A Historical Glimpse of the Dahr el-Bachek Sanatorium

Before the First World War a society was formed in Beirut under the name of "the Tuberculosis Sanatorium Society," its object being to establish a sanatorium for consumptives where they would find the necessary care and by means of which they would be isolated from their surroundings, to prevent the spread of contagion. This society collected donations and held benefit gatherings until a sum of money had accumulated in its hands, and one of its members, the late Dr. Bishara Mansa, endowed it with a rocky plot of land on the summit of a mountain near Roumieh in the Metn, called Dahr el-Bachek, on which it erected two or three buildings and a water reservoir.

There was also a second society, named "Relief of the Destitute," whose object was to collect money to pay for the nursing of one consumptive or more in one of the sanatoriums then existing. The Great War broke out, and the societies ceased their work; a detachment of the Ottoman army came and occupied the buildings of Dahr el-Bachek, wreaking havoc and ruin in them, and did not leave them until the end of the war — and then in a condition unfit for use.

When the said war laid down its burdens, a terrible increase in cases of pulmonary tuberculosis was observed. This stirred certain zealous men and moved them to form a new society called "the Society for Combating Tuberculosis in Lebanon and Syria," its object being to fight this pestilent disease by every means. Charitable gifts and donations flowed in upon it until a sum of money not to be despised had gathered in its hands.

Efforts were then multiplied to unite these three societies and to cast them all into a single one, and despite the many obstacles that stood in the way of this union, the efforts succeeded in 1924 in merging these societies into one society, which took as its name "the Society of the Tuberculosis Sanatorium and the Combating of Tuberculosis in Syria and Lebanon"; the name was afterwards shortened, becoming "the Anti-Tuberculosis Society — Dahr el-Bachek Sanatorium."

This society has made mighty efforts: it has erected more than twelve buildings, complete with every condition of comfort and well-being; it has transformed that barren summit into verdant gardens, brought water and electricity to it, connected it with numerous telephone installations, and acquired a motorcar that carries the sanatorium its supplies and secures transportation for those residing in it.

The national sanatorium of Dahr el-Bachek shelters within its walls some two hundred souls — patients, nurses, and servants — and every means of comfort and peace of mind has been provided there for all.

The society has made it a custom to hold an annual celebration at the sanatorium, timed around the beginning of the new year, at which speeches are delivered and gifts of clothing and sweets are distributed to the residents of the sanatorium. This year the society did not depart from its accustomed practice: it held the said celebration in the assembly hall of the sanatorium, where Dr. Nahw delivered a kindly address to the patients, and Dr. Shehadeh recited verses in which he described the problems of peace; and the writer of these lines spoke in the name of the society, offering the patients his good wishes for the season and citing some useful statistics. He was followed by two of the patients, who spoke in the name of their comrades, praising the society and thanking it for its kindness and tenderness.