Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders and Haiti Relief

Photo by Matthew Marek/American Red Cross

In December, Doctors Without Borders held a live event to air the first documentary that allowed unfettered access to their work: Living in Emergency. The film follows doctors in war-torn Liberia and the Congo, doctors who must work under conditions beyond extreme, often without any kind of technology or medication. The film shows the struggles of idealism and pragmatism, the desire to help often being stifled by the grim realities of the political and cultural realms in which so many people suffer and die. In all honesty, I was unable to watch many of the film's scenes, and by the look on my husband's face, the scenes were grisly in their reality. People would bring their family members by two days' car drive; often the patients were already too far gone at that point. Women died because of difficult births, while children suffered from mysterious skin conditions and swollen eyes. The film should be mandatory viewing for all, even if you can't watch every scene (I did feel like I should to bear witness to the horrible suffering Doctors Without Borders attempts to palliate, but I am too squeamish). Sadly, though, it seems the film isn't slated for a wide release, and Netflix doesn't list a release date.

Now Doctors Without Borders is appealing for funds to help them continue their work after the tragic earthquake in Haiti. A picture on their site shows dozens of people sitting on concrete or towels waiting outside the Haiti DWB office; people are in desperate need of help. Because the DWB building was damaged in the quake, patients are now being seen in tents. Care for the injured is complicated by the fact that Port-au-Prince's main hospitals were also damaged. DWB coordinator Hans van Dillen says that "There are hundreds of thousands of people who are sleeping in the streets because they are homeless. We see open fractures, head injuries. The problem is that we can not forward people to proper surgery at this stage."

Doctors Without Borders, along with many, many other organizations, is appealing for funds to help them care for those suffering in Haiti. To support the Red Cross, you can text "haiti" to 90999 and donate $10. As each site says, every little bit helps: a few bucks means water or medicine or food or medical care for someone whom you will never meet but who needs your help now.