Page 28 - History of Arabian Mission 1926-1957

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core eyes, gaping ulcers, fever, pain, suffering, until for than my hciu*.
t
cried out with David. Woe io me - that I dwell In the tents of Kedar. i '« "It io a fine thing to hear the exchange of greetings among the women.
Poets must have carved the well-turned phrases. To listen to them is to hear
music - and more. It is to be made to feel that life has meaning and beauty,
Dr. and Mrs. Storm were several weeks in Qua tar, and Dr. and Mrs.
Harrison went to Hasa for a month and were called to Riadh by the King. that human relationships are full of grace and dignity, Women suffer much in
the East. They are deprived of much that makes for happiness and comfort. It
is to their eternal credit that they will not bow the neck to pain or ingrati­
tude. Their spirits are unbroken as they lift their heads and accept life's
A Royal Tonsillectomy
girts - of good or evil. They know that to clothe common things with grace
and beauty is to keep the heart glad. Gracious words may be given by rich and J
Dr. Harrison wrote: "We have been building solidly and well in our
effort to gain a foothold in the sterile inland desert, among the thin, half- poor alike. They make for pure democracy. I think the Arab has learned that
better than anyone I know."
starved, undefeatable Bedouin. The people have flocked to us Yesi the
people want us more than ever, and the opposing political and religious leaders The HarriBons were summoned to Riadh by the King - a cold Journey over !
have ceased hating us. On some 6uch trip as this we shall get the coveted the desert in December. "The nights were cold," wrote Mrs. Harrison, "and we
permission and build a lighthouse in the citadel of Islam." ■
were glad for the protection of our tent. It was small, and there were eight
of us to sleep In it, but, with an unanimous vote, we Invited Hamza, the enmp
Mrs. Harrison wrote from Hofhuf, "Our first piece of medical work has cook, to sleep in with us. He was very thin, and might find the cold too much
gone off beautifully and how thankful we are. We did not know till we were for him. We smiled guiltily to each other, knowing that our generosity was
here that the Amir's only daughter needed her tonsils out and that was the well mixed with selfish thinking of our own stomachs. For If Hamza should get
special reason for our coming. The operation was performed in his own house. ill who would prepare our food?
Everything from operating table to scrub brushes had to be carried over there.
It made a spectacular procession to say the least.
"Hie lovely thing about a desert Journey is the comradeship it engend­
ers* The Bedouin, who would otherwise’have held aloof, considering us a differ­
"Gamasha and I were sent over to get the patient ready. She was lea in ent and inferior breed, began to look at us with friendly eyes. The common
) by two slave women - all three heavily veiled. An unpromising picture. The road, the shared food and water, their beloved desert, had made us brothers.
•c.h:.-.-t diplomacy was called for. Modesty had to be preserved at any cost. The light that shone from their eyes was a new light and was a coveted boon.
Gamasha dismissed the slaves and got the girl on the table, but the veil w, It was with no little pride that we realized that we had been accepted into )
being held tight over her face. Gamasha had not had her years in the women's the circle of the elite, the desert fraternity." i
• hospital for nothing. Even as she assented to the tearful demands of the }
patient, she slowly pried up the black veil and slipped the white mask under­
neath. Down went the drops of chloroform. The girl's voice began to trail off Clergy Accepted
into a thin moan. The veil was removed. On came the doctor and his assistants.
In August of this some year, Drs. Esther Barny and Paul Harrison were
"Gamasha and I go each morning to apply hot cloths and answer questions. called urgently by the King to come to.his capital. Mrs. Harrison, who went
I am trying to clear up the mystery of our medical practices, and combat local along with the party, described the clinics thus: "Words cannot describe the
theories concerning disease. If I can persuade my daily audience that enlarged mobs of Bedouin who surged over that place Royal wives began to demand a
tonsils are not caused by the evil eye nor yet by taking a bath in the full of good deal of Dr. Bamy's time. ,1 sometimes went with her as 6he visited sec­
the moon, I shall consider myself a modern miracle worker. tion after section of the huge walled castle. The few Armenian women, pur­ . :
chased wives of wealthy men, greeted us again with touching wistfulness.
"In the meantime the town is surging with rumors about the operation. Wide-eyed slave women by the score gazed at us from every courtyard, seeming
One section has it that we removed our patient's head and. put it back on again. to outnumber their masters by three to one. With the new moon the fast mouth
Another is spreading the word that several evil things were taken out of her put an end to much of our calling, and the finish of our drugs put an end to
stomach. Many think she is still deathly ill. But all agree that this is a our clinics.."
great doctor or the Amir, may he be given long life, would not have let him do
anything. In 19^3 Dr. Chandy, the Indian doctor, visited Qatar three times and
Drs. Mylrea and Stora once each. The acute shortage of drugs and supplies, as
"Gamasha and I have made a few calls, although here that is nob con- the war went on, was a severe handicap in touring, as well as in station work.
sidered a suitable occupation for decent women, Woraen of high standing very
seldom go out of their houses, The Amir's wife can get to her sister-in-law Dr. Stora, accompanied by Mr. Van Peursem, made a six weeks' tour this
next door through a connecting passage, but even this she does only to give year into Najd, visiting Kateef. and Riadh. "Since there were not enough sup­
the feast day greetings or in case of deathi Yet Arab etiquette is much r re plies for a general tour," wrote Dr. Storm, "we asked Ibn Saud for permission j
rigid than is our own. It follows a definite and invariable pattern. An*-/ to make an eye tour to Kateef. The permission was granted but before we got s-/
think this is the reason that life even in a secluded harem does not go st-- unpacked at Kateef, the King sent for us to come to Riadh. We did only eye
A well kept formality raises it to a high level and preserves it from decay. work for six weeks, treating about four thousand and performing three hundred
This ritual of hospitality calls only for a cup of coffee, but it is given to and sixteen operations, This tour has several valuable lessons: First, the
a woman of low degree with the same dignity were it being offered to a king. clergyman went along without asking special permission and was accepted