He is the eldest of three brothers and, against his mother's wishes, had gone out to call his brothers back to the house when the strike took place.

Shrapnel tore off one of his arms, and more was lodged into his chest, kidney and lungs, with one piece exploding into smaller fragments inside him. His grandfather and 70 others died, and 300 people were injured that day.

“I’ve stayed a long time getting treated,” said Mr El Jaffer, who was brought to the UAE on November 21 last year. “When I first arrived at the hospital back home, they said I was dead – if not for a nurse who recognised me and asked the doctor to transfer me to another hospital.”

He spent 21 days in the intensive care unit and endured more than a dozen surgeries. “It took a lot of physiotherapy at the centre so I can even stand today,” he said. “I was so, so tired all the time. I could never get up.”

He now has a prosthetic arm fitted and hopes to recover sufficiently to continue his studies. Before the war broke out, he was in his first year of engineering at Al Azhar University.

Amir Marzouk, 12, lost a leg after his home in Gaza was bombed. Victor Besa / The National

Amir Marzouq, 12, also lost a leg after his house was bombed as he slept. “I was asleep, and I tried to reach out for my leg, but I couldn’t find it,” he said.

Amir is waiting to have his prosthetic leg fitted. He is staying at the EHC with his mother and two brothers, aged 4 and 14. “I miss Gaza,” he says, tears filling his eyes. “I miss my family.”

Teen on road to recovery sets sights on university

Nineteen-year-old Mohammad El Madhoun is one of many already benefiting from the centre. The National first spoke to him in January, a few weeks after his arrival in Gaza, as he prepared to have his first prosthetic fitted.

He had lost his left leg in one of the barrage of air strikes continuing to pound the besieged enclave. When he was rushed to the hospital, his leg was amputated without the use of anaesthesia. He was 18 at the time. The prosthetic, he said, was uncomfortable at first.

“Now I can walk with it, but I still get this electric shock in my body. I come to the centre a lot for physiotherapy,” he said. He will undergo further surgery in December.

“I would like to go to university now,” he said. “I can walk, and I'm almost healed.”