The deadly attack on the Indian medical mission in Kabul last month has led to a development that has all the makings of another tragedy. A day after the attack,a riot almost broke out at Kabuls largest childrens hospital since hundreds of parents who had travelled from all across the region to seek treatment for their children had to be turned away. Barring one doctor,all the Indian doctors running the hospital had been seriously injured in the attack and one had even lost his life. A deathly silence has gripped the Indira Gandhi hospital that is funded and run by the Indian government. Parents,with their ailing children,still turn up regularly,only to be turned back. The burning question theyre all asking is where do we take our children now?. While there is no dearth of private hospitals in Kabul,the childrens hospital being run by India was the only one providing doctors and medicines free of charge to locals. Now,with the pharmacy closed and doctors battling for their lives in New Delhi,the only options are private hospitals that charge almost $10 per visit a sum that most in the region can ill afford. On Saturday (a day after the attack) close to a thousand children came for treatment. We had to turn them back as there was no pharmacist to give medicines. We are hoping that the doctors come back soon, said Mohammed Anwar,the administrator of the hospital. While the critical care unit of the hospital has been made functional by local doctors,the out-patient department that was treating close to 700 children per day has been temporarily closed down. Locals,who continue to pour in,have been told that the Indian doctors will be back after one month. The attack on Indian doctors,who had become one of the more recognisable Indian faces in Kabul,has led to a lot of anger among locals. The point is not that Indians have been attacked or even that guests of our country have been killed. The point is that terrorists are killing our children by targeting doctors who were treating them, said a resident,Abdul Onarpur,who used to bring his five children to the hospital. A visit to the private hospitals,he added,is out of reach for most residents who sustain their families on incomes of not more than $100 per month. This was the only place that was giving free medicines. A lot of children will go untreated if the doctors do not return, he said. However,with the Indian government having made it clear that it will not be cowed down in its humanitarian efforts by the attack,it may only be a matter of time when the doctors return. But there could be a reduction in the size of the medical team,given that doctors have now become a prime target.
