News / National
Canadian volunteers stranded after Toronto doctor's eviction
21 Aug 2012 at 06:23hrs | Views
The group of Canadian medical volunteers had just returned from lunch Thursday afternoon when they saw the chaos unfold in front of the Salvation Army hospital in rural Zimbabwe.
Outside Howard Hospital, drums throbbed as hundreds of local people - who had gathered there earlier in the day to protest a decision made weeks before to remove the hospital's head doctor - grew violent, some lobbing rocks through the air as others reportedly overturned a Salvation Army truck.
Soon, tear gas filled the air outside the hospital as Zimbabwean police officers moved in to clear the crowds.
"There were kids running, yelling at us, 'Don't go there! Don't go there!' " said Veneta Anand, a Waterloo-based pharmacist, describing the turmoil.
As the tear gas spread, officers moved into the hospital to arrest community members and hospital staff, including several nurses, on suspicion of inciting violence.
The next day, Dr. Paul Thistle of Scarborough - the hospital's chief medical officer for nearly 17 years and the subject of last Thursday's violent protest - was told by the Zimbabwe's Salvation Army headquarters that he had 48 hours to pack his bags and leave the country.
The Canadian volunteer team of 11 doctors, pharmacists, dentists and others - in Zimbabwe with Short Term International Medical Missions Abroad, or STIMMA - had arrived at Howard Hospital, about 80 kilometres northeast of Harare, just days earlier and had planned to help out at the facility, which serves about 270,000 people in the surrounding region, until Aug. 29.
But on Saturday afternoon, fearing for their safety, the Canadian team fled to Harare, where they remained Monday afternoon trying to find a flight out of the country.
"It was unsafe for us to be there . . . and we were told it was unsafe for us to go back," said Anand, reached in the capital city Monday.
Thistle had told his supporters via email on Aug. 6 that the Salvation Army had ordered him to leave his post as of Sept. 1.
But Commissioner Vinece Chigariro, the Salvation Army's head in Zimbabwe, told the Associated Press on Sunday that last week's violent protest had prompted the organization to issue a 48-hour removal notice.
While the circumstances leading to Thistle's removal remain unclear, Thistle sent another email to his supporters Saturday morning, explaining that it had to do with the organization's funds.
"The root of the problem has been financial, and control of funds," he wrote. "Within the current Salvation Army system the funds do not arrive, or arrive very late. People are suffering today."
Anand, who also volunteered at Howard Hospital in 2011, described a hospital in need, with nearly bare pharmacy shelves and a ward operating at half-capacity due to a lack of staff and medical resources.
Chigariro, however, told the Associated Press that Thistle had challenged church leaders and that he was being reassigned "for the good of the church."
On Saturday morning, the Canadian volunteers and local supporters gathered inside Thistle's house as he and his family packed their belongings. Thistle has two boys with wife Pedrinah, a Zimbabwean nurse who also worked at Howard Hospital. Many from the community wept, said Anand, as the doctor prepared his departure.
Though he was expected to leave Zimbabwe for Canada on Sunday night, Thistle skipped his flight after hearing eight Howard Hospital nurses detained after the riot were still behind bars, according to Warren Viegas, a close friend who spoke to the doctor Monday.
"Paul and Pedrinah (didn't) want to run away and abandon the staff that has been so loyal to them," said Viegas, later noting that all staff members were believed to have been released on bail.
Viegas added that, despite the Salvation Army's orders, Thistle planned to return to Canada for Sept. 1.
Andrew Burditt, spokesperson for Salvation Army in Canada, said the Salvation Army was aware of the allegations, but was unable to comment on them. He added that Thistle's safe return to Canada was the organization's main priority.
Outside Howard Hospital, drums throbbed as hundreds of local people - who had gathered there earlier in the day to protest a decision made weeks before to remove the hospital's head doctor - grew violent, some lobbing rocks through the air as others reportedly overturned a Salvation Army truck.
Soon, tear gas filled the air outside the hospital as Zimbabwean police officers moved in to clear the crowds.
"There were kids running, yelling at us, 'Don't go there! Don't go there!' " said Veneta Anand, a Waterloo-based pharmacist, describing the turmoil.
As the tear gas spread, officers moved into the hospital to arrest community members and hospital staff, including several nurses, on suspicion of inciting violence.
The next day, Dr. Paul Thistle of Scarborough - the hospital's chief medical officer for nearly 17 years and the subject of last Thursday's violent protest - was told by the Zimbabwe's Salvation Army headquarters that he had 48 hours to pack his bags and leave the country.
The Canadian volunteer team of 11 doctors, pharmacists, dentists and others - in Zimbabwe with Short Term International Medical Missions Abroad, or STIMMA - had arrived at Howard Hospital, about 80 kilometres northeast of Harare, just days earlier and had planned to help out at the facility, which serves about 270,000 people in the surrounding region, until Aug. 29.
But on Saturday afternoon, fearing for their safety, the Canadian team fled to Harare, where they remained Monday afternoon trying to find a flight out of the country.
"It was unsafe for us to be there . . . and we were told it was unsafe for us to go back," said Anand, reached in the capital city Monday.
Thistle had told his supporters via email on Aug. 6 that the Salvation Army had ordered him to leave his post as of Sept. 1.
But Commissioner Vinece Chigariro, the Salvation Army's head in Zimbabwe, told the Associated Press on Sunday that last week's violent protest had prompted the organization to issue a 48-hour removal notice.
While the circumstances leading to Thistle's removal remain unclear, Thistle sent another email to his supporters Saturday morning, explaining that it had to do with the organization's funds.
"The root of the problem has been financial, and control of funds," he wrote. "Within the current Salvation Army system the funds do not arrive, or arrive very late. People are suffering today."
Anand, who also volunteered at Howard Hospital in 2011, described a hospital in need, with nearly bare pharmacy shelves and a ward operating at half-capacity due to a lack of staff and medical resources.
Chigariro, however, told the Associated Press that Thistle had challenged church leaders and that he was being reassigned "for the good of the church."
On Saturday morning, the Canadian volunteers and local supporters gathered inside Thistle's house as he and his family packed their belongings. Thistle has two boys with wife Pedrinah, a Zimbabwean nurse who also worked at Howard Hospital. Many from the community wept, said Anand, as the doctor prepared his departure.
Though he was expected to leave Zimbabwe for Canada on Sunday night, Thistle skipped his flight after hearing eight Howard Hospital nurses detained after the riot were still behind bars, according to Warren Viegas, a close friend who spoke to the doctor Monday.
"Paul and Pedrinah (didn't) want to run away and abandon the staff that has been so loyal to them," said Viegas, later noting that all staff members were believed to have been released on bail.
Viegas added that, despite the Salvation Army's orders, Thistle planned to return to Canada for Sept. 1.
Andrew Burditt, spokesperson for Salvation Army in Canada, said the Salvation Army was aware of the allegations, but was unable to comment on them. He added that Thistle's safe return to Canada was the organization's main priority.
Source - star.com
