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The Stethoscope and the Machete

My Journey Through the World of Humanitarian Medicine

  • Lesvos
  • Lumbini Medical College
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Category: Lesvos

It’s difficult for any of us to grasp what it must be to flee your homeland due to violence or persecution. I struggle with the conflict of knowing that the most human parts of us are drawn to sheltering those in need, while also recognizing that unvetted mass migrations have real economic and political repercussions. Mavrovouni refugee camp encapsulates some of this poetically. Beautiful blue water meets the allure of land in the distance as naval patrol boats make themselves felt, donning European colours. While the medicine was oftentimes uncomplicated and our clinic was well supported by higher level structures, I am not naive in recognizing that Lesvos is the creme de la creme of asylum camps. Healthcare is accessible, NGOs provided legal advice, the camp is fenced but not a prison, and asylum seekers are free to walk the streets of nearby Mytiline and enjoy the spoils of Greek lifestyle. There are far worse shores to arrive on.

Still, migrants bear the scars of their violent journeys, on their skin or in their soul. On the second week of my attachment, a boat capsized with the coast guard nearby and seven people drowned, including the parents of a child that now walks alone in unfamiliar land. The only difference between his story and mine is that I got to be born somewhere else. The psychological impact of these sagas in life-altering.

I came to Greece as a foot soldier, one doctor with one patient at a time, not because I thought that would change anything, but because I thought I should bear witness to this; if I achieved anything in Lesvos, maybe it’s that. Even though the medicine itself was less than my usual excitement, my time with the Boat Refugee Foundation in Greece was important, and formative. I learned a lot about the mechanisms of humanitarian health, the UN, the EU, and the larger aid-sector in a way that I haven’t with many of the independent NGOs I worked with before. Taking a step back from development and just participating in aid also gave me another lens through which to understand this space; there are still millions of people on the move, drifting alone through the world, just looking for a place to call their home.

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  • The Panama Journals

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