Lone clinic in rebel-held north Syria tackles mental toll of war
azaz (Syria) — At an austere mental health clinic in northern Syria, male patients with shaved heads squat barefoot in a courtyard, some dressed in uniforms and others in Tshirts and tracksuit trousers.
One man screams at those around him, while another laughs to himself. A third sings exuberantly, exposing bare gums missing teeth.
The second floor houses female patients in patterned dresses and flowery headscarves.
Some smile at visitors while others lie motionless on their beds.
One woman is tied to her bedframe.
The horrors of Syria’s six-year war have left the country’s population with devastating psychological scars, but staff at the only mental health facility in Syria’s opposition-held north are doing their best to treat those affected.
Among the patients at the clinic in Azaz, northern Aleppo province, is a 17-year-old girl deeply scarred by the conflict.
“She saw a small child that had been killed and was being eaten by animals,” Dorar Al Sobh, one of two doctors at the facility, says.
“She was so shocked she lost her ability to speak. Now she can’t sleep or eat... She avoids everyone.”
A male patient from the neighbouring province of Raqa came back to his bombed-out home to find the lifeless bodies of his wife and six children.
“He has difficulty sleeping... he gets flashbacks and nightmares,” says Sobh, 46.
Some cases predate Syria’s conflict, but others — particularly of post-traumatic stress disorder — have been directly caused by the war.
“Of course, we have seen an increase in cases, especially depression, PTSD and coping disorders,” Sobh says.
Nurse Mohammed Munzer recalls receiving patients who had been arrested at the peaceful protests in 2011 that kicked off Syria’s uprising. —