(Zaman Al Wasl)- A short journey that did not exceed few seconds separated the darkness and light in the life of the six-year-old boy, Oweis al-Ataqi, in the besieged Eastern Ghouta suburbs.
Oweis wanted to get out of the basement where he was living with his family to escape the Russian bombing. However, Russian rocket shrapnel hit his eyes and he lost sight. Oweis is now at the al-Ghouta Islamic Hospital, also known as Jerusalem, waiting to complete his treatment.
A source close to the child, preferred to remain anonymous, told Zaman al-Wasl that the child was admitted to the Islamic Hospital in Eastern Ghouta on January 5. He suffers from a head injury that caused extensive damage to his eyes according to doctors.
The source added that the hospital doctors operated to empty the eyes and implanted eyelids and plastic balls in each eye so as not to remain empty since it is impossible to restore vision. Still the child’s body did not cope with the implants as there is still swelling in the eyes of the child.
"The situation of the child is still uncertain and sometimes he blacks out and becomes unconscious, and he is always screaming and crying but without tears. He asks his mother to go to their house and always asks why he has lost his vision.
He pointed out that the child is still under treatment and needs a several operations, including - he says - a process of grafting in the skull but the process is postponed now because there is a coming out of his eyes.
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced in March that 30% of those suffering from war-related injuries in Eastern Ghouta are children under the age of 15, noting that the health situation in besieged Eastern Ghouta is deteriorating and 300000 people live under blockade. The three main hospitals have been suspended from work. WHO demanded access to aid and evacuation of critically ill patients.
Zaman A Wasl
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