Abandoned children in Kirkuk hospital await court decision for transfer to orphanage

KIRKUK — At Azadi Teaching Hospital in Kirkuk, a three-year-old girl has spent her entire life within the hospital walls after being abandoned by her mother shortly after birth. Despite efforts by the hospital administration to transfer her to an orphanage, a court has repeatedly denied approval.

“We received acceptance from an orphanage to take in the child, but the judge refused to authorize her transfer,” said Balin Omar, Director of Azadi Teaching Hospital, speaking to 964media. “We have referred the case back to the court for reconsideration because the child knows nothing about life beyond these hospital walls.”

The three-year-old is not alone. Another infant, now seven months old, was similarly abandoned by her mother immediately after birth. Omar explained that both mothers expressed their unwillingness to raise their children and left the infants in the care of hospital staff.

“The hospital is not an appropriate environment for raising children, yet our nurses and staff have done everything possible to care for these two girls,” Omar added.

This is not the first case of its kind at Azadi Hospital. Omar recalled a previous situation where a baby boy and girl were found abandoned on a roadside and brought to the hospital. After six months of care, both children were eventually adopted by two separate families.

The hospital administration continues to advocate for the court to reconsider the current cases, hoping to provide the children with a chance to grow up in a more suitable environment surrounded by other children and caregivers. For now, the two girls remain under the care of the hospital’s nursing staff, awaiting a decision that could change their lives.