The War Hoard

There is an interesting phenomenon in times of war, and I am sure other potentially lean times.  It is what we refer to here as hoarding.  I first noticed with people who have gone through World War II, and the depression.  Those people would take a couple of extra jellies from the restaurant, in case they may need them someday in the future.  Here in SL, there is a similar attitude about things.  New things are saved, and not used.  They are stock piled, and admired, but not used.  We at MSF have provided many materials for the hospital.  However, the Matron, remember her, doesn't want to use anything that is new.  She would rather save the new stuff for something else.  I am not sure what.  When we brought this up in our small groups, everyone agreed that we were seeing war hoarding.

I'm not sure how long it lasts.  But I would guess it is a generation.  At least.

Sisters

They were fleeing through the woods, trying to avoid the gunfire and the barrage of shells.  But they got separated.  A man and his wife and her sister.  He wandered for days looking for his wife, but she was gone, either killed or perhaps worse, captured.  He had to remain hidden, and moved usually at night when the fear and the tears couldn't be easily seen.  One day he heard a sound, a soft call to him, using his name.  He looked, and saw his wife's sister.  They hugged, and held each other quietly.  Silent tears came and went, rains came and went, yet they stayed together.  Again they looked for his wife, her sister.  But there was no one there.  She was gone.  After weeks became months, they realized that his wife was gone.  They only had each other, and they found what little solace was left between the two of them.  There were nights when all that they could do was hold each other.  He decided to go on one last search.  He gave his wife's sister a final hug, and left on his search.  About two days later, he stepped on the mine.  The shrapnel tore his left leg off, and burned through his femoral artery on the right.  His strength was not enough to keep the pressure on the remaining leg, and he closed his eyes, and layed back to die.

Nearly four months later, as people were being moved between camps, his wife's sister saw her.  She recognized the soft brown eyes, lowered in sadness.  When she called the name of her sister, her eyes brightened and they ran to each other.  They were back together again.  His wife asked about her husband, but the sister could only look down and shake her head. She explained that he had left, looking for his wife, but had not ever returned.

They were able to live together, the wife and her sister.  The childless widow, and her sister.  And when the pregnancy began to show, it was only the two of them left.  The widow, and her sister, who was to bear the child of the dead husband.  She is nearly ready to deliver.

A Cold Shower, or One Stop Shopping

I have tried to introduce some of the team from MSF here in Sri Lanka.  I should also tell you a little about our living arrangements.  Everyone has their own little room.  I think that I described mine earlier.  We do have a nice shower out in the back by my room.  It is dark and made of cement.  There are a multitude of little creatures who share the shower with you.  Yesterday it was a tree frog.  So far, no snakes.  One of the things that strikes you after the initial shock, is the fact that there is only one knob on the shower.  It is the 'on' knob.  There is no hot water, just cold.  What is interesting is that you really don't miss the hot water.  Usually you are in the shower to try to cool off.

The other shower in the main house is conveniently located next to the toilet and the sink.  You can, in reality, shit, shower, and shave all at once.  Some refer to it as S cubed.  The rest refer to this shower as one stop shopping.  Similar arrangements are noted in Point Pedro, although they did install some sort of heater for some of their water.  I never really tried that one.  It just didn't seem right.

The French Connection

Charlotte is our psychologist, and is currently acting Field Coordinator since Sam left.  She is from Paris, and can roll her own cigarrettes.  In fact, her family is nice enough to send her very special tobacco from the Basque region, and very special papers, that I believe are somehow organic.  Certainly not average.  Her plate is full, with the mental health team, and now FieldCo.  She does a great job of keeping things running, despite her increase in responsibilities.

Frederik is our psychiatrist.  She has been here for a couple of weeks, and actually extended for a couple, but is getting ready to leave.  She works for MSF in Paris, and has done many missions.  She doesn't roll her own, but buys them already made.  Frederik has a great deal of experience, and really does a great job.  She is able to keep things in perspective, and realizing what the resources locally are, appropriately does what she can.

The mental health needs are great.  This is situation where families do not know where their loved ones are, or if they are even alive.  The suicide rate is very high, and does not seem to be going down.  They are dealing with career ending injuries, so that they have no way of making a living.  When you hear the stories, it is hard not to cry.  Many people of been skeptical about MSF delving into mental health, but afte seeing what is out there, I am convinced that in situations like this they are invaluable.

The French pretty much hang out together, and fall back into their native language.  But it is nice to have some Europeans about.  They make sure we have beer in the fridge, and cheese for breakfast.

The Hospital Gods

The Temple at the Hospital

As I have pointed out in a previous post or two, the primary religion in the north of the country is Hindu.  The majority of the Tamils are Hindu.  There are a few scattered Buddhists around, but mostly in the southern Singala area.  There are a few Moslems, and a few Christians, filling in the smaller percentages.  The hospital at Point Pedro has a small shrine as you go into the main entrance to Ganesh, the Hindu god with the head of an elephant, with one tusk going up, and the other going down.  In his left hand, Ganesh is holding something.  The local people tell me that Ganesh is holding Sri Lanka in his left hand.  At the Operating Theater, there is a big picture of Ganesh as you go through the OT doors.  However, the picture above the Recovery Room is of Jesus.  On Ward 2, just off of the nursing station, along the wall is another small shrine.  This shrine has Christmas lights in red, green and white, flashing all of the time.  This morning, incense was burning.  The shrine consists of a series of pictures.  Again, Ganesh is there.  There is also a Buddha.  There is a crucifix at the end, and a picture of baby Jesus dressed in Sri Lankan clothes.  I didn't really recognize Jesus, as I was always taught that he was born in the Middle East, and was slightly embarrassed after asking the Hindu nurses what the name of this god was.  They seem to be very inclusive.  They don't really think one god is better than another.  I think, just to hedge their bets, they try to get as many gods as they can.  Just in case.

The First of the Last

It is Easter Sunday, and I just finished making rounds at the hospital.  In a land where most of the people are Hindu, and the rest are Buddhist, the Easter morning celebrations are muted.  There does not appear to be an Easter Bunny, at least I didn't find any jelly beans hidden in the corners of my room, despite my looking and hoping for some.  It is my last day of rounds in Point Pedro.  I will leave for Mullaitivu tomorrow morning.

I start my rounds with Dr. Ruantha on Ward 2.  Once these are completed, I go to Ward 7, and round with Dr. Prim.  I was feeling a little sad that I was leaving, after just getting to know them.  Both doctors are very talented and smart.  They are efficient, and have good senses of humor. They asked me to come back to Ward 2, where I had started.  When I arrived, I was asked to sit down.  Shortly thereafter, the nurses and Dr. Prim arrived from Ward 7.  The nurse from Ward 2 had made up some small plates with food, and a tray of cups filled with Sprite.  She handed these out to all of us, thanking me for being there.  I tried to tell her that it is I who should be thanking them.  They were always going out of their way to be nice to me, and to make sure that I was in the right place at the right time.  I was very touched by this effort.  The food was a small piece of cake, a couple of biscuit cookies, and a vegetable wrap.  It was pretty hot and very humid, and the spices in the vegetable wrap were HOT!!  I ate the whole thing.  My upper lip was sweating, my nose was running, and my brow was dripping.  It was great!  They had known me for less than two weeks, but had completely included me in everything.  And now they were thanking me with a special midmorning "tea".  I fear that this is the first of the last suppers.  As my time here winds down, it is hard to ignore the kindness of the people who have survived a 29 year civil war, yet have a smile on their faces, and a cheerful greeting every morning.  I am sure that they have scars that we will never see, that they keep hidden in their effort to maintain normalcy.  They have so little in the way of possessions and money, but they have so much when it comes to kindness and compassion.  I have learned so much.

Sonoko

The Emergency Room (EU) doctor in Point Pedro is Sonoko.  She is from Japan, and this is her second mission with MSF.  Previously she was in Pakistan.  Along with Dr. Ben, who I have mentioned before, she is one of the strongest ER physicians that I have seen.  The things that come into the ER include everything from penetrating trauma (knife and gun injuries) to blunt trauma (car and vehicle accidents), to snake bites and sepsis.  She handles it all, and never gets flustered.  Even beyond that, she is designing the disaster management plan for the hospital.  At the house, she and Yuko team up to cook some very excellent meals.  They always seem to be Asian meals, I'm not sure why.  She told me that she is going to have to go back to Japan and work for a while before she can do another mission.  I'm not sure when she is scheduled to leave SL, but whenever it is, she will leave a significant void.