Lien Nguyen
October 2010
Compassion in Action: Doctors without Borders / Médecins sans Frontières (MSF)
We live in a country where Medicare exists, where food is plentiful and sanitary, education is a
privilege, entertainment is right at our fingertips, and where our health and lives are just
wonderful. This is a blessing that we take for granted quite often. We can’t complain about our
lives because what we have is something that we should be grateful about. When we compare
the troubles in the world to our lives, what we have is a free world where we have the privileges.
This is something a lot of countries don’t have.
Organizations such as Doctors without Borders / Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) try to help the
world by providing medical help to countries that need it.
Doctors without Borders was established in 1971 by a small group of French doctors who had
worked in Biafra. When they returned from Biafra, they were determined to find a way to help
countries that were truly in need of medical help. So they decided to make an organization that
would do exactly that, without the hassle of political, economic and religious influences. These
men believed that everyone in the world should have the right to medical care regardless of
their race, religion, belief or political affiliation. They believed that the health of everyone in the
world was important and that no national borders should stop them from helping the sick and
injured. Doctors without Borders is the world's leading independent international medical relief
organization. This organization has five operational centers in Europe and 14 national sections
worldwide.
MSF has been providing medical help to people caught in numerous kinds of catastrophes
such as natural disasters, armed conflicts, epidemics of disease and famines for more than 35
years. In each and every one of these situations, quick and skilled medical help is needed. So,
MSF provides people with their aid. This organization is well known for its quick response and
effective and efficient work in the various types of emergencies. It also helps in situations that
require less urgent reinforcement. The action that MSF takes comes in numerous forms:1
•
Emergency public health care, including medicine and surgery
•
Mass vaccination campaigns
•
Water and sanitation systems
•
Therapeutic and supplementary nutrition
•
Distribution of drugs and supplies
•
Training and health education
•
Organization or rehabilitation of health structures
•
Medical assistance within existing health structures
To aid a country, MSF has to look at the situation carefully. They have to look at the country’s
medical ethics as well as their right to humanitarian assistance. MSF does this because since
the organization is an independent organization, most of the funding comes from donations from
various people, companies and groups. MSF has to use the money wisely because they don’t
want to waste their funding, so MSF helps the countries that need the most medical attention
after having analyzed their situation.
As well as doing humanitarian services, MSF also talks to the public about what they have
witnessed while helping the less fortunate. By speaking up about what they have seen, MSF
hopes to eliminate some of the suffering that goes on in the world and raise aware of the global
1
"About MSF: MÉDECINS SANS FRONTIÈRES / DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS (MSF) -­‐ Canada." MÉDECINS SANS FRONTIÈRES / DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS (MSF) -­‐ Canada: www.msf.ca. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2010. <http://www.msf.ca/about-­‐msf/>. situations that are happening around us. They do this out of respect for human beings and their
fundamental human rights.2
In 1989, Canadian volunteers who wanted to participate in this movement first came together to
create an MSF association in Canada. MSF Canada officially joined the international movement
as a recognized section in 1991. The MSF Canada National Office is located in Toronto, and it
is responsible for the overall management of MSF Canada’s national and international activities.
There are also MSF offices located in Montreal and Vancouver. The Montreal and Vancouver
offices support the National Office in recruiting aid workers for overseas field placement. Since
1991, Canadian MSF volunteers have participated in more than 1800 situations in over 80
countries: Afghanistan, Angola, Bosnia, Cambodia, Colombia, Liberia, Rwanda, Sri Lanka,
Sudan, and many more. 3
I believe that this organization is an important one because by opening their hearts and
reaching out to people in need, the doctors send a message to people around the world. They
show compassion in the way they help the less fortunate countries out of the goodness of their
hearts. They care about the health of the people in the world, and believe that everyone is
entitled to medical care. MSF also shows signs of leadership in how they take action. They
organize this organization very well. The reason MSF has been successful may be because of
its great leadership skills, and how the organization works as one to be successful in the
countries they go into to aid.
Doctors who participate in MSF do it not for the money but because they value human life. They
do not get paid. They volunteer their skills and services to the ill and injured out of empathy for
the people who are in dire need of help. These people go far from their home country to help
another community that needs their help, because they realize that their help is needed more
than where they live. Community and service is helping not only your community but also the
global community and doing what you can to help the world.
2
"About MSF: MÉDECINS SANS FRONTIÈRES / DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS (MSF) -­‐ Canada." MÉDECINS SANS FRONTIÈRES / DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS (MSF) -­‐ Canada: www.msf.ca. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2010. <http://www.msf.ca/about-­‐msf/>. 3
"In Canada: MÉDECINS SANS FRONTIÈRES / DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS (MSF) -­‐ Canada." MÉDECINS SANS FRONTIÈRES / DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS (MSF) -­‐ Canada: www.msf.ca. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2010. <http://www.msf.ca/about-­‐msf/msf-­‐in-­‐canada/>. My cousin joined the Australian Doctors without Borders. He is an anesthetist and helped put
injured and ill people to sleep so that surgeons could work on their patients. He mostly worked
in Somalia. He would often e-mail to tell my family and me what was happening while he was
there. The region was so war-torn at the time. He would e-mail about how the region looked and
patients that he would have. He would hear bombs hitting. He had to work in tents along with
other doctors while other injured or ill people were being tended to as well.
When he came back, he was glad that he had been able to do something about it and help the
community of Somalia, but the sights that he saw and the suffering of the people saddened him.
The organization of MSF is a great group that helps the global community and my cousin was
happy to have been a part of it.
After seeing what my cousin had done to help the global community, it made me proud of him
because it was dangerous for him to go. Most family members didn’t want him to go because
they were afraid that something might happen to him. He took their concern into consideration
but felt that he needed to do something to help the people of Somalia. So, he decided that even
though it would be dangerous, he would still go because he couldn’t sit and not do anything
while the people of Somalia were suffering. By doing this, his skills as a doctor were also being
tested. Since he was in Somalia and the equipment supplied to help the ill and injured wasn’t as
good as in hospitals in developed countries, he had to use his wit and skills and use the
equipment that was supplied to him to help his patients. He also went to Cambodia and helped
there, too. 4
The compassion that people feel and the willingness to join MSF is really amazing. I find that
this organization is such an extraordinary one. My cousin felt a sense of accomplishment and
felt happy to be part of MSF. He enjoyed working with the organization and helping the people
who needed his help, so he decided to work with the organization again.
4
Bui, Tung . Email interview. 27 Oct. 2010. Jonieu. MSF LOGO. N.d. MSF, Unknown. Jonieu. Web. 27 Oct. 2010. I wanted to write about this program because I felt that it was important for this organization to
be recognized for its hard work and dedication to the health of the people of the world. This
organization teaches the world about the problems that are going on. There are volunteers and
doctors who join this organization because they feel that the suffering of these people is morally
wrong, that they deserve the same health care as we have here, and that the national borders
don’t matter. This shows us that our world is one world and that it’s important to help the human
race by supporting each other.
I hope that when I grow up, my profession will be something in the medical field, so that I can
make a good living and help the people around me. I would also be happy to join MSF, so that I
could help the global community. We are all equal, we are one world, and we are all that we
have in this world, so we should do everything we can to support each other. That’s what I think
is the message that MSF is trying to convey, and I agree with their opinion.