Emergency provides cares for civilians wounded in war

“No matter who triggers a war, the end result will be a catastrophe for civilians who bear… “No matter who triggers a war, the end result will be a catastrophe for civilians who bear no responsibility for it,” said Dr. Gino Strada, Pitt alumnus and chief surgeon for an international medical aid organization called Emergency.

In a lecture presented by Pitt’s Graduate School of Public Health on Wednesday evening, Strada described Emergency and the impact the organization has had throughout the world.

Emergency started in 1995 to “provide high-standard and free medical and surgical assistance to victims of war.” The Milan, Italy based group first set up shop in Kurdish northern Iraq in March of that year. The organization outfitted local hospitals with free medical supplies and training to deal with the frequent injuries involving landmines and unexploded bombs.

Since then, Emergency has established itself in five other countries, including Cambodia and Afghanistan. It’s built rehabilitation centers and plastic surgery clinics to treat face and limb deformation. The 2,000 staff members, mostly nationals trained by Emergency workers, have treated nearly one million injured people since the organization started, Strada said.

The organization spent about $16 million last year on various projects, Strada said. Funding comes mostly through private donations, but the organization does get money from institutions such as the European Union.

Strada urged those in attendance to look beyond the numbers and see the human suffering caused by war.

“The first and most important thing of all is that these people we come across have faces, names, families and stories,” he said. “They are not merely collateral damage.”

Strada vehemently spoke against war, saying, “It’s unbelievable that we still use barbarian methods” to solve international disputes. He also called for a ban on war, “because we can’t solve the problem of mass graves with more mass graves.”

Prior to Strada’s lecture, there was a screening of “Desert Rainbow,” a half-hour documentary chronicling Emergency’s work in Iraq. Juxtaposed against images of burn victims and double amputees, were scenes of smiling children and sweeping landscapes.

Landmines are one of the biggest dangers in countries like Iraq, according to the video. Even though their use is banned by international law, landmines account for 20 percent of all civilian casualties.

Against the grim backdrop of amputee wards, “Desert Rainbow” showed graduates of Emergency’s training programs. Emergency provides these courses in sewing, shoe-making and other trades free of charge. The idea is to ease victims back into everyday life.

Emergency’s message is simple, Strada said, and it boils down to a basic respect for human life.

“With respect and dignity, you can implement a basic human right,” he said. “That is the right to stay alive.”