scrivi al direttore
Lashkargah (Afghanistan), Saturday August, 4th 2007.
Emergency, the Italian based NGO, announced today that its local hospital is once again operative. The first patients arrived shortly after the news.
Emergency’s international staff had to leave the country for security reasons during the crisis with the Afghan government in March 2007, following the NGO’s involvement in the negotiations, and consequent release, of kidnapped Italian journalist Daniele Mastrogiacomo (from the daily La Repubblica).
Rahmatullah Hanefi, manager of the Lashkargah hospital, who had worked for the liberation of Mastrogiacomo, was arrested and detained in Kabul on suspicion of being involved in the kidnapping, and aiding terrorists.
Mr Amrullah Saleh, director of the Afghan Secret Services, went as far as directly accusing Emergency itself to be sympathetic to terrorists and Al Qaeda members.
While the liberation of Mr. Hanefi became a priority for the Italian NGO, the conditions to safely carry on its primary mission—to treat patients and war victims—were compromised: the international staff had to leave, and operations at the hospital had to be put on hold.
Only when Mr Hanefi was finally released on June 19th, did Emergency begin to plan for the resumption of operations in Afghanistan, which are now back to “normal”.
The situation in the country, however, remains critical. The Afghan army and the US/British-led coalition are under constant attack from the Talibans. Suicide attacks and bombings are still part of the daily routine.
Both Kabul, the Afghan capital, and Kandahar are literally surrounded by Taliban forces. Lashkargah is off-limits: police and army officers patrol its streets 24-7; curfew begins at 10pm. The local population is openly hostile to foreigners, in response to the many deaths suffered among civilians, especially children.
Lashkargah, Helmand province, is home to Emergency’s third Surgical Center, after those in Anabah and Kabul. The idea to build a hospital in this particular area addressed the need to offer medical assistance to the country’s largest ethnic group, the Pashtuns, and to bring high-quality care to this extremely underprivileged region, where medical facilities are almost completely nonexistent. The closest hospitals available are in Herat and Kandahar, both a very long journey away on dangerous roads.
The Lashkargah hospital, built around a central block surrounded by small buildings housing office and storage spaces, sits in the middle of a large, tree-lined garden on the Helmand river.
The central block is home to the ER department, two operating theatres, the sub-intensive therapy unit, four patient wards, the divisions of physiotherapy and radiology, the lab, the pharmacy and other facilities (the kitchen, cafeteria, etc.). The complex also houses a small library, a study area, a playroom for children and a mosque.
To care for the local population more efficiently, Emergency built and runs a First Aid Post (FAP) in the small city of Grishk, the epicentre of many guerrilla actions, a two-hour drive away from Lashkargah.
Currently, the NGO also provides medical assistance inside the local jail, where the detainees can receive much-needed care. The construction of new sanitary facilities inside the same jail is ongoing.
The Lashkargah hospital, named after Tiziano Terzani, the famed journalist, champion of peace and friend of Emergency, is run by some 200 local staff, supported by a small nucleus of international workers, mostly Italians, who is responsible for the training of the local personnel: together they guarantee a high standard of care, comparable to any Western country’s.
Dr Alberto Landini, an orthopedic surgeon from Milan, is part of the staff. He returned to Lashkargah a few weeks ago, along with Ines Verzini, a nurse, and Claudio Gatti, a logistic administrator, to coordinate the reopening of the hospital.
Dr Landini, what’s an ordinary day for a surgeon in Lashkargah? The day begins with a meeting to report on the conditions of the patients admitted during the previous 24 hours, followed by general rounds and surgery time. In the afternoon we offer ambulatory and out-patient services. This routine is quite often “disrupted” by a good number of emergencies, throughout the day and night.
How would you describe practicing in such an environment, so different from Western hospitals? “First and foremost, it feels like one can once again practice freely, without the bureaucratic and administrative burdens which hamper Italian healthcare.
I truly value the human rapport between doctors, nurses and patients, which is often lacking in our hospitals at home, and I appreciate the cohesion and friendship one shares with the rest of the staff on a daily basis, a consequence of our shared motivations for being here in the first place”.
Speaking of motivations, why did you choose to work with Emergency? “My general motivations are both “humanitarian” in nature and a consequence of the dissatisfaction with professional rewards in Italy. In the specific, the choice to work with Emergency, rather than any other NGO, comes from an ideological affinity (the belief that war is the most atrocious human act) and an appreciation of its modus operandi.
Bringing free-of-charge, high quality medical assistance to countries like Afghanistan is only feasible through the direct management of the hospitals and clinics where one works”.
Organizza il tuo viaggio
Prenota il tuo volo
Prenota il treno
Rent a car
Lascia un commento a "Emergency announces the re-opening of its “Tiziano Terzani” hospital in Afghanistan"
