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Here are the ideals we put into practice every day
The Politruck is our mobile clinic that operates in the urban areas and districts of Milan, guaranteeing the right to treatment in marginalised and decaying areas, and where EMERGENCY’s doctors, nurses and cultural mediators promise assistance and socio-health orientation for those who are most vulnerable and in need of these services. Every day, new patients…
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“The promise to make my friend happy”
Italy, having passed through Ethiopia, Sudan and Libya. After a long journey that lasted for months, I meet Selam, from Eritrea, at the EMERGENCY clinic in Siculiana. Together with her are two beautiful children: Yafet, almost five years old, and Heyab, two months. Before going to visit the doctor, I ask Selam about her trip,…
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A day in Anabah
Afghanistan, Panjshir Valley. Every day, around 20 children are born in our Maternity Centre and about 130 people visit the Medical-Surgical Centre: something that’s made possible by the commitment of all our colleagues, from doctors to nurses, from logisticians to all the auxiliary staff. Today, Caterina tells us about their day in Panjshir. A day…
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“Maybe I’ll Go and Say Hi to Sherin Gul”
Reflections from the Salam Centre – 14 August As always there are multiple patients waiting to have an operation, often young and in a serious condition. In the meantime, our colleagues in Kabul send us upsetting news, news of war. There is fighting in Ghazni, roads are blocked, there is no water, there are no…
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Afghanistan: here’s what happens in a “safe country”
Since Friday 10 August, there has been constant fighting for control of Ghazni, a city of 280,000 people, three hours’ drive away from Kabul. Civilians were trapped for several days due to the unrest, and it was difficult to evacuate those who had been wounded. Water and food are running out, the electricity and telephone…
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War also means… being born in a surgical centre for war victims
War also means being born in a surgical centre for victims and the injured. A few days ago, at our hospital in Kabul, we admitted a woman from the new First Aid Post in Laghman. Our colleagues from Afghanistan wrote to us, explaining that “it seems we have opened it especially for her.” She had…
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“I realised that my life was in danger”
Approaching our mobile clinic at the pier in Augusta (Sicily), F’s eyes fill with both joy and sadness as he recognises the EMERGENCY logo. “Two months ago, I was in your hospital in Kabul“, he exclaims, turning to Ahmed, our cultural mediator. In the waiting room, before visiting the doctor, F. begins to tell us…
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A sign of gratitude
One year ago, Abdul Jabbar, a young man from Kabul, was shot during a firefight just an hour before his wedding. After arriving at EMERGENCY’s Kabul Surgical Centre in a critical condition, he underwent complex surgery and remained in intensive care for several months, before making a full recovery. It was meant to be the…
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“Dad, they’re fighting”
“Do I feel safe?” Hedayat just smiles, as if to say: “No, of course not. But this is my home, so I’m trying.” His answer does not surprise me. Hedayat has been working at the EMERGENCY Surgical Centre in Kabul since it opened in 2001. He manages the pharmacy that provides medicine and equipment to…
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Cooking lesson time
At the EMERGENCY Paediatric Centre in the Mayo refugee camp, Sudan, our staff provide free of charge medical care to children up to 14 years old, as well as to future mothers. Paediatric and obstetric visits and follow-ups are performed daily, but we also organise a whole range of other activities. One activity carried out…