A deliberate, defiant choice
Through our Hope is Radical campaign, we’re sharing the testimonies of three of our Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) health worker colleagues who refuse to surrender to despair, hate and fear in Haiti, Mexico and Ukraine. We invite you to take a look into their daily work. Read intimate stories from Naomie, Mercedes and Khassan and learn more at hopeisradical.ca.
HOPE IS STRONGER THAN DESPAIR: SPOTLIGHT ON MSF MIDWIFE NAOMIE LUBIN IN HAITI:
Naomie works with women and girls at the Isaïe Jeanty maternity, located in one of the most dangerous neighbourhoods of Port-au-Prince.
“I work in the same maternity ward where I was born. It’s now located at the intersection of Cité Soleil’s most dangerous neighbourhoods. Heavily armed people move about freely. I hear gunshots. Explosions. But I’ve gotten used to it.”
“Every birth is an opportunity to achieve something different. To reject the unacceptable. To open a path to the future.”
“Whenever Haiti is mentioned, poverty, unsanitary conditions and crime are all that are shown. But there is also the countryside, full of streams, hills and birds; we are not just a poor country. We must break this cycle that imprisons us in violence.”
HOPE IS STRONGER THAN HATE: SPOTLIGHT ON MSF PHYSICIAN MERCEDES ALARCÓN IN MEXICO
Mercedes works alongside the team at the Comprehensive Care Centre in Mexico City, where MSF provides medical support to survivors of extreme violence and torture. Expression through art is part of some people’s therapy.
“I refuse to stop caring. I know in this moment of global upheaval, the care and compassion I carry with me is anything but soft or gentle.”
“My colleagues help carry me through the hard days. Through small daily actions, we see how our collective hope can be a more powerful force than hate.”
HOPE IS STRONGER THAN FEAR: SPOTLIGHT ON MSF SURGEON KHASSAN EL-KAFARNA IN UKRAINE
Khassan leads teams supporting local hospitals near the front lines in the eastern part of the country.
“Inside the operating room, I am in the middle of surgery when the lights flicker, then go out. For a moment, the only light is the beam of my headlamp, which I always keep switched on for situations like this… Surgery continues uninterrupted. We are used to this.”
“Despite the pain and sadness, we keep going. We know the next hospital needs our support. We wipe our tears and start again. We always start again. This is our act of defiance.”
