Hospitals Somalia

Intensified fighting was reported in Mogadishu, Somalia's capital, and Western doctors who have established a hospital in the war-torn city appealed for additional medical supplies to treat the wounded. "The situation is deteriorating rapidly," a spokeswoman at the Italian Embassy in Nairobi said. She said the fighting prevented the Italians from sending aircraft to rescue more foreigners from Mogadishu or to deliver medical supplies to 10 doctors who have set up a neutral hospital.

The anesthesiologist had no electronic gear to monitor the heartbeat of the patient splayed on the operating table, so he kept his index fingers tightly hooked under the man's chin to feel his pulse. The 35-year-old Somali's colon had been shattered by a bullet. One hour into an operation to rebuild it, the surgeon, Dr. Omar Nur Abdi, complained that he had no proper thread to sew up the incision in the unconscious man's left side.

The anesthesiologist had no electronic gear to monitor the heartbeat of the patient splayed on the operating table, so he kept his index fingers tightly hooked under the man's chin to feel his pulse. The 35-year-old Somali's colon had been shattered by a bullet. One hour into an operation to rebuild it, the surgeon, Dr. Omar Nur Abdi, complained that he had no proper thread to sew up the incision in the unconscious man's left side.

If there is a hell on earth, it would have to include the Dikfeer Hospital. Nothing from Dickens or even Dante prepares one to enter Mogadishu's only operating medical facility. It is nothing short of an abomination, an offense against humanity. Yet it is what Somalis have. Its staff tries to ignore the stench, filth and lack of what other hospitals would consider necessities. Some people even emerge alive.

If there is a hell on earth, it would have to include the Dikfeer Hospital. Nothing from Dickens or even Dante prepares one to enter Mogadishu's only operating medical facility. It is nothing short of an abomination, an offense against humanity. Yet it is what Somalis have. Its staff tries to ignore the stench, filth and lack of what other hospitals would consider necessities. Some people even emerge alive.

These elite, specially trained construction workers built hospitals in Somalia and mess halls in the Middle East, but on Monday, Navy Seabees used their prowess to scale the San Buenaventura Mission's towering pine trees and hang hundreds of feet of Christmas lights. The two century-old pine trees, standing in front of the mission, are about 130 feet tall.

Somalia is not for the faint of heart. "One relief worker told me that his enduring image of Somalia is a 12-year-old kid carrying an AK-47, chewing qat and popping Valium," said Neil Frame, procurement director of the Los Angeles-based Operation U.S.A. Frame, who left for Somalia last week, has worked for the relief agency for 13 years. "He said it's just like (the road-warrior movie) 'Mad Max.' One of the side effects of qat (a plant chewed for its stimulant effect) . . . is paranoia.

THE WHITE-ROBED SURGEON, AWEYS ABDI OMAR, hands covered in blood, was cutting into the abdomen of a Somali man in Mogadishu's Digfer Hospital when half a dozen armed men burst into the operating room, carrying a moaning figure in their arms. "Doctor, you have to leave that one," they said, pointing to the anesthetized patient on the table. "Our brother has been shot." "But this patient may die if I leave," Omar protested. "Your brother is not hurt badly. He will have to wait."

Intensified fighting was reported in Mogadishu, Somalia's capital, and Western doctors who have established a hospital in the war-torn city appealed for additional medical supplies to treat the wounded. "The situation is deteriorating rapidly," a spokeswoman at the Italian Embassy in Nairobi said. She said the fighting prevented the Italians from sending aircraft to rescue more foreigners from Mogadishu or to deliver medical supplies to 10 doctors who have set up a neutral hospital.