A Syrian woman gave birth to a healthy, 3.2-kilo baby boy on Sunday at Ziv Medical Center in Safed.
With the civil war raging in her native country along with a shortage of food and medical care, she made her way to the southern border, hoping that she would be fortunate enough to be evacuated to Israel. It appears that Israeli humanitarianism and news of Israeli hospitals treating injured Syrians with kindness must have been circulating.
Her wish was granted; at the border, IDF soldiers noticed her predicament and brought her to the northern Israeli hospital.
She hails from the town of Kuneitra on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, which was under curfew. There were no midwives available and the roads to hospitals were blocked by rebel fighters, she said.
According to The Jerusalem Post, the grateful 20-year-old mother explained:
“I was very afraid to go, but I was even more worried about giving birth at home by myself.”
Furthermore, she didn’t feel like she was in a hostile country, as the staff was very helpful and concerned about her and the baby. It was her first delivery.
According to Jerusalem Online, the new mother, a nurse by profession, said:
“To my joy, the Israeli army saw that I was in severe pain, picked me up and took me to a hospital in Israel. I feared for my baby in case there were complications with the labor at home. The obstetric team and the Israeli doctors treated me with respect and sensitivity and the birth was uneventful.”
She is getting a healthy diet – a huge improvement from her situation back home – as well as care, post-natal advice and use of facilities no different than any Israeli mother would receive.
Nurse Mira Eli, also quoted in the Post, said: “Our job is to ensure that every new mother remembers her delivery as an unforgettable, positive experience, whatever her ethnic, national or religious background.”
As pointed out by Israel National News, a baby born on the territory of a sovereign country is automatically granted citizenship; therefore, the question is whether that rule will apply in this case.
Date: Nov 3, 2013
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