The structure, designed by Iranian-Armenian architect Markar Galstiants, was one of many hospitals and institutions founded by American Presbyterian missionaries at the beginning of the last century. Four years ago it was saved from demolition, and the city’s heritage director called it “valuable” and “historic.”
Tehran () – Not only national churches, but also hospitals are ending up in the sights of the ayatollahs in Iran, which is currently going through a period of mourning after the helicopter crash in which the president died Ebrahim Raisi on May 19. A hospital financed and built more than a century ago by American Presbyterian missionaries, and confiscated after the birth of the Islamic Republic in 1979, was reportedly demolished after a long dispute over its ownership. This is reported by Article18, a website specialized in documenting the repression against the country’s religious minorities, especially Christians, according to which the Masih (Messiah) Hospital, in the western city of Kermanshah, was destroyed. The center was one of several hospitals and other institutions founded by missionaries in the early 20th century.
Four years ago, the hospital was at risk of being demolished, only to be rescued after a fierce dispute and regain its status as a national “registered” hospital. The Covid-19 pandemic had already spread and the Iranian health system had been reeling for some time under the weight of infections and the number – often underestimated – of victims. Commenting on the decision at the time, Omid Ghaderi, Director General of the city’s Cultural Heritage Office, described the building as “valuable” and “historic,” designed by the famous Iranian-Armenian architect Markar Galstiants, and for this reason would be protected. It had previously been the subject of several acts of vandalism in recent years, including an attempted arson in March 2020.
The battle to protect the structure failed to save it from demolition. First, a dispute arose with the owner, who had been demanding its demolition for some time to change its intended use. And after years of controversy, the final decision was made on May 22 to demolish it.
The owner had argued that the building, unused for 20 years, was no longer worth preserving as it had been severely damaged by a fire and would become home to vagrants and drug addicts. Separately, a spokesman for the local heritage organization said a complaint would be lodged against the demolition as unauthorized, adding that permission would not be granted to construct another building on the land unless it was an exact replica of the old hospital. .
Masih Hospital is one of several Christian-run institutions confiscated after the 1979 revolution, when missionaries who had founded schools, hospitals and institutions for the blind were forced to leave Iran in the face of growing anti-foreigner sentiment. Many of the abandoned facilities, including the Masih hospital, continued to operate under the new Muslim leadership, but others were left empty and later reused, such as the former home of the Anglican bishop of Iran in Isfahan, recently converted into a museum.
The health system of the Islamic Republic, despite being one of the most solid in the Middle East region, has gone through a critical phase with Covid-19 due also to the difficulty of finding medicines, due to Western sanctions for the nuclear program. Recently, however, the nursing crisis has broken out due to the flight abroad of many workers: an emergency also confirmed by a member of the leadership of the Iranian Medical Council (Irimc) according to which hospitals are today far below international standards for patient treatment. Abolghasem Talebi, a member of the Irimc Supreme Council, told state radio in March that the large disparity between the Islamic Republic and the global standard for nurse-to-bed ratios highlights the critical state of the healthcare system.
Every year, the official continued, almost 3,000 nurses leave Iran, an enormous number that contrasts with the 10,000 that are trained in the same period in the sector’s institutes. This mass exodus, Talebi continued, creates a “disaster” for the national health system, which currently employs some 240,000 nurses and which, even with recruitment efforts, remains far below accepted international standards. Thousands of workers have left the country in recent years, mainly due to the worsening economic crisis, difficult working conditions and the lack of social and political freedoms. Media estimates that some 16,000 doctors, including specialists, have emigrated since 2020, raising fears of a public health crisis.
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