Assalamualaikum.

The third part of my ‘Extreme Medicine’ series. Feels like such a long time has passed since my last entry on this, I hardly knew where to begin! Well, most of this entry is based on what I remembered - and understood - of Dr Heng Aik Cheng’s speech. Really, what an impressive man.

He was already an accomplished orthopaedist. Dealt with various cases. Complicated cases. Then he felt that he wanted to do something different, something more challenging. Something that - erm, well, that could change the world or something like that. So off he went to do ‘extreme medicine’. Medical relief somewhere.

Reality crushed him. He learned the meaning of humility. There lies a man with grave injuries, injuries a doctor like Dr Heng could’ve treated without much fuss, but for one simple fact - there’s no equipment for him to do anything that he could’ve done.

Reduced to a humble man helpless without technology and a multitude of drugs supply at hand, one learns that in essence, man is helpless. Despite all the luxury that is surrounding him, cradling him in the false reality that imprisons him in the so-called comfort zone, the real life makes a mite out of any giant. There is no such thing as ‘larger than life’. Life itself is too large to comprehend, in all its devastating complexity.

So what significance does this have to humanity, to mankind, or to view things in a smaller scale, to form a better human being? Man, when proud, under delusion that he’s in control, have little drive to change things. Why should he when nothing is actually wrong? Worse, man will feel less attached to the Power above all powers, that of Almighty God. As a person with a faith to God, I am of a strong belief that a man’s spiritual integrity depends strongly on his connection with God.

In short, humility learnt - or rather, achieved - through the ‘extreme medicine’ work allows man to realize that man is indeed small. How big you think you are, in the face of the great disasters on earth, you are just a small helpless being. More helpless than you are, are the victims of the disasters around you, waiting for hands to lift them up from misery. What differentiates you from them is that little skills that you happen to have, and some old equipments that you know how to operate, on which little things they clung to with utmost hope and expectation.

In men of worth, this hopefully would lead to a strong drive to fix things up - to make things better for everyone, but with a realization that is both spiritual and practical - that man is actually helpless, that the the world’s children is suffering massive devastation that currently is beyond anything technology can do to alleviate, that whatever man can do to help, he is never ‘the strong hero with power to solve all’, rather, he’s just a helpless servant of God out doing his bit to help others, always dependent on His will and protection.

Hm, as most ‘noble’ things are, ‘extreme medicine’ work is often dressed up and sugared up. Romanticized as a heroic deed done by selfless warriors willing to sacrifice all and sundry for the sake of love and humanity. While the naive young people like us look with starry-eyed stares and wish to be included among the heroes. Horrible things like poverty, disease, death, wars, and - um, extreme medicine - tend to be glorified and softened as romantic adventures, which they are almost usually anything but.
“When you go there, you think you are this kind person, this noble hero, who goes there to fix things up for the poor victims. The people are going to love you, to look up to you as their hero. No, it’s far from that.” -roughly quoting Dr Heng-

I’ve elaborated on the hard truth of extreme medicine situations.

http://kakiblog.com/2007/04/30/extreme-medicine-i/

http://kakiblog.com/2007/05/11/extreme-medicine-ii-the-six-rs/

The practicalities that need to be taken care of in a huge scale, considering hundreds and thousands of victims. The tough reality of blood, dirt, raw wounds, recycled bandages and operations without anaesthetics (imagine a patient having his throat sliced open to get rid of a faulty thyroid, his only ‘anaesthetic’ is a roll of cloth in his mouth that he bit hard on). The complicated political environment that needs to be dealt with - governments used to refuse entry to relief teams, sometimes letting them in a later stage (when the problem has festered), with strict regulations.

And there’s the question of security, which Dr. Heng used to emphasize on. The ‘victims’ are less likely to look at the relief workers as God-send angels to provide ‘unconditional help, treatment and love’, than they tend to see them as potential source of another kind of ‘relief’. Personal properties are often at stake. Relief workers are often warned against showing - or showing off - anything that can possibly indicate material wealth. Not even giving money freely to the poors.

The poor things might just assume that the person is wealthy and pick his pocket, or worse -which is more likely, actually- assume that the relief team is loaded with money and valuables, and go ransack his mission tent. Why wouldn’t they? Their properties were gone with the wind, so to speak. They struggle simply to get something to escape starvation. And these relief workers come with nice clothes, offer food and medication, and have cars. Wow! Security is a GREAT concern to relief workers, there must always be someone on the watch all the time.

Speaking of cars, according to Dr Heng, the major cause of death for relief workers is - guess what - car accidents. Hazardous road conditions, as often is the situation in such places, combined with poorly-maintained vehicles, lead to the grave consequences.

Another thought-provoking statement from Dr Heng was, roughly stated,

“Do you think you are doing them a favour? Do you think you are being very good, very nice, doing a ’sacrifice’ when you forfeit your comfort and safety to work in extreme conditions? No, you are not. The help they get is not an advantage. It is their right.”

Just as orphans have a right to be helped, these victims have inalienable rights to receive aid. So, people who go and do relief work are simply fulfilling their obligation - MANKIND’s obligation - to help. Don’t flatter yourself that you are being beacons of light, the hand of hope, the noble life-saver, whatever. You are just being human when you are doing that. You are doing what a human being have to do anyway, giving someone else their rights that should be given by mankind.

If you don’t do it when you have the capacity, when you don’t have other more important priorities, then you’re shirking an obligation. Which makes you.. uh, I’d better not use any defining adjectives.

This kind of obligation surpasses the barriers of race, status, or creed. Even if you are a Muslim or not, even if the one in need of help is Muslim or not, the responsibility to give - especially upon request - when you have something that can be given, is there. A story from Dr Ang Swee Chai, a Christian doctor of Singaporean birth currently residing in the UK, once working in the terror-stricken lands of Beirut and Jerusalem (she chronicled her priceless experience in a book, From Beirut to Jerusalem), particularly illustrated this.

She told of how when she worked in Palestine in the 1980s, some Israeli soldiers came in wounded, begging medical aid, asking her for a doctor. Being of small stature and childish-looking, perhaps she was mistaken for a Filipino nurse instead of a trained and fully-capable doctor, which she actually was. Outraged at the atrocities committed by the Israelis, Dr Ang told them that there’s no doctor available and drove them off.

When another Palestinian doctor - presumably Muslim - found out what she did, the doctor was not very happy about it. She was told that medical aid should be extended to everybody, regardless of the crimes that they had done. Our duty is to help, to use what God has given us to help those in need. To judge and punish others for their crimes is not ours to do.

An adage says, compassion is blind.
Upholding love, protecting life, treating sores and healing souls. For humanity, in Allah’s name.

meow~