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UNHCR refuses to pay for treatment
of refugee
Smriti Kak Ramachandran
The Hindu : New Delhi News
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Iranian refugee Jehangir Eslah died on Wednesday
"UNHCR refused because private care was sought"
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NEW DELHI: On Wednesday as the World Refugee Day was being observed,
Iranian refugee Jehangir Eslah succumbed to a heart ailment here in
the Capital. His family, registered as refugees for the past five
years, claims he would have been alive if the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had paid for his medical care.
Eslah’s family claims that as political refugee registered with
UNHCR since 2002, he was entitled to support for basic health care.
In India, registered refugees are entitled to free treatment at
Government-run hospitals at UNHCR’s expense.
The Eslahs, residents of Bhogal, claim that UNHCR refused to
reimburse their medical bills on the grounds that they sought
private care instead of going to a Government hospital.
“On June 10, Mr. Eslah complained of acute chest pain. His wife took
him to a Farsi-speaking doctor because the family cannot speak
English or Hindi. From there were referred to a specialty hospital
because his condition was critical,” said Ali R, a friend of the
family and an interpreter.
“His wife Miriam Eslah then took him to the National Heart Institute
on the doctor’s advise. Once there, the doctors admitted him to the
Intensive Critical Care Unit (ICCU) and said he could have another
heart attack any time within the next 72 hours. The family in the
meantime began borrowing money from other refugees and Ms. Eslah
paid Rs.10,000 as advance towards the hospital costs,” said Ali.
When the family approached UNHCR for money, they were asked to shift
Mr. Eslah to a Government hospital. “The doctors at the National
Heart Institute refused to shift him to the All-India Institute of
Medical Sciences. They said he was so critical that even shifting
him from one floor to another might prove fatal. They wrote to UNHCR
explaining the situation, but they were unrelenting,” said Ali.
On June 11, doctors at the National Heart Institute told Ms. Eslah
that her husband needed an angiogram within the next 48 hours to
determine the course of treatment, and that would cost Rs.15,000.
“Again we went to UNHCR and sought help, but were turned away. The
doctor in a handwritten letter had said that Mr. Eslah has acute
inferior wall myocardial infarction and has been thrombolysed
subsequently, his condition kept deteriorating and finally he
suffered a brain haemorrhage,” Ali recalled.
Mr. Eslah was subsequently shifted to VIMHANS where the doctors
confirmed the haemorrhage. “They told us that we should be ready to
face the worst. The administrative staff at VIMHANS even called up
UNHCR to help us with money, but they too were told that the payment
cannot be made,” Ali said. “We have paid some part of the hospital
bills by borrowing money from other refugees, but UNHCR has been
steadfastly refusing to consider the case and release the money,”
Ali said.
Original text of The Hindu : New Delhi News
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