“They [people experiencing grief] all need support: to listen to them, to sympathize with them, to hold their hands, even to cry with them.”
These words by my colleague Victoria Lepekha, mental health supervisor with Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Ukraine, capture the importance and need of MSF’s work, which goes beyond the provision of medical care.
It’s been a few months since I started my role as Executive Director of MSF Canada, though my journey with MSF began seven years ago as director of communications for MSF in South Asia. During this time, I have also worked directly with project teams in South Sudan and as a communications advisor for Yemen, Syria and Iraq.
MSF’s work is grounded in establishing a more meaningful and deeper level of engagement with people in vulnerable situations. It’s these values – shared both by the people offering medical assistance and the communities we work with – that motivated me to become part of this global movement and that continue to motivate me every day.
In this edition of Dispatches, we want to connect you with the stories of people who have been driven from their homes due to multiple causes, including war, violence and economic hardships.
surveyed. Sudan, 2024. © Mohamed Zakaria
You will read about the devastating consequences of immigration policies in Central America and Mexico on the physical and mental health of migrants and refugees. You will hear from people about the sole prized possession they carry with them as they embark on the perilous journey of crossing the deadly Mediterranean Sea. We also want to draw your attention to Sudan, which is facing a colossal, humanmade catastrophe one year after the start of the war.
Often, people who are forcibly displaced need political solutions beyond our control. While political actors are failing to deliver, MSF is there doing what we can, trying to fill the gaps by providing critical humanitarian assistance and upholding the dignity of people in our care.
I believe the power of our shared humanity matters now more than ever.
As MSF continues to walk the talk on being independent, neutral and impartial, on having the highest standards of medical ethics and on speaking out when we see it is necessary, I believe the power of our shared humanity matters now more than ever.
There’s only so much we can do as MSF. We need the support of our donors, the support of people who share the same principles and values as MSF. In a world where the scarcest resource is human attention, we are grateful for your continued attention and trust in our work. Thank you for being a vital part of our medical humanitarian action.
