Palestinian woman's baby taken 'hostage' after failing to pay birth expenses

  • actual
  • 11:44 16 January 2025
  • |
img

ISTANBUL - Samah Raf'at A. Ahmad, a Palestinian woman who gave birth in Suleymaniye Gynaecology and Paediatrics Training and Research Hospital, said that the hospital detained her baby because she could not pay the delivery expenses.

Samah Raf'at A. Ahmad, a Palestinian living in Fatih district of Istanbul and pregnant with her second child, gave birth on 11 January at Süleymaniye Obstetrics and Gynecology Training and Research Hospital in Zeytinburnu. However, the baby was not given to her mother. The hospital invoiced Samah Raf'at A. Ahmad 40 thousand TL for the birth expenses. The hospital management stated that the baby would not be given to her unless she paid the money. Samah Raf'at A. Ahmad has been forced to go to the hospital for 5 days with a QR code attached to her hand and return home after breastfeeding her baby.
 
Speaking to Mezopotamya Agency (MA), Samah Raf'at A. Ahmad asked for help to get her baby who was taken "hostage" by the hospital for lack of money.
 
'WE WILL NOT GIVE THE CHILD IF YOU DO NOT GIVE THE MONEY'
 
Explaining what happened, Samah Raf'at A. Ahmad said, "I have 2 children with my newborn baby. I am a Palestinian refugee. On the 11th of January, we went to a hospital in Zeytinburnu around 08.00 p.m. I was pregnant and gave birth to a child. After the birth, the hospital issued me an invoice and asked me for 40 thousand liras. I couldn't give it to them because I didn't have any money. I went back two days later, and this time the hospital asked me for 50 thousand liras. The people at the hospital told me, 'If you do not give money, we will not give you your baby'."
 
Samah Raf'at A. Ahmad stated that she left her country due to the war started by Israel against Palestine and has been living in Fatih district of Istanbul for 3 years, said that she does not work anywhere and therefore cannot give the money requested. Samah Raf'at A. Ahmad said, "I don't work anywhere here. Only the people around are trying to help me as much as they can. I don't have any income. We are Palestinians and naturally refugees, so it is very difficult for us in official jobs. You know Gaza, it is a finished place. We have nothing left there either."
 
 
Samah Raf'at A. Ahmad, who lives in difficult conditions in Turkey and wants her baby to be given to her, said: "I already live in very difficult conditions. I go to the hospital every day and return after seeing and breastfeeding my baby. In this way, I have to go to and from the hospital once a day."
 
Samah Raf'at A. Ahmad said that her husband was deported about 7 months ago due to the alleged lack of documents, said, "I thank the doctors very much. But it is very difficult for me to earn 40 or 50 thousand liras and give them. My husband was deported about 7 months ago. As Palestinian refugees, it is very difficult to live here without getting documents and being illegal. Let them give me my child. I also call for sensitivity to the public."
 
HOSPITAL DID NOT GIVE INFORMATION
 
The hospital secretariat, whom we contacted by phone, merely said, "For security reasons, we cannot give you information on this issue."
 
MA / Ömer İbrahimoğlu

View More Articles

16:55 Abdullah Öcalan poster at 'Peace Rally'
16:25 World Peace Day message from Abdullah Ocalan: Peace is not merely a wish, but a concrete reality
13:55 HPG: Turkey's attacks continue
13:54 Iraq is being divided through strategic alliances, says academic Berwarî
13:52 Sociologist Craig Calhoun supports Öcalan's call
12:03 Release after 33 years in prison: The commission Mmust fulfill its responsibility
09:37 ‘If you carrying out a process, you should also meet with interlocutor”
09:24 Kurdish Research Association demand status for Kurdish language
29/08/2025
14:42 Attack on prisoners in Dumlu Prison
14:25 UN: 841 people executed in Iran in 8 months
13:45 Third day of the 'Social Democratic Alliance Conference'
12:40 Commission should listen to Abdullah Öcalan says Lawyer Ekin Yeter Moray
11:20 Öcalan must be released if there is to be real peace
10:06 Öcalan: Democratic society, peace and integration are three key concepts of process
09:39 Programme for World Peace Day in Êlih announced
09:35 DEM Party’s Çetin Yıldız calls for participation in Kadıköy peace rally
09:34 Human rights activist calls for dialogue with Abdullah Öcalan and legal reforms
09:32 Documentary “Bîra Sûrê” sheds light on destroyed memory of Sur
09:31 New bore being drilled in Basa: Nature destruction to deepen
28/08/2025
16:36 SOHR: Transitional government executed 95 Druze
16:09 Rojava can be a peace project for the Middle East says Salih Muslim
16:00 Reaction to attempt to demolish the gravestone of Önkol siblings
15:44 Letter from 107 international organisations to the UN on Afghanistan
15:36 TJK-E calls for global outcry against executions in Iran
14:00 ‘Right to hope" must be implemented says former Speaker of Parliament Arınç
12:27 Former Speakers of Parliament at the Commission meeting
10:25 DEM Party delegation set off for İmralı to meet Öcalan
09:16 23 suspicious deaths and 3 femicides in 8 months: There is no perpetrator
09:15 Blocking Kurdish language violates the spirit of peace, says Peace Mother
09:13 Expectations from the Commission in Amed and Wan
09:12 Release of prisoner delayed for 3 months for not comment on 'process'
27/08/2025
16:45 Demands from TBB President to Commission
15:32 Legal framework to be discussed for the Commission says Parliament Speaker
13:54 Kurdish Women's National Union: Death sentences must be cancelled
13:22 ‘Öcalan should be heard by parliament commission’
10:57 Call to women for September 1: Let’s gather at the Kadıköy rally
09:53 She lost two children in conflict: We want our language and identity
09:39 Ministry's response to 'condolence ban': The family left of their own accord!
09:27 'The commission is working, but isolation continues'
26/08/2025
16:41 Attempt to demolish grave by military in Licê
16:27 Conditions of Öcalan must be improved says DEM Party Spokesperson
16:16 179 people executed in a month
14:34 Woman activist sentenced to one year in Iran
13:58 Öcalan must be heard as the primary party to the process says DEM Party MP
11:59 Transfer of prisoner refusing to go to hospital in slippers cancelled
10:26 İmralı Delegation to go to İmralı on Thursday to meet Öcalan
10:09 Mandela's lawyer: Öcalan's statements provide hope for peace and justice for all
09:46 246 journalists killed in Gaza since 7 October
25/08/2025
16:26 Schedule of 6th and 7th meetings of the Commission announced
13:53 DEM Party İmralı Delegation to go to İmralı this week