OCTOBER 2008

A REFUGEE CAMP WITH HEART AND HOPE

Cowell Theater

The number of armed conflicts, epidemics, and natural disasters raging throughout the world has reached record numbers, resulting in massive suffering on a global scale. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) tries to help those whose lives have been affected by violence and catastrophe.

In Fall 2008, MSF goes on tour to spread the word about refugees fleeing many life-threatening situations. The tour stops at Fort Mason Center (FMC) and San Francisco’s Marina District with “On the Medical Frontlines: A Conversation with Doctors Without Borders” at FMC’s Cowell Theater and “A Refugee Camp in the Heart of the City” exhibit at Little Marina Green Park in San Francisco.

“When people are forcibly displaced it is not just the violence that causes harm. Having no access to food, clean water, latrines, adequate shelter, or medical care is what makes people vulnerable to epidemic outbreaks and malnutrition. And they face the added burden of trauma, fear, and uncertainty about their future,” said Nicolas de Torrenté, executive director of MSF-USA. “We hope that this exhibit will be one way to raise awareness about their plight and the need for concrete action to alleviate it.”

Since its founding by physicians and journalists in France in 1971, MSF has worked with survivors and refugees all over the world. MSF estimates that 42 million people are refugees from armed conflict worldwide. The majority of these 42 million come from Palestinian areas, Afghanistan, Iraq, Columbia, Somalia, the Congo, the Sudan, and Uganda. Since 2006, the number of refugees has increased by three million.

MSF’s refugee camp exhibit shows visitors what the refugees face in their daily struggles for survival. The free event at the Cowell features Matthew Spitzer, President of MSF-USA, and de Torrenté. Other MSF aid workers join Spitzer and de Torrenté to share their experiences working overseas and discuss MSF’s current activities and concerns. More than half of MSF’s programs in more than 60 countries provide medical care, sanitation, shelter, and nutrition to people in distress because of armed conflict or internal instability.

To find out more about MSF’s programs and tour, visit www.doctorswithoutborders.org or www.refugeecamp.org and see October 17 in the calendar.

— Claudia Willen

Image:
Sudan, Photo: Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)