Page 205 - Neglected Arabia Vol 1 (3)_Neat

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8 NEGLECTED ARABIA

It is not denied that the health conditions of Kuwait* fifteen years i
ago were bad and the place unattractive. For the ailments were many i
and the people did not treat their diseases according to new and up-to, j
date methods, but were depending on old prescriptions which did more ]
harm than good. Those in charge of the hospitals have striven cner- «
getically towards bringing the people to reject the old medical methods j
and to accept the new. Some of the old are still in use, but without
any mktcs.s, ■
We were informed at I lit: lime of mil* visit In those hospitals ns to 1
the annual records of patients among both men and women, during one :
year. This alone points to success without a doubt. The total sick who
came for relief in one year were 25,000. Of these there were 5,000
new cases and the rest old cases. And in the aforementioned year .
there took place in these hospitals 200 surgical operations. Besides these, :
large numbers were treated in the homes. I
These are the Americans in Kuwait. They landed in this place in
answer to the request of its ruler and they established two hospitals in
it. In these they relieve the pains of the sick and by the hands of their
physicians prevent the tears of the afflicted. These are the ones who
forsook their own country for a land strange to them in language, social
standing and in religion, in order that they might serve man without all
blemish or self-interest. These are the ones who represent the- true
American spirit in Kuwait.”

A Tribute to the Arabian Mission

A FTER reading these impressions of our work from the pen of an
/ \ Arab writer in the preceding article, it is interesting to note the
7 V tribute paid to our work and the workers by an Englishman. Sir
Arnold Wilson, formerly High Commissioner of Iraq and for
many years active in political affairs in the Persian Gulf, lectured before
the Royal Geographical Society in London last January on the subject of
41A Periplus of the Persian Gulf.” We quote from “The Near East and
India,” a portion of this lecture wherein he comments upon the work of
missions in the Persian Gulf and Mesopotamia:
"I should not like lo speak about the Persian Gulf without hairing
testimony to the wonderful work they are doing. I do not suppose they
have made converts in appreciable numbers, but they have, by their
labors, assisted by the high standard of rectitude displayed by British
officials and British merchants, profoundly modified the Arab outlook in
ethical matters. The Arab is a Muhammadan first and an Arab after,
like all Islamic races; lie regards Europeans likewise as Christians lir>t
and foremost. He knows, perhaps better than we do, that our standard
of conduct has its basis in the religion of our country; lie respects uur
standard of conduct as higher than his. 1 fe does not despise hut greatly
respects those who devote their lives to spreading, by example and teach-
mg, the Christian religion. There is no greater influence for good in the
Persian Gulf than the Christian Missions; no Europeans are so uni­
versally respected as are the missionaries, such as Zwcmer, Van Ku, • •
Harrison, and Mylrea, and those who decry foreign missions do less tlua
justice to themselves and harm to our good name.”
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