Posts tagged photojournalism

Photo:Ain el-Helweh in Saida is the largest camp hosting Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. Lebanon 2013 © Aurelie Lachant/MSF. From Damascus to Ain el-Helweh: Palestinians in Syria Flee to Lebanon “I’m deeply sad inside, but I need to appear strong in front of my family,” says a man called Mahmood while sitting in the narrow room he now shares with his wife and six-year-old son in the Ain el-Helweh Palestinian refugee camp in Saida, Lebanon. Until almost two months ago, he’d been living in another camp for Palestinians, this one in Damascus, but the conflict in Syria had made it impossible to stay. “It’s very difficult,” he says. “Seven of my relatives were killed by the bombings and shootings in Syria. We saw their mutilated bodies. I buried them myself and buried my neighbors too. My son disappeared. One month later, my brother disappeared. I’m sure they got killed and this is causing me a lot of sadness.”

Photo:Ain el-Helweh in Saida is the largest camp hosting Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. Lebanon 2013 © Aurelie Lachant/MSF.

From Damascus to Ain el-Helweh: Palestinians in Syria Flee to Lebanon

“I’m deeply sad inside, but I need to appear strong in front of my family,” says a man called Mahmood while sitting in the narrow room he now shares with his wife and six-year-old son in the Ain el-Helweh Palestinian refugee camp in Saida, Lebanon. Until almost two months ago, he’d been living in another camp for Palestinians, this one in Damascus, but the conflict in Syria had made it impossible to stay.

“It’s very difficult,” he says. “Seven of my relatives were killed by the bombings and shootings in Syria. We saw their mutilated bodies. I buried them myself and buried my neighbors too. My son disappeared. One month later, my brother disappeared. I’m sure they got killed and this is causing me a lot of sadness.”

Photo: A transit camp near the Turkish border. Syria 2013 © Anna Surinyach/MSF 10,000 Syrians Seek Shelter Near Turkish Border Several months ago, Hussein Alwawi was living in Aleppo with his family. But, he recalls, “A warplane attacked our neighborhood and lots of houses were destroyed, including ours. We were not at home at the time, but two families were killed.” Five days later, he and his family set out towards Syria’s border with Turkey. They found an ad hoc settlement that now hosts some 10,000 displaced Syrians, more than double the number who’d been there at the beginning of the year. While it is officially known as a “transit camp,” it would be more accurate to call it a camp for internally displaced people, or IDPs. Driven from their homes by the war, most of these IDPs now live in tents set up in a field formerly occupied by a customs office, though Alwawi and his family found sanctuary inside a mosque. In a quest to create some sense of normalcy, people have set up barbershops and foodstalls, even a school for the children.

Photo: A transit camp near the Turkish border. Syria 2013 © Anna Surinyach/MSF

10,000 Syrians Seek Shelter Near Turkish Border

Several months ago, Hussein Alwawi was living in Aleppo with his family. But, he recalls, “A warplane attacked our neighborhood and lots of houses were destroyed, including ours. We were not at home at the time, but two families were killed.”

Five days later, he and his family set out towards Syria’s border with Turkey. They found an ad hoc settlement that now hosts some 10,000 displaced Syrians, more than double the number who’d been there at the beginning of the year. While it is officially known as a “transit camp,” it would be more accurate to call it a camp for internally displaced people, or IDPs.

Driven from their homes by the war, most of these IDPs now live in tents set up in a field formerly occupied by a customs office, though Alwawi and his family found sanctuary inside a mosque. In a quest to create some sense of normalcy, people have set up barbershops and foodstalls, even a school for the children.

Civilians are leaving Sudan’s South Kordofan state due to a lack of food and supplies and because of the ongoing conflict. South Sudan 2013 © Yann Libessart A Critical Situation for Sudanese Refugees in Yida Civilians have been fleeing the conflict between Sudanese government forces and rebels from the North Sudanese People Liberation Movement (SPLM-North) in Sudan’s South Kordofan region since June 2011. The only option for many displaced people is to seek refuge in the camp of Yida, just on the other side of the border in South Sudan. As Yida’s population continues to grow, the camp’s location has become a source of complex political tensions that increasingly threaten the condition of the refugees.

Civilians are leaving Sudan’s South Kordofan state due to a lack of food and supplies and because of the ongoing conflict. South Sudan 2013 © Yann Libessart

A Critical Situation for Sudanese Refugees in Yida

Civilians have been fleeing the conflict between Sudanese government forces and rebels from the North Sudanese People Liberation Movement (SPLM-North) in Sudan’s South Kordofan region since June 2011. The only option for many displaced people is to seek refuge in the camp of Yida, just on the other side of the border in South Sudan. As Yida’s population continues to grow, the camp’s location has become a source of complex political tensions that increasingly threaten the condition of the refugees.

Photo: MSF doctor Claire Marie Loys introduces a young patient to his heartbeat in Aweil, South Sudan. Photo by Yann Libessart/MSF Dr. Loys and her team provide maternal and child health at the Aweil referral hospital; over the last year more than 4,700 children have received treatment there.

Photo: MSF doctor Claire Marie Loys introduces a young patient to his heartbeat in Aweil, South Sudan. Photo by Yann Libessart/MSF

Dr. Loys and her team provide maternal and child health at the Aweil referral hospital; over the last year more than 4,700 children have received treatment there.

Photo: Patients at the community hospital in Bangui, where MSF treated people wounded in conflict. CAR 2013 © Francois Beda/MSF In Central African Republic, the Violence Has Ended But the Emergency Continues “At the height of the crisis, confrontations, shootings, and abuses occurred daily. Today, tension and violence have subsided and we are now in a particularly delicate phase—a sort of false calm that is both fragile and potentially explosive. Seleka’s two main groups will have to begin negotiations to establish an imminent power-sharing arrangement. There could be friction and clashes within this young coalition,” says MSF head of mission in CAR, Serge St-Louis. As a medical organization, we are very concerned about the unmet needs among a population that was already very vulnerable prior to the Seleka offensive. There are thousands of displaced persons who now live in extremely precarious conditions, without medical care, shelter, food, or water. The health situation is critical in several regions. There are serious shortages of drugs and supplies and there are no health care personnel in the medical facilities. Based on our latest admission figures, the seasonal epidemic of malaria, which is endemic in the CAR, appears to have begun and will surge in the rainy season.

Photo: Patients at the community hospital in Bangui, where MSF treated people wounded in conflict. CAR 2013 © Francois Beda/MSF

In Central African Republic, the Violence Has Ended But the Emergency Continues

“At the height of the crisis, confrontations, shootings, and abuses occurred daily. Today, tension and violence have subsided and we are now in a particularly delicate phase—a sort of false calm that is both fragile and potentially explosive. Seleka’s two main groups will have to begin negotiations to establish an imminent power-sharing arrangement. There could be friction and clashes within this young coalition,” says MSF head of mission in CAR, Serge St-Louis.

As a medical organization, we are very concerned about the unmet needs among a population that was already very vulnerable prior to the Seleka offensive. There are thousands of displaced persons who now live in extremely precarious conditions, without medical care, shelter, food, or water. The health situation is critical in several regions. There are serious shortages of drugs and supplies and there are no health care personnel in the medical facilities. Based on our latest admission figures, the seasonal epidemic of malaria, which is endemic in the CAR, appears to have begun and will surge in the rainy season.

Photo: MSF is providing humanitarian assistance to Syrian refugees in Domeez camp through general health and mental health care and immunization. Iraq 2013 © Pierre-Yves Bernard/MSF Iraq: Syrian Refugees’ Health Deteriorates at Domeez Camp Overcrowding and poor living conditions in Iraq’s Domeez camp have led to a recent deterioration in the health of Syrian refugees. Stéphane Reynier, emergency coordinator for MSF, describes the current situation in the camp: The health system in Syria has collapsed, and the war has left a section of the population with no access to health care. For the past two years, because of the conflict, children have not received their routine vaccinations.

Photo: MSF is providing humanitarian assistance to Syrian refugees in Domeez camp through general health and mental health care and immunization. Iraq 2013 © Pierre-Yves Bernard/MSF

Iraq: Syrian Refugees’ Health Deteriorates at Domeez Camp

Overcrowding and poor living conditions in Iraq’s Domeez camp have led to a recent deterioration in the health of Syrian refugees. Stéphane Reynier, emergency coordinator for MSF, describes the current situation in the camp:

The health system in Syria has collapsed, and the war has left a section of the population with no access to health care. For the past two years, because of the conflict, children have not received their routine vaccinations.

Mothers as Primary Caregivers

We hope everyone had a wonderful Mothers Day this year! At MSF projects around the world, mothers are usually the primary caregivers, spending much of their time not only working and raising children, but looking after the health of their families. To all the mothers, you are an inspiration for our work

Photo: Salwah Mekrsh was shot by a sniper in Aleppo. In this photo, taken in April 2013, she is about to start a mental health consultation with MSF staff in Kilis. Turkey 2013 © Anna Surinyach “I feel better, but I can’t walk.” Eighteen-year-old Salwah Mekrsh is unable to walk. Her mother and her sister push Salwah’s wheelchair through the streets of Kilis, a Turkish city near the border with Syria, then enter a small courtyard and stop under the shade of a lemon tree. While Salwah waits for her mental health consultation with MSF to begin, they talk about how their lives have changed. “Before the war, we used to have everything,” says Salwah, “but since it started we have suffered too much.” Salwah was pushed into marriage shortly before the first wave of protests in Syria, in March 2011, when she was 15. Soon she became pregnant; her daughter was born just as the country’s strife was becoming an all-out civil war. After her husband tried to assault her, their marriage disintegrated, and he left, taking the baby. “He took my daughter and doesn’t let me see her,” says Salwah. “I have no way to contact them. I haven’t seen my daughter for a year.”

Photo: Salwah Mekrsh was shot by a sniper in Aleppo. In this photo, taken in April 2013, she is about to start a mental health consultation with MSF staff in Kilis. Turkey 2013 © Anna Surinyach

“I feel better, but I can’t walk.”

Eighteen-year-old Salwah Mekrsh is unable to walk. Her mother and her sister push Salwah’s wheelchair through the streets of Kilis, a Turkish city near the border with Syria, then enter a small courtyard and stop under the shade of a lemon tree. While Salwah waits for her mental health consultation with MSF to begin, they talk about how their lives have changed.

“Before the war, we used to have everything,” says Salwah, “but since it started we have suffered too much.”

Salwah was pushed into marriage shortly before the first wave of protests in Syria, in March 2011, when she was 15. Soon she became pregnant; her daughter was born just as the country’s strife was becoming an all-out civil war. After her husband tried to assault her, their marriage disintegrated, and he left, taking the baby. “He took my daughter and doesn’t let me see her,” says Salwah. “I have no way to contact them. I haven’t seen my daughter for a year.”

Photo: In the Madaoua and Bouza districts of Niger, there were an average of seven deaths for every 10,000 children every day last year. More than half of the deaths were due to malaria. © Juan-Carlos Tomasi A Vicious Cycle in Sahel Malaria and malnutrition are closely related. This is played out dramatically in Africa’s Sahel region during the “hunger gap” months. Food stocks run low and new crops are not ready for harvest, so malnutrition is at its peak; meanwhile, the rainy season, when mosquitoes breed, is in full swing. The diseases combine in a vicious circle: malnourished children with weak immune systems can’t fight diseases including malaria; children sick with malaria are more likely to become dangerously malnourished.

Photo: In the Madaoua and Bouza districts of Niger, there were an average of seven deaths for every 10,000 children every day last year. More than half of the deaths were due to malaria. © Juan-Carlos Tomasi

A Vicious Cycle in Sahel

Malaria and malnutrition are closely related. This is played out dramatically in Africa’s Sahel region during the “hunger gap” months. Food stocks run low and new crops are not ready for harvest, so malnutrition is at its peak; meanwhile, the rainy season, when mosquitoes breed, is in full swing. The diseases combine in a vicious circle: malnourished children with weak immune systems can’t fight diseases including malaria; children sick with malaria are more likely to become dangerously malnourished.

Photo: A little girl waits against the gates of the camp registration center in Domeez. Iraq 2013 © Pierre-Yves Bernard/MSF Providing Care in Syria and in Neighboring Countries: An Overview of MSF programs in and around Syria The conflict in Syria remains extremely intense. Frontlines continue to shift. The medical system is in shambles. An estimated 6.8 million people are in urgent need of humanitarian aid, but whole enclaves are cut off from assistance of any kind. Despite the very real challenges of operating in the country, MSF is now running four hospitals inside Syria and is increasing mobile clinic activities to the extent possible. Simultaneously, the organization is actively seeking to open new projects where it is safe to do so. And, it should be noted, MSF is using only private donations for its work in Syria in order to remain entirely independent of all political positioning around the crisis. MSF is also working in the neighboring countries of Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey, where some 1.4 million Syrians have fled in search of sanctuary. These countries have been overwhelmed by the influx of refugees and returnees, and the humanitarian response has thus far been unable to meet their needs.

Photo: A little girl waits against the gates of the camp registration center in Domeez. Iraq 2013 © Pierre-Yves Bernard/MSF

Providing Care in Syria and in Neighboring Countries: An Overview of MSF programs in and around Syria

The conflict in Syria remains extremely intense. Frontlines continue to shift. The medical system is in shambles. An estimated 6.8 million people are in urgent need of humanitarian aid, but whole enclaves are cut off from assistance of any kind.

Despite the very real challenges of operating in the country, MSF is now running four hospitals inside Syria and is increasing mobile clinic activities to the extent possible. Simultaneously, the organization is actively seeking to open new projects where it is safe to do so.

And, it should be noted, MSF is using only private donations for its work in Syria in order to remain entirely independent of all political positioning around the crisis.

MSF is also working in the neighboring countries of Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey, where some 1.4 million Syrians have fled in search of sanctuary. These countries have been overwhelmed by the influx of refugees and returnees, and the humanitarian response has thus far been unable to meet their needs.

Photo: The sign outside the health center in Pinga, where armed conflict has made provision of care difficult. DRC 2013 © MSF DRC: Thousands Flee Violence in Pinga, North Kivu Thousands of people have fled the town of Pinga in recent days amid a new wave of armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)’s North Kivu Province, making it very difficult to ensure that they receive essential medical care. “Civilians are routinely exposed to this violence—this is the eighth time Pinga has changed hands since 2012,” said Jan Peter Stellema, MSF’s operations manager in Goma. “A number of patients had to be transferred for emergency surgery to Goma, among them a 70-year-old woman shot in the arm.”

Photo: The sign outside the health center in Pinga, where armed conflict has made provision of care difficult. DRC 2013 © MSF

DRC: Thousands Flee Violence in Pinga, North Kivu

Thousands of people have fled the town of Pinga in recent days amid a new wave of armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)’s North Kivu Province, making it very difficult to ensure that they receive essential medical care. “Civilians are routinely exposed to this violence—this is the eighth time Pinga has changed hands since 2012,” said Jan Peter Stellema, MSF’s operations manager in Goma. “A number of patients had to be transferred for emergency surgery to Goma, among them a 70-year-old woman shot in the arm.”

Photo: Many migrants pass through Haradh town on their way to Saudi Arabia, whose border is just a few kilometers away. Yemen 2013 © Anna Surinyach Yemen: Migrants Abused, Tortured by Smugglers Authorities in Yemen have freed more than one thousand migrants from Somalia and Ethiopia, many suffering from torture and sexual abuse while forcibly held by human smugglers. “Many of the migrants are physically and mentally exhausted and are suffering from severe mental trauma due to the horrific conditions and treatment they experienced during their detention,” said Angels Mairal, an MSF psychologist in Haradh.

Photo: Many migrants pass through Haradh town on their way to Saudi Arabia, whose border is just a few kilometers away. Yemen 2013 © Anna Surinyach

Yemen: Migrants Abused, Tortured by Smugglers

Authorities in Yemen have freed more than one thousand migrants from Somalia and Ethiopia, many suffering from torture and sexual abuse while forcibly held by human smugglers.

“Many of the migrants are physically and mentally exhausted and are suffering from severe mental trauma due to the horrific conditions and treatment they experienced during their detention,” said Angels Mairal, an MSF psychologist in Haradh.

Photo: A child is tested for malaria in Orientale Province. DRC 2012 © Aurelie Lachant/MSF DRC: Urgent Action Needed to Prevent Malaria Deaths in Orientale Province An upsurge in malaria is likely to have serious consequences for people in Orientale Province in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) unless immediate action is taken. “Too many health centers lack the supplies necessary for coping with a new outbreak, and this is completely unacceptable,” said Dr. Narcisse Wega, MSF emergency coordinator.

Photo: A child is tested for malaria in Orientale Province. DRC 2012 © Aurelie Lachant/MSF

DRC: Urgent Action Needed to Prevent Malaria Deaths in Orientale Province

An upsurge in malaria is likely to have serious consequences for people in Orientale Province in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) unless immediate action is taken. “Too many health centers lack the supplies necessary for coping with a new outbreak, and this is completely unacceptable,” said Dr. Narcisse Wega, MSF emergency coordinator.

Photo: A street view in Basra. Iraq 2009 © Khalil Sayyad Healing Iraq: The Challenges of Providing Mental Health Care

Photo: A street view in Basra. Iraq 2009 © Khalil Sayyad

Healing Iraq: The Challenges of Providing Mental Health Care

Photo: Basra, where MSF established an international team in 2008. Iraq 2009 © Khalil Sayyad Increased Mental Health Care Needed in Iraq “Many Iraqis have been pushed to their absolute limit,” said Helen O’Neill, MSF’s head of mission in Iraq. “Mentally exhausted by their experiences, many people struggle to understand what is happening to them. The feelings of isolation and hopelessness are compounded by the taboo associated with mental health issues and the lack of mental health care services that people can turn to for help,” she said. Since 2009, MSF and the IMoH have introduced psychological counseling services in two hospitals in Baghdad and one in Fallujah. The programs focus on non-pharmaceutical approaches to address anxiety and depressive disorders commonly experienced by people exposed to violence and uncertainty. There are plans to replicate this counseling model across the country, with the IMoH starting programs in Kut, Karbala, and Sulaymaniyah hospitals.

Photo: Basra, where MSF established an international team in 2008. Iraq 2009 © Khalil Sayyad

Increased Mental Health Care Needed in Iraq

“Many Iraqis have been pushed to their absolute limit,” said Helen O’Neill, MSF’s head of mission in Iraq. “Mentally exhausted by their experiences, many people struggle to understand what is happening to them. The feelings of isolation and hopelessness are compounded by the taboo associated with mental health issues and the lack of mental health care services that people can turn to for help,” she said.

Since 2009, MSF and the IMoH have introduced psychological counseling services in two hospitals in Baghdad and one in Fallujah. The programs focus on non-pharmaceutical approaches to address anxiety and depressive disorders commonly experienced by people exposed to violence and uncertainty. There are plans to replicate this counseling model across the country, with the IMoH starting programs in Kut, Karbala, and Sulaymaniyah hospitals.