URGENT APPEAL FOR HELP:Syrian girl, gang-raped

16/ 07/ 2009 

 By Rime Allaf

4-year old Syrian girl, gang-raped and left for dead, in desperate need of critical operations. This is an urgent appeal for help following a horrific crime committed on a little girl in Syria, whose survival and future lies in our collective hands. I implore you all to read carefully, to spread as widely as possible, and to help in any way possible with donations, suggestions for immediate help, medical and psychological support, and long-term treatment.
On June 28, 2009, 4-year old Khawla went to a wedding with her parents, near the industrial city in Aleppo, Syria. As is often the case in conservative circles, women were in one hall and men in another. Khawla asked her mother if she could go buy a fizzy drink (“kazoz”); not carrying any money, Khawla’s mother told her to go ask her father for some. As she made her way to the men’s hall on the second floor, a young man stopped Khawla to ask where she was going. When she explained, he told her to follow him and he would buy her the drink himself.  Having lured Khawla to a dirt mound meters away from the wedding hall, the man (whose father owned the building) and three of his friends threw Khawla to the ground, on her back, and savagely proceeded to rape her, beating her and slapping her in an attempt to silence her screams. As the blood ran down her legs after two of the men had already raped her, they turned her over, throwing her face down to let the other two men rape her from behind. When they were done, they threw mounds of earth, dirt and garbage on the little girl, attempting to cover her fully. They then went back to the wedding hall, attempting to mislead the search party that would later be looking for the little girl.
Khawla was found a few hours later, after a long search which began when her parents realized she was missing and gave the alert, calling the police. She had been nearly completely buried, with only her head still showing; she was bleeding profusely, in terrible pain and in an indescribable state of shock.
In despair, Khawla’s parents attempted to get their wounded and traumatized daughter to hospital, but several hospitals refused to admit the girl in spite of the emergency, and even to administer urgent basic first aid. In her grave state, Khawla was shockingly turned away from Razi Hospital, University Hospital, Kindi Hospital, and Bassel Hospital. As yet, none of these have been reprimanded for their irresponsible behavior in refusing assistance to an emergency case. In the Maternity Hospital, the fifth one Khawla’s parents tried, basic first aid was finally given to the girl, but she was again sent away to the Children’s Hospital, which she reached 9 hours after the crime, and where she was promptly taken into the operating room for an initial procedure.
Khawla’s medical condition is very worrying; the savagery of the rape has left her with significant perineal injuries, and extreme damage to her digestive and reproductive systems. Already, Khawla has been fitted with a colostomy bag. Khawla will need major colostomy and reconstructive surgery later, amongst other procedures which doctors have described as being delicate and dangerous. So far, the first emergency procedure has not even succeeded in preventing urine or stools from leaking internally, putting Khawla’s life in danger. Reports have indicated that the hospital currently treating Khawla is ill equipped to deal with such dangerous conditions, with the doctors struggling to deal with the severe internal damage done to Khawla, and to prepare for the long term physical consequences.
Khawla’s psychological state is just as desperate, leaving no doubt that she will need treatment and counselling for many years. Until now, she has screamed every time someone tried to approach her, necessitating general anaesthesia even for simple check-ups by the doctors. She is still in a state of shock, unable to speak except to repeat the words [i]“his mother sells kazoz”[/i] in reference to the man who led her to the rape. While they are struggling to respond to Khawla’s physical needs, there is no reason to even hope that any of the local doctors or nurses are trained to handle such violent cases of child gang-rape. For the time being, Khawla has received no treatment to ease her trauma.
In spite of the gravity of her condition which continues to get worse, Khawla has been taken home to rest in preparation for a further dangerous operation. The family’s very modest situation and poor financial means, added to a complete disregard of the case by concerned authorities and by most Syrian media outlets which could have led a fund raising campaign, are ill omens for her physical, social and psychological rehabilitation.
In the absence of an established, transparent society or NGO able to adopt Khawla’s case and to take over her treatment, Khawla’s father has been asked to open a bank account in his own name, so that donors who wish to can contribute to her long road to recovery. I will post the details as soon as I receive them. In the meantime, any help or advice regarding Khawla’s case will be most gratefully accepted and directed to her family, as will suggestions and offers for her repatriation to countries where relevant and experienced medical centers would be willing to welcome her.
Thank you for your kind attention, and for acting promptly on this urgent appeal for help.