Search results
his daughter there [to the MSF hospital], the situation is safe. I told you I used to go to have surgeries [at the RSP] and be there by myself. If I slept there for one week or ten days, it didn’t matter for me if nobody from the family came [to visit]. There were thousands of people like me in a safe situation” (RSP15, Syrian, F). Another crucial aspect for participants was that of equal
(greetings, enquiries about their names and country of origin). Those who spoke some English would occasionally talk about their injuries, how they acquired them, and their progress after surgery. They also expressed curiosity about where I was from, what my country was like, and my family. In the first period of study I conducted daily observations of hospital life, following doctors and surgeons on their
The Introduction opens with a description of the book’s intent and my position as an anthropologist examining the humanitarian field. I introduce the story of one war victim – Ismael – who presents in microcosm the unique aspects of the patients in the MSF Reconstructive Surgery Programme (RSP). I go on to explore the invisibility of the war-wounded, especially those who have never participated in combat. The Introduction continues with a discussion on the delivery of humanitarian surgery, a specific field in the larger world of humanitarian aid. I touch briefly on the history of MSF surgical programmes and capture some of the history of MSF’s surgical practices, which go back to the very origins of the organization itself. RSP is a programme that reflects the cumulative MSF experience. The Introduction concludes with an in-depth description of MSF’s RSP in Amman, Jordan. Currently, patients in the RSP, who often sustain critical injuries years before they are admitted to the hospital, have various levels of disability or have lived with significant post-surgical complications. The Introduction explores several of the aspects that make the RSP unique. Among them are surgical procedures focused on functional improvements, the months and sometimes years-long rehabilitation undergone by patients away from their home countries, the scale of the programme, and the multi-disciplinary treatment provided.
being proposed. As a medical anthropologist I would be given the unique opportunity to carry out independent research centred on MSF’s Reconstructive Surgery Programme (RSP) for the victims of war in the Middle East. Working as an anthropologist in the humanitarian field, I would be joining a group of authors who have critically examined humanitarian practice, including those researching MSF. The
sense, the budget cuts in some areas have occurred simultaneously with the injection of resources in other programmes. For instance, in September 2016 the Army and the authorities from the Defence and the Health sector ran over a period of 17 days a modular hospital in the commune of Recoleta, north of Santiago’s Metropolitan area, in a move to alleviate an over-stressed public hospital located nearby. The military set up camp for local medical staff to provide over 300 surgeries and about 1,700 medical and dental appointments
having anyone know. They did the surgery. I woke up from anaesthesia at home. It was prohibited to stay in the hospital [for long]. Father: We paid a big amount of money just to let him go into the hospital for one hour to
another occasion, a female patient asked to try on the nurse’s lab coat, which was allowed without any reluctance. Figure 8 The interior of the hotel. The part of the hotel where patients are located as they wait for their surgeries
in the MSF hospital, it became apparent that the impact was multidimensional. Very few patients reported receiving no benefit from the programme (some were disappointed with new scars or depigmentation after plastic or maxillofacial surgeries, and one regretted having a leg amputated). The vast majority of participants talked about the overlapping areas of improvement associated with physical, emotional
. After the Second World War, work in plastic surgery broke new ground ( Geomelas at al., 2011 ). Sir Archibald McIndoe, a pioneer in the field of plastic surgery, treated veterans, developing novel techniques, particularly for the reconstruction of faces damaged by burns. During this period, medical personnel were aware of the need to work not only on patients’ bodies; they knew they must prepare
exhaustive free eye surgeries. When in power, ‘individuals’ within Congress too have extended state support over time (the yoga building in 1972 gained from such support, and similarly land was provided for the Nandagokula 6 orphanage). Over the years, Rashtrotthana has built networks with corporate bodies and generous individuals who have supported its cultural and social endeavours. Education is one of the main areas of Rashtrotthana's interventions. In Karnataka, the Lingayats and the Vokkaligas