The Algerian government has arranged for 14 Iraqi children to receive surgery in Algeria so that they would not have to go to Israel as previously planned. The children’s mothers expressed relief, with one saying the “nightmare” of seeking help in Israel had been removed.
The children were going to receive medical care with help from the Israeli group Save a Child’s Heart, which provides free heart surgery in Israel to children in need from several countries around the world. Members of the Christian group Brothers Together (Shevet Achim), which works with Save a Child’s Heart and has offices in Iraq, expressed concern that Algerian doctors may not be adequately prepared to deal with some of the children’s complicated medical conditions.
The children were in Amman, Jordan, preparing to enter Israel when Iraqi doctors in Jordan heard of their situation and decided to intervene. Iraqi media praised the doctors for saving the children from “treatment in 'enemy country number one' for Iraq and Arabic nations.”