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Yemen, gouvernorat d'Amran, Khamer, mars 2018. Des hommes font le plein d'essence dans l'une des stations service de Khamer.

Yemen, governorate of Amran, Khamer, in March, 2018. Men fill up with gas in one of the gas stations of Khamer.
Yemen

Is Yemen on the brink of famine?

MSF operations desk manager Caroline Seguin discusses the recent warnings of famine in Yemen—a country that has been at war for almost four years. Interview - 24 Oct 2018
 
MSF Inpatient Department (IPD) Mansour Al-Ezzi is checking on Ghalia Qaboos who is diagnosed as Kala Azar in MSF supported hospital in Abs on 12th June,2016
Yemen

“Some pregnant women and sick children arrive so late, we can’t save them”

Interview with Gisela Vallès, medical team leader at the MSF hospital in Abs, Yemen, explains the challenges and obstacles her team face in providing assistance to the displaced groups and host communities as increased fighting in the region causes new waves of displacement. Interview - 18 Oct 2018
 
During a Mental Health session at MSF NCD clinic in northern Jordan.
The MSF Non-communicable disease project in Irbid, Jordan, works with Syrian refugees living outside camps since December 2014. MSF opened this project to respond to the massive needs of the Syrian refugee living in non-camp settings and vulnerable Jordanians.
Jordan

Mental health and the work of planting hope

Amal Bani Khalaf, a Jordanian psychologist who has worked with MSF since 2014, gives an account of her work in MSF’s non-communicable diseases (NCD) project in Irbid, Jordan. Voices from the Field - 17 Oct 2018
 
Bilal an MSF psychologist during one of the Mental Health counselling sessions in the MSF NCD clinic in Irbid city,  northern Jordan.
“One of the main complaints we receive at the NCD clinic is related directly to problems like the family conflicts, which is caused by the challenging financial status Syrian families are going through, which leads to having more than one family in the same house.  These problems are usually triggered by other prolonged problems and complains such as the NCD, displacement/migration, and sometimes age.” Says Bilal.
The MSF Non-communicable disease project in Irbid, Jordan, works with Syrian refugees living outside camps since December 2014. MSF opened this project to respond to the massive needs of the Syrian refugee living in non-camp settings and vulnerable Jordanians.
Jordan

The less visible humanitarian crisis: Refugee mental health needs in urban Jordan

MSF mental health activities manager Heidi Mitton explains the mental healthcare needs and services in Irbid, Jordan, where MSF runs a non-communicable diseases (NCD) project for Syrian refugees and vulnerable Jordanians. Voices from the Field - 17 Oct 2018
 
Raed is a 43-year-old father of six children living in the Beit Ummar neighborhood of Hebron. He was shot in the hip by Israeli soldiers during clashes following the funeral of a Palestinian boy that was killed by Israeli forces. Raed is now unable to provide for his family and is suffering from depressive symptoms.
Mental health

Occupied Minds: "My son is broken inside"

Raed is a 43 year-old father of six children who was shot in the hip by Israeli soldiers. For Palestinians, events they experience as a result of life under the Israeli occupation can have a specific and chronic impact on their mental health. MSF has been running mental health programmes in the West Bank since 1996. Voices from the Field - 10 Oct 2018
 
Noura approached MSF for support following the arrest of her son by Israeli forces, in January 2017. She has another son who was already arrested and eventually released from prison and other young children at home. She believes her family is being unfairly targeted and is constantly at risk. She started feeling hopeless about the future and haunted with worry about herself and her children.
Mental health

Occupied Minds: Dealing with one child arrested and then another

Noura approached MSF for support following the arrest of one of her sons by Israeli forces. For Palestinians, events they experience as a result of life under the Israeli occupation can have a specific and chronic impact on their mental health. MSF has been running mental health programmes in the West Bank since 1996. Voices from the Field - 10 Oct 2018
 
Mervat Suboh, a Palestinian psychologist working in Hebron for MSF, calls a patient to schedule an appointment for therapy.
Mental health

Occupied Minds: Allowing people to regain control of their lives

For Palestinians, events they experience as a result of life under the Israeli occupation can have a specific and chronic impact on their mental health. MSF has been running mental health programmes in the West Bank since 1996. Mervat Suboh is a MSF psychologist in Hebron, Palestine.
Voices from the Field - 10 Oct 2018
 
Twenty-two year-old Eyad was shot in the leg during the ‘Great March of Return’ demonstrations in Gaza on the 14th May – one of the deadliest days witnessed by MSF teams in the six months of protests. He needs a bone graft and limb reconstructive surgery which is not currently possible inside the Gaza strip.  Eyad’s case has been accepted for treatment at the MSF’s specialist surgical hospital in Amman, Jordan – but for people living in Gaza, requesting the authorisation to leave from the Israeli authorities is a lengthy, difficult process which often ends with a refusal.

“I still remember vividly the day I was shot: the bullet entered my leg like an injection and then I felt a hot sensation on my other leg. I looked down and saw lots of blood, and I realised I had been wounded. I was in so much pain.

After the bullet entered my leg I started to shake, and it felt like I had electricity coursing through my body.  At first, I was stunned by what I saw. I thought I was going to lose my leg and become an amputee. 

I was shot on the 14 May 2018. Like a lot of Palestinians I was shot in the leg. It just goes to show how barbaric the Israeli army was towards us that day. 

I went to the demonstrations because I love my country and I am trying to defend it. I wanted to show everyone that we have the right to our lands and the right to have our homes back. The demonstration was peaceful. Then the Israeli army started shooting. I knew it was going to be dangerous, so I went alone. I didn’t want to see any of my friends injured or killed. I wanted to free our land, our home, our sacred places. Israel can take all they want; I just want them to give us back our land. 
My mother tried to convince me not to go and begged me to stay at home. She called my grandparents to try and persuade me. But they could not stop me. I had made up my mind. 
Ever since I was shot I’ve had trouble sleeping. When I sleep, it feels like knives are moving inside my leg and electricity is coursing through my body. I don’t move around a lot, I don’t go out; only if I have to. I prefer not to move around a lot because it is just so painful.

My parents and siblings are caring for me – they take good care of me. They bring me whatever I need.

“All I hope is to be able to walk normally again”
 
I go to MSF’s clinic in Gaza three times a week for dressing changes and to have physiotherapy. My condition started to improve after the first debridement operation, which cleaned the gunshot wound and took out the infected blood. I have had about six operations, including the debridement of the wound, attaching the external fixator to stabilise the bone, and a skin graft where they took skin from my thigh to cover the gunshot wound.

The next stages of my treatment must be done in Jordan, at the MSF reconstructive surgical hospital in Amman. They plan to use a bone graft to fix the shattered bone, and a plastic surgeon will then reconstruct my damaged leg. When I heard they wanted to send me to Jordan I was full of fear because I thought the Israeli army wouldn’t let me leave Gaza. I thought I’d have to have an amputation. But once I heard that the Amman hospital had accepted me, I started to feel hopeful again. I started to see that things might be ok. Now I am just waiting to see if I am permitted to leave Gaza.

“I have lost everything”
 
I left school at high school and I don’t have a job. Actually, this is one of the main reasons I went to the border to demonstrate, because I don’t have job and I don’t have anything to do. I wish I could work. 

But there is no work in Gaza. I am a musician, it’s not a profitable job, but I love to play instruments like the flute and drums.

Have I returned to the protests? That is an embarrassing question... no, I haven’t. After experiencing this amount of pain and losing so much of my life from what happened, I don’t want to go back.

I have lost friends, I have lost the ability to go out or move around as I wish. I find it difficult to play my instruments. I have lost everything.
My only hope is to return to how I used to be.
But I know that won’t happen... I can’t swim or play football anymore. I was a really good footballer. I’m not able to run the way I used to. I just hope that, with further surgery, I will be able to walk normally again, without any pain. That’s all I hope.

“It is overwhelming to see your friends die.” 
 
My friends still go to the demonstrations; some of them have also been wounded. One of my friends also got shot and now has almost exactly the same injury as me. Another friend who helped me when I was injured has been killed. He was at a demonstration helping another wounded person when he died.
I am trying to convince other people not to go to the demonstrations. I don’t want them to experience the pain I have. The negatives of protesting outweigh the positives. Going there is so dangerous: people may lose their hopes and futures. They need to stay away: the Israeli army is really violent.

As Palestinians, we want these protests to be peaceful. But Israel sees this as a violation of their freedom. All we want is to return to our lands. We protest to show everyone that we are Arab, that we are all together in this, and that we support each other. That’s why we go to the demonstrations.
Palestine

“When I sleep, it feels like knives moving through my leg”

Eyad, 22, describes how he was shot in the leg during the ‘Great March of Return’ demonstrations in Gaza on 14 May, his treatment since and his hopes for the future. Voices from the Field - 2 Oct 2018
 
Two Yemeni men carry a stretcher out of Al Salam Hospital to go pick up a patient on July 22, 2015 in Qataba, Yemen.
Yemen

MSF suspends activities after attack in Ad Dhale

MSF strongly condemns attacks against its staff and asks for protection for humanitarian workers and patients. Statement - 2 Oct 2018
 
Dr Mohammed Abu Mughaiseeb, MSF medical referent in Gaza
Palestine

“Nothing can prepare you for this”

Dr Mohammed Abu Mughaiseeb, MSF medical referent in Gaza, describes the shocking volume of wounded arriving from the fence over the last six months and their bleak long-term prospects. Voices from the Field - 2 Oct 2018
Four mothers posing in a corridor of the Hospital in Bili. All four of them are staying in the hospital with their child, that's suffering from a severe case of malaria. Since the beginning of the project in 2016, the pediatric ward already treated more than 4.000 cases of complicated/severe form of malaria.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

Independent medical humanitarian assistance

We provide medical assistance to people affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters, or exclusion from healthcare. Our teams are made up of tens of thousands of health professionals, logistic and administrative staff - most of them hired locally. Our actions are guided by medical ethics and the principles of independence and impartiality. We are a non-profit, self-governed, member-based organisation.

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