A small patio in the hospital’s center, where patients sat on benches beneath a wooden pagoda, provided the most tranquility. After surgery and other lengthy procedures, a small, colorful obstacle course nearby assisted in recovering mobility.
We first met Four-year-old Alexandro and his mother, Youseline Philisma.
When an armed group started igniting Alexandro’s camp where they were living, she was only one month old. He was saved from the flames, still alive but severely burned.
Youseline had taken him to Tabarre’s burn unit, the only one left in the nation, since then.
It’s “a whole new world” when I enter the hospital. My little one is understood by everyone. Everyone “gives us a lot of love,” she said.
The rest of Alexandro’s life will depend on his care in the burn unit. Among the medical professionals who treat him is surgeon Donald Jacques Severe.
Severe has the option to resign. His wife and children already made the trip to the US four years ago. Their home had been overrun by armed fighters. Severe is granted a visa to reside in Canada. He has not left, though, so far.
His co-operation, Xavier Kernizan, attempted to explain the responsibilities he and Severe share.
Someone will struggle if we’re not here, Kernizan said.
We are about to burnout, in my opinion. We can even get into depression at times. However, there is also the satisfying feeling of helping to make someone’s day better, of giving them a little hope in their most difficult times.
However, it’s impossible to predict the viability of Tabarre Hospital if the security situation continues to deteriorate.
My documentary team and I left the hospital gates for the first time in a week on April 11. One of the few places in Port-au-Prince that is still under government control was Petion-Ville, which we were heading for.
A World Food Programme helicopter brings passengers to the Karibe Hotel, where we crossed a football field. Right now, it’s the only way to get out of the capital.
As we flew into the air above the bubble of violence below, the Haitian capital began to shrink as the rotors began to rot, and we clambered into the helicopter. I recall being relieved.
Source: Aljazeera
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