RIYADH, 10 July 2006 — There he lay covered in white sheets in his hospital bedroom. There were no toys, flowers, teddy bears, or even the simplest sign indicating that somebody had visited him in a long time. But nevertheless, he had a big smile on his face when he noticed that he had some visitors.
He began looking in the bag of goodies his woman visitor had brought him. He was all smiles as he saw some new T-shirts with pictures of cartoon characters and dinosaurs. The young boy said a big “thank you” to his visitor, who had been coming to see him on-and-off over the last two years. It was a happy moment for the boy as he lay in the hospital ward.
His father, he says, has not visited him since last Ramadan (9 months ago). And some of his brothers visited him many weeks ago.
Muhannad Al-Mutairi is not your average seven-year-old Saudi boy. He is smart, full of life and has ambitions; one of them is becoming a pilot when he grows up.
Those dreams, as well as his wish to do what most children his age do, have been put on hold.
His mother — the second wife of his father — as well as one of his brothers, passed away in a tragic car accident two-and-a-half years ago. “My brother Turki was speeding in my father’s silver Toyota Jeep,” said Muhannad speaking about the accident.
According to one of the nurses, Muhannad is paralyzed in his lower legs because the hospital he was admitted into after the accident did not pay enough attention in operating on his legs and did put the seven-year-old through physiotherapy. Muhannad is now wheel-bound and unable to walk. His left arm is partially burned and unable to function properly.
Muhannad’s family refuses to take him home from hospital, despite several attempts from well-wishers and members of the public trying to persuade them to do so.
Over the past two years, Muhannad has lived in three hospitals — King Khaled University Hospital, the National Guard Hospital, and now the Specialized Medical Center Hospital.
“He’s been with us for almost six months now,” said a nurse. “In the medical report that we received from the National Guard Hospital it is written that his family is not willing to pick him up.”
Despite pleas from good-hearted people, Muhannad’s family have chosen to abandon him and leave him in hospital without the simplest sign of compassion or mercy.
When Arab News asked why Muhannad’s parents were not willing to take him home, they replied that “there are so many children at the house and no one can take care of him.”
When asked how many family members he had, Muhannad said 14 — 10 brothers and four sisters — not including the children from his father’s first wife.
Muhannad’s nurse says that he is not receiving any special care at the hospital. “We just give him pills that could easily be taken at home. What he really needs, however, is something the hospital cannot provide. A warm welcoming home.”
According to the public relations department at the hospital, Muhannad is what they describe a “long-term patient”. An official said the costs to keep him in hospital are being paid for by the National Guard Hospital which transferred him to the Specialized Medical Center after the hospital needed to empty his bed for other patients.
“We had to almost beg his family to send someone so they could sign a paper for him to get his own wheelchair,” said the visitor, who did not want to be named.
Like many young Saudi children, Muhannad loves playing video games on a Sony Playstation. With a witty character, everybody who meets him ends up liking him. “I like wrestling games,” he says, describing the excitement in fighting opponents.
Muhannad says he wants to visit Kuwait some day and misses watching some of his favorite television programs, particularly “Tash Ma Tash”, a Saudi comedy series aired mainly in Ramadan. But what he misses most is his mother and his toys, bike, and home cooking. “The food here is lousy,” Muhannad complains.
He suddenly interrupts me and asks the visitor to help him get onto his wheelchair. “You are my second mother,” he tells the female stranger who pays him a visit and buys him stuff whenever she can.
“May God not extract the mercy from our hearts,” she replies.
No one is certain if Muhannad’s family will ever have the mercy in their hearts to bring him home and care for him. Muhannad puts on a brave face, smiles, remains hopeful and tells his visitor, “Bring me a Twix next time you come.”
