In the 1990s, thousands of people were forced to leave their villages in northern Kurdistan due to the repression of the Turkish state. Many went to South Kurdistan, where after long escape routes and stays in various camps in 1998, the refugee camp Makhmur was founded.

Dr. Medya Avyan of the Health Committee of Makhmur has been active in health care of the population of southern Kurdistan for many years. The doctor, who is originally from Hamburg and has been living in Kurdistan for about 25 years, commented on the developments in the health sector of the camp to the news agency RojNews.

Dr. Medya first referred to the difficult circumstances of Makhmur. The camp, later named after Rustem Cûdi, a member of the KCK Executive Council killed in a Turkish air raid in 2011, is located near Hewlêr (Erbil) in a desert-like environment. The camp residents had to fight for a long time to survive, tells Dr. Medya. The general lack of essential goods has also affected the health sector, she says.

"From May on it is very hot in Makhmur. In addition, there was only contaminated water that people had to drink. Clean drinking water was available at a distance of twelve kilometers and it got warm during the transport. Every night people were stung by scorpions. Therefore, many people came to the hospital every day. What we called a hospital was really just a tent."

"We did not have a birth ward at that time, so we went to the women themselves at home. I attended 39 births in Makhmur. The first times in the camp were very hard, but meanwhile much has been built up. We had big problems with the treatment of children being brought to us because of scorpion stings. Many showed signs of paralysis and there was little we could do for them. We tried to bring them to the city and often the power was turned off."

There are several health care facilities in Makhmur today, Dr. Medya tells. "We have a health council, a health committee, healthcare service of the self-administration and a hospital. Also our technical equipment has improved a lot. For autistic children we want to set up a health academy. In the health sector, we are working on many innovations. The people of Makhmur build everything themselves and rule themselves."