• by Kathryn Barry (new york)
• Wednesday, January 06, 2010
• Inter Press Service

The documentary 'Living in Emergency' is as graphic as it is gripping, following doctors working in humanitarian crises as they face death, disease and despair in Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The French-based crew led by Mark Hopkins filmed from July to September 2005, chronicling the lives of volunteer doctors Davinder Gill, Chris Brasher, Tom Krueger, and Chiara Lepora, all working for the group Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF).

'At times, there was no water, no electricity, and no food. Kind of apocalyptic,' Dr. Arnaud Jeannin, who worked in Liberia, says in the film.

'The situation is supersized in terms of severity,' explains Tennessee-based surgeon and father of two Tom Krueger in the film. '[As a doctor] you don't want to make the wrong decision and be an executioner.'

Gill, often full of angst, anger, and frustration, recalls hearing about deaths that occurred while he was sleeping or having lunch.

He says somberly, 'I wonder if another doctor in the same setting could get more work done than me, if they could help more people.' Liberia is his first MSF mission.

MSF treats 10 million people a year, mainly in war zones and epidemics. They are present in 69 countries and maintain a staff of 25,000 on the ground, of whom 10 percent are international. Two MSF workers were killed last year in Pakistan and Somalia.

Still, Lepora, who treated victims of Liberia's civil war at MSF's Mamba Point Hospital in the capital, Monrovia, says, 'Not intervening is a criminal mistake.'

'Liberia is a big car crash,' but one you can't look away from, reflects Lepora, who headed MSF's mission in the country.

The film doesn't shy away from exploring the often cynical, conflicted and guilty feelings of the doctors, who know they are only there temporarily.

In the DRC, more than four million people have been killed since 1997, according to the film, which focused on an MSF hospital in the country's northeast.

'I have a passport out,' says anesthesiologist Chris Brasher, who is filmed in DRC but also worked in Liberia. He will go back to Paris and have access to health care, a police force, food and shelter, leaving behind people he wishes could have the same security.

'You can't deny the differences,' he says. 'Talking about it takes the tension away.'

Asked by IPS if his reason for joining MSF ('running away from my problems') gave him perspective or was just a temporary distraction, Brasher said wryly, 'No, they're still there. I just need psychoanalytical help now.'

Realistic about his work, Brasher believes that things will go back to the way they were: instability and insecurity for civilians.

With limited resources, MSF must pull out of regions after the fighting passes, leaving residents full of terror and without free health care. Animosity rose against the doctors on their departure, as civilians felt abandoned and in danger.

According to the latest U.N. Security Council report on Liberia, the security situation is now 'stable, although still fragile' with communal and mob violence escalating over land disputes.

Rape, armed robbery, and human rights violations are rampant. Eight leaders from the warring factions, including former President Charles Taylor, who is currently on trial for war crimes in The Hague, are among those recommended for prosecution, the report states.

Ninety-eight individuals have been identified as perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity by the country's Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

At a screening and discussion on Dec. 14 at New York University's Skirball Center, former war correspondent and Vanity Fair contributor Sebastian Junger recounted life on the frontlines.

'If MSF wasn't there, it'd be exponentially more terrifying.' he said. 'I'm sitting here thinking, I wish I was 24 and a doctor.'

Returning to parts of Liberia that have been rebuilding following the end of the war in 2003, Brasher notes that people are out and about doing normal things, looking happy and not living in fear. 'Everything seems like a small miracle,' he says.

Ending on a bittersweet note, Tom Krueger comes to terms with his experiences, noting that in healing other people he was also healing himself.

At the panel discussion on the film, he said that working for MSF made him acutely conscious of the darkest side of human nature. 'I learned things that humans can do to each other,' he said, bowing his head to gather words.

Elizabeth Kiem, a communications consultant for UNICEF, acknowledged that the film recognises the interest in western doctors who have committed themselves to aiding war-torn regions.

'But as someone who works for UNICEF, I would've liked to see more context,' she told IPS, 'how organisations like MSF are viewed on the local level.'

'Living In Emergency' is one of 15 films in the running for an Oscar nomination.

© Inter Press Service (2010) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

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