'Reports of administration for 1918 of divisions and districts of the occupied territories in Mesopotamia. Volume I' [‎56v] (117/470)

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The creation oi a civil court at Najaf has been promised. It will undoubtedly
have very heavy work, not only from Najaf but from the whole Division.
7. Education. —Owing to political troubles, the complexity of the area, and the
lack of staff it has been impossible to devote any time to this important branch of
administration. It is, however, hoped that the next financial year will see the
establishment of schools at Najaf, Kufah, Abu Sukhair and Umm al Ba‘rur.
A very large initial expenditure will be necessary and it is almost superfluous
to point out that the employment of any Muslim teachers other than Shi‘ah would be
disastrous to a degree.
8. Medical and Sanitary.— The Medical Establishment that has been asked
for in the district is as below:—
S.A.S. - - - 2 Sweepers - - - 2
Compounders - - 4 Ward-boys - - - 2
Bisthy - - - 2
The organisation would be as follows : each S.A.S. will have his headquarters
at Ja‘arah and Umm al Ba‘rur respectively, being responsible for the population
down one branch of the river in general, and for the municipalities in particular.
Eventually, at each headquarters will be a hospital; but at present a dispensary,
with accommodation for few patients, and a small operating room, is all that can be
managed.
That of Ja‘arah, as it stands at present—and which is typical—contains
dispensary, office, one male ward (three beds), one female ward (three beds), surgical
dressing room, operating theatre, kitchen, and S.A.S. quarters.
When a proper hospital is built, this will then become the official district
dispensary, but until that time it serves as hospital.
In Western Shamiyah the S.A.S. would spend four days at headquarters and
three days touring, leaving a compounder in charge.
In Eastern Shamiyah he would be on tour four days and remain three at the
base. The different arrangement is necessitated by the amount of small municipalities
in Eastern Shamiyah. The municipal population on each river is approximately
the same; but in the one case it is concentrated in Ja‘arah and Abu Sukhair, while
in the other it is spread over Umm al Ba‘rur, Ghammas, Abu Shorah, Muhannawiyah,
Salachiyah, and ‘Aqar.
It is quite impossible at present to give any accurate information as to the health
of the district. It is probable that an organised medical establishment will bring
to light a state of affairs the reverse of reassuring. This should not cause surprise,
for the condition of the district and the occupations of a large proportion of the people
lend themselves to the free propagation of microbes.
This will be the better understood if we consider the state of affairs before the
organisation of Government. Each municipality ran its sanitary (?) arrangements
on the same lines, though some were rather more markedly offensive than others.
Those householders who owned cesspits—the majority had none—never had them
cleaned.
The public road and the public latrines were synonymous terms—even the
precincts of the mosque were not omitted.
The streets in the towns were simply trenches, convenient receptacles for any
kind of rubbish. Pools of stagnant water abounded, and flies and mosquitoes were
as ubiquitous as the foul odours which were characteristic of any municipal centre.
A further source of disease was the contamination of the water. The land in
Shamiyah is very largely waterlogged, with the result that the level of the water-
table is in some places only 6 in. below the surface. Hence there is constant
contamination of the water-supply from the cesspits
Dead bodies, victims of cholera and small-pox or any other disease, are always
washed in the canals from which all draw their drinking water. '
It is not surprising, therefore, to find that cholera and small-pox are yearly
occurrences, and that malarial spleens are the rule rather than the exception. ”
As to the death rate, figures are unobtainable; but it would be a remarkable
occurrence to travel between Najaf and Abu Sukhair without meeting two or three
funerals on the road. Of the birth rate there is no information whatever.
Since the dispensary has been opened, the majority of the applicants have been
eye cases and ulcers, septic sores being a good second.
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