RIYADH, 24 December 2006 — News that a public hospital in Riyadh was holding a newborn baby to ransom because a poor couple didn’t have the funds to pay for the delivery of the infant touched a Pakistani man in Riyadh enough that he showed up at the hospital yesterday and paid the bill in full.
The man who paid the bill wished to remain anonymous, said the child’s 35-year-old Pakistani father, Tahir Akram Mohammed, who said the call from the Good Samaritan came at 7 a.m. requesting that the father come to the hospital immediately to settle the SR16,000 ($4,267) bill, the equivalent to over a year’s worth of Tahir’s SR1,200-a-month salary as a driver.
Tahir also said that his phone was ringing nonstop since his number appeared in this newspaper yesterday requesting financial help for his situation.
“Ever since the first call came from the anonymous person who helped us get our child, my mobile line has been inundated with calls from Pakistanis and one Indian who offered to pay my bill,” he said, estimating that he received over 100 calls in a matter of hours, including ten people on pilgrimage at Makkah who read the Arab News story, and one caller from the United States.
Tahir’s wife Rehana, an Indian national, arrived at Al-Yamama Hospital in Riyadh on Nov. 14 to give birth to Shan, who was born prematurely and required an extended stay at the public hospital. The hospital billed the couple SR5,940 ($1,584) for the birth, of which he paid SR4,540.
But when the couple arrived on Dec. 10 to pick up their child, the bill had shot up to SR10,732 ($2,862). After Tahir said he didn’t have the money to pay the bill, the hospital refused to give the couple their child, which is illegal under Saudi law. Furthermore, the final bill paid by the Pakistani philanthropist yesterday included charges for the additional time the child was held to ransom by the hospital in spite of the parents’ desire to take their baby home.
For a third day in a row, the hospital refused to speak to Arab News. The hospital’s duty manager, who would not give his name, said Saud Al-Harbi, an administrator at the hospital, was the person to talk to. However, Al-Harbi did not return several phone calls over three days seeking a response.
“This is an inhuman act,” said Saleh Al Khathlan, a member of the governmental Human Rights Association. “The hospital should have taken legal route to claim their fees.” Rehana said that she spent numerous sleepless nights thinking about her separation from her new baby. She said that while the hospital was using the child to extract payment for the bill, staffers only allowed the parents to visit the child for a half hour of breast-feeding every day at 8 p.m.
“We went through an ordeal no parent should have to confront,” said Rehana.
Tahir said he approached Arab News with the story because he was aware that Khaled Almaeena, the newspaper’s editor in chief, has been an outspoken advocate for the rights of the millions of guest workers in the Kingdom, many of whom earn as little as SR600 ($160) a month.
“He is also a good friend of Pakistan and his generosity in helping deserving people is well-known,” he said. “If it were not for the newspaper, baby Shan would still be in the hospital and we would still be crying at home, despairing about what to do.”
Meanwhile, Al-Yamama Hospital is facing scrutiny by the Human Rights Association, which has filed a letter of complaint over the incident with health officials in Riyadh.
