SQJ Taipei

In one of the most insane acts from a philosophy based on deception and control… the TEAM hospital in Dadeldhura, Nepal has been closed due to Maoist influence.

Click to read “In God’s Hands” at Nepali Times.

“This is the most direct proof I have seen that politics kills people,” says Deb Raj Joshi, a Dadeldhura trader, himself a patient.

I hope that this brave man’s life is not in danger for stating such an obvious truth.

In December, the hospital was shut down after the Health Ministry was pressured by Maoists who accused doctors of being “agents of American imperialism”.

Thousands of patients like Dikari Aire from neighbouring Doti, Bajhang, Achham and Baitadi now have nowhere to go. Those with money take relatives to India for treatment. At least eight patients have died because they couldn’t get emergency care after the hospital closed down.

Christians are called to bring hope, peace, and relief to a suffering world.

Christians are bashed because they don’t do it often enough.

But these Christians WERE DOING IT. And Christians must CONTINUE to do it although this world will ALWAYS complain. Don’t give up on bringing relief to those who are suffering!

The TEAM hospital was, by all accounts, a refuge of hope, peace, and relief among a people who have suffered more than anyone should have to. They helped anyone regardless of social status or religious belief.

At the time it closed down, TEAM was treating up to 500 patients a day, and doing nearly 800 deliveries a year. Plans were underway for a Rs 30 million (Nearly US$500,000) expansion.

The hospital’s out-patient courtyard which used to be filled with patients and relatives was silent and empty last week. The wards and surgery theatre were padlocked. The rainwater system was still working, feeding water to overflowing tanks. A VSAT dish recently installed for telemedicine was not in use.

Insanity.