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War does not end with the last battle
In January 2017 we were back in Erbil, in the same hospital we built in 1998 to treat victims of landmines and handed over to the local authorities in 2005. The Kurdish authorities asked us to run the old hospital once more, so that we could help the wounded fleeing Mosul. The hospitals had become…
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Explosion in Kabul, 33 wounded brought to our Surgical Centre
Today, at two o’clock in the afternoon local time, the Afghan capital was hit by yet another explosion. The blast struck near a hussainia, or Shiite congregational hall, in the Qala-e-Fathullah neighbourhood, and claimed many victims. UPDATE wounded brought to our Surgical Centre in #Kabul are 33 (6 were dead on arrival). Among them 6…
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No sign of giving up
Rayyan and Abdul were the first two patients I met at the Emergency hospital. Before Mosul became a battlefield, before the bombings became daily, before fighting over the city’s streets became the norm, cousins Rayyan and Abdul used to meet in the park near their homes to play football. Like any eleven-year-old boys would on…
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“Mummy, what’s war?”
“Mummy, what’s war?”, Tristan asked his mother. How do you explain that to a three-year-old child? The only thing that came to my mind was a photo of Ahlam. Ahlam is a beautiful girl, with a bewitching stare, black hair and a little Hello Kitty necklace. A huge soft toy rabbit rests on her bed.…
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How would I tell all this to my child?
At times it sounds like the noise of a door slamming. But it’s a strange noise, one that often makes us stare at each other for a few seconds in silence. Other times, even the plaster and window panes come crashing down. When that happens there’s no doubt. And sometimes you hear nothing at all.…
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Do you remember Aisha and Hawa?
Do you remember Aisha and Hawa? We told you their incredible story a few weeks ago: they arrived at the Port Sudan Paediatric Centre suffering from sickle cell anaemia after travelling 4,000 kilometres from Nigeria with their mum. We let them go after eight days of care and gave them a date for a follow-up.…
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In Kabul, insecurity is increasing
This morning, Kabul was hit by another attack: there was a strong explosion near a Shiite mosque packed with worshippers who had gathered for Friday prayers. After the explosion, a few armed men entered the building and fighting is still under way. Our hospital in Kabul received 27 injured from the attack. UPDATE2 27 injured brought…
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There is no truce for anyone in Afghanistan
Never in recent years have we hospitalised so many war victims as we did this July at the EMERGENCY Surgical Centre for War Victims in Lashkar-Gah: 223. And this month will certainly not be better than last month: yesterday morning the roads once again turned into a battlefield when a car bomb exploded in the…
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“To help him learn to walk with his new legs”
“Bakir was playing football with Rayyan and other friends when a missile hit them. Some of them are now paralysed, my son had both his legs amputated because of the injuries he received”. As his dad tells me this story, Bakir bursts into tears: maybe it’s because he knows he can no longer play football…
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Mudslide and flooding in Freetown
After days of heavy rain, at least 6,000 people have lost their homes due a mudslide and subsequent flooding in Freetown last week. 500 have died across the region, while a further 600 people remain missing. 50 injured arrived at our Surgical Centre the day the flooding began and our team worked non-stop, setting up…