In Syria, obviously security was also on the top of the list of priorities to be looked after and I have to say I learned the hard way on a couple of things in this area. We had some unfortunate incidents where people came in with weapons. No one was harmed but disturbing to say the least.
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© Nicole TUNG
Our field hospitals in Syria are ‘undercover’. Initially, we were running a hospital inside a cave then it was moved into a non functioning farm – a better location and we could adapt it to reduce the risk of shrapnel or mortar fire.
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© Xenia DAVID
The teamwork is tested to the limit in Timergara. Field workers can go to only three places in the whole duration of our mission: house, office and hospital. For this reason, the house is well equipped with amenities for comfort. Yet, there is no substitute for a good team. I was fortunate enough to have stayed with pleasant, hard working people, both veterans and first missioners like myself. Expect a multicultural mix of people from East and West, North and South. One does not have to step out of the house to have an interesting experience. Here, I learned about the customs of other countries, the cuisines, and the practices, just by observing the people in front of me. And I grew to love them, for like me, they shared an adventurous spirit and a willingness to help others.
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© Xenia DAVID
The patients I see in the hospital were women who suffered from burns (usually due to kitchen accidents) and gunshot wounds. But majority of the cases were mothers with complicated pregnancies who could not go anywhere else for free and quality health care. MSF does not charge for its services, so we expect the kind of patient who has already gone to one of the many pay-clinics in the area but can no longer afford the subsequent private care.
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 Photo source: Xenia DAVID
We just finished a medical mission in the province of Bukidnon, Philippines. My friend and fellow anaesthetist looked at me incredulously after learning that I accepted a medical assignment to Pakistan with MSF.
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© Eric LEUNG
“Everyone is happy when the rain comes.” This is what my assistant told me after the rainstorm last week.
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© Eric LEUNG
Today, I have witnessed South Sudan’s first rainstorm in 2013, which also signified the end of dry season and the beginning of rainy season. By the time I went back to the base, my tent was completely flooded with water and mud, and everything on the floor (backpack, computer, shoes, etc) was soaked. When I was emptying water from my tent, the clinic staffs reported that there were some urgent problems in the clinic – fences collapsed, security light failure, and generator stopped. The logistic team rushed back to the clinic to carry out emergency repairing. It was around nine when we returned to the base, and all of us were completely wet and exhausted. I took a shower and went to bed immediately, without even checking whether my computer still work or not.
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© Eric LEUNG
Finally arrived the project location–Doro Refugee Camp, South Sudan. It was a long journey, which took 3 days, including 5 transits (in Amsterdam, Brussels, Frankfurt, Addis Ababa and Juba) and 4 briefings. I was really surprised by the amount of resources and manpower required just to send an expatriate to the field, and it makes me wonder how complicated and difficult it is for MSF to launch a project.
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© Eric LEUNG
  This is how we work out in South Sudan.    

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