LAST month I wrote an article in appreciation of the work of the King Faisal Specialist Hospital (KFSH) in Jeddah. The report was written following a short visit to the institution and being briefed by doctors on the hospital’s activities. In my article I wrote that the hospital, or indeed any hospital, is seen as a landmark in a nation’s progress and development. I never thought that my words would meet with such a flood of indignation and objection. Who, I naively thought, would not like to see a specialist hospital in Jeddah, standing tall along with other international health institutions? This is a modern public medical and research center, providing health care for citizens who encounter heavy financial burdens when seeking treatment in some private hospitals.
It seems I was wrong in my perception. Those who are only concerned with protecting their personal interests moved quickly and began ridiculing and attacking my article. One of them, a famous doctor and owner of a private hospital, sees in the presence of the specialist hospital and other non-profit institutions, a great threat to private sector investments in the health area. He even believes that the presence of such hospitals will in both the short- and long-term only damage the country’s reputation.
A friend agreed with the famous doctor in saying that private hospitals offer excellent health care at low prices that barely cover the actual cost. I thought my friend would support an earlier appreciation of the importance of the specialist hospital in Jeddah but all he did was unite with the famous doctor in his opinions. I also thought the battle, if any, would focus on the quality of medical services in our country — whether it is better in the private or public sector and whether the private sector is really capable of offering the service at a cost lower than the public one. The comment by the famous doctor, however, did not touch on health care or the standard of medical services. Instead, it centered on the citizen’s pocket and on who will stick their hands more deeply into the pocket. The battle was fought, in other words, over money and not over health.
Some owners of private hospitals are concerned with seeing money flowing continuously into their hospitals for fear that the flood of cash may one day dry up. These millions have not entered their coffers from trivial charges. If the cost of medical treatment is really as low as claimed, how did these hospitals manage to expand and develop into giant pyramids?
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PRINCE Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, was right when he said that Iraq refused to help itself. Iraq rejected all initiatives put forward during the recent Arab summit in Jordan to resolve the Iraqi-Kuwaiti conflict. It rejected the consensus of Arab leaders and refused any proposal that referred to the immediate lifting of sanctions. The matter ended up by the Iraqi problem being postponed to the next Arab summit when nobody knows what will happen there.
What happened in Amman was a continuation of what has taken place at the meetings of Arab foreign ministers. When the ministers spoke about the need to refrain from military actions, the Iraqi foreign minister expressed dismay and shouted at the ministers: “What are these military operations you are talking about?” He then turned to the Qatari foreign minister, “Your country has the largest military stockpile of American weapons.”
The statement attracted the immediate attention of everyone in the room and stunned the Qatari minister. And Al-Jazeerah satellite channel, which broadcasts from Qatar, had been a supporter of the Iraqis! Both Qatar and Al-Jazeerah have met with an unexpected reward for their relations with Iraq’s ruling Baath party. Al-Jazeerah has always sought to come closer to Iraq, attacking Iraq’s enemies and trying through its news and analysis to serve Iraqi interests. But this is a regime that never appreciates a favor and will not hesitate to bite — or even chop off — the hand that feeds it. Its invasion of Kuwait and its threats to the Gulf states are a clear example of how the regime in Baghdad will not hesitate to attack its friends if it sees fit. It wants to do as it pleases it while expecting others to support its actions.
The Iraqi Baath party has many followers in the Arab media who hide behind the slogans of revolution and nationalism. Most of them are from the same parties which destroyed the Arab world in the 1950s and 1960s and who, in their search for a foothold in contemporary Arab life, want to revive nationalist sentiments and fiery ideologies that are long dead in their original homes.
Some of the Al-Jazeerah staff either secretly or publicly belong to the Iraqi Baath party and represent a fifth column working for Baghdad. The mission of the fifth column is to sabotage from inside to serve outside forces. We can only hope Qatar will take notice of the dangers posed by this fifth column.
