{"id":11118,"date":"2011-09-13T16:15:52","date_gmt":"2011-09-13T15:15:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/?p=11118"},"modified":"2011-09-13T16:15:52","modified_gmt":"2011-09-13T15:15:52","slug":"stephen-ginn-living-in-emergency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2011\/09\/13\/stephen-ginn-living-in-emergency\/","title":{"rendered":"Stephen Ginn: Living in emergency"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.bmj.com\/columns\/icons\/stephen_ginn2.jpg\" alt=\"Stephen Ginn\" width=\"90\" height=\"110\" align=\"left\" \/>The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rsm.ac.uk\/globalhealth\/films.html\">RSM\u2019s Global health and human rights film club<\/a> launched on 8 September 2011 with a screening of director Mark Hopkins\u2019 <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.livinginemergency.com\/\">Living in Emergency<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Filmed in the war zones of Liberia and Congo it follows four volunteer doctors providing emergency care under the aegis of\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.doctorswithoutborders.org\/\">M\u00e9decins Sans Fronti\u00e8res (MSF)<\/a>. The film\u2019s urgent title is borne out by its content. The doctors work in chaotic overcrowded clinics, there is limited diagnostic equipment, and often they have sole responsibility for the lives of all the patients they treat.\u00a0<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>The stress of this situation runs through every frame and every line of dialogue. \u201cThe demand is pretty much infinite,\u201d says Dr Christopher Brasher. \u201cIt\u2019s just a matter of choosing what you can do.\u201d The film shows that the inadequacy of what MSF\u2019s doctors can offer is in direct contrast to the enormity of the task with which they are faced.<\/p>\n<p>Brasher, a veteran of several conflicts, wants out but wonders where he should now call home. American surgeon Tom Krueger works in Monrovia\u2019s only emergency hospital and is on his first assignment, having grown disillusioned with the contribution he could make at home. He appears to cope the best, but struggles to live with his inevitable mistakes.<\/p>\n<p>Davinder Gill, 26 years old and working in remote bush, is overwhelmed and exhausted by his responsibilities. His irascibility makes him the most compelling character, his frustrations leaving him unguarded in front of the camera. Perhaps inevitably Chiara Lepora, the head of the Liberia mission, compares him to <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Heart_of_Darkness\">Conrad\u2019s Kurtz<\/a>, driven mad by the insanity that surrounds him. Like the majority of MSF doctors who never make it beyond one 9 month mission, Gill is unlikely to volunteer for a second time.<\/p>\n<p>When conflicts end, healthcare needs remain and the film sensitively shows how difficult it is to leave. Also here are the gore, personal conflicts, and difficult compromises that day to day MSF work entails. This is no recruitment film for MSF, but a forceful character study of people close to their emotional limit.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a shame that it couldn\u2019t have gone a bit deeper, as its subjects\u2019 back stories remain untouched.\u00a0A more serious omission is the total lack of any local viewpoint on MSF interventions or volunteers.\u00a0Without this, their suffering becomes a mere backdrop for the disillusionment of Western idealists.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Stephen Ginn<\/strong> is the <em>BMJ<\/em> editorial registrar.<\/p>\n<p>He writes a personal blog at: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.frontierpsychiatrist.co.uk\/\">http:\/\/www.frontierpsychiatrist.co.uk<\/a> Follow him on Twitter at: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/psychiatrist\">http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/psychiatrist<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The RSM\u2019s Global health and human rights film club launched on 8 September 2011 with a screening of director Mark Hopkins\u2019 Living in Emergency. Filmed in the war zones of [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2011\/09\/13\/stephen-ginn-living-in-emergency\/\">More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2550,2549,14761],"class_list":["post-11118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-congo","tag-liberia","tag-msf"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Stephen Ginn: Living in emergency - The BMJ<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2011\/09\/13\/stephen-ginn-living-in-emergency\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Stephen Ginn: Living in emergency - The BMJ\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The RSM\u2019s Global health and human rights film club launched on 8 September 2011 with a screening of director Mark Hopkins\u2019 Living in Emergency. Filmed in the war zones of [...]More...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2011\/09\/13\/stephen-ginn-living-in-emergency\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The BMJ\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bmjdotcom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-09-13T15:15:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.bmj.com\/columns\/icons\/stephen_ginn2.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"BMJ\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@bmj_latest\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@bmj_latest\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"BMJ\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2011\\\/09\\\/13\\\/stephen-ginn-living-in-emergency\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2011\\\/09\\\/13\\\/stephen-ginn-living-in-emergency\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"BMJ\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ba3da426ed20e8f1d933ca367d8216fe\"},\"headline\":\"Stephen Ginn: Living in emergency\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-09-13T15:15:52+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2011\\\/09\\\/13\\\/stephen-ginn-living-in-emergency\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":427,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2011\\\/09\\\/13\\\/stephen-ginn-living-in-emergency\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.bmj.com\\\/columns\\\/icons\\\/stephen_ginn2.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Congo\",\"Liberia\",\"MSF\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2011\\\/09\\\/13\\\/stephen-ginn-living-in-emergency\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2011\\\/09\\\/13\\\/stephen-ginn-living-in-emergency\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2011\\\/09\\\/13\\\/stephen-ginn-living-in-emergency\\\/\",\"name\":\"Stephen Ginn: Living in emergency - The BMJ\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2011\\\/09\\\/13\\\/stephen-ginn-living-in-emergency\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2011\\\/09\\\/13\\\/stephen-ginn-living-in-emergency\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.bmj.com\\\/columns\\\/icons\\\/stephen_ginn2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-09-13T15:15:52+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2011\\\/09\\\/13\\\/stephen-ginn-living-in-emergency\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2011\\\/09\\\/13\\\/stephen-ginn-living-in-emergency\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2011\\\/09\\\/13\\\/stephen-ginn-living-in-emergency\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.bmj.com\\\/columns\\\/icons\\\/stephen_ginn2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.bmj.com\\\/columns\\\/icons\\\/stephen_ginn2.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2011\\\/09\\\/13\\\/stephen-ginn-living-in-emergency\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Stephen Ginn: Living in emergency\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/\",\"name\":\"The BMJ\",\"description\":\"Helping doctors make better decisions.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"The BMJ\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/files\\\/2018\\\/05\\\/The-BMJ-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/files\\\/2018\\\/05\\\/The-BMJ-logo.jpg\",\"width\":852,\"height\":568,\"caption\":\"The BMJ\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/bmjdotcom\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/bmj_latest\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ba3da426ed20e8f1d933ca367d8216fe\",\"name\":\"BMJ\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b4d8f39281bcae118348a1c027347b8e53b82d42520e774a8b50dd9a6ac6c01d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b4d8f39281bcae118348a1c027347b8e53b82d42520e774a8b50dd9a6ac6c01d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b4d8f39281bcae118348a1c027347b8e53b82d42520e774a8b50dd9a6ac6c01d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"BMJ\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/author\\\/admin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Stephen Ginn: Living in emergency - The BMJ","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2011\/09\/13\/stephen-ginn-living-in-emergency\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Stephen Ginn: Living in emergency - The BMJ","og_description":"The RSM\u2019s Global health and human rights film club launched on 8 September 2011 with a screening of director Mark Hopkins\u2019 Living in Emergency. Filmed in the war zones of [...]More...","og_url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2011\/09\/13\/stephen-ginn-living-in-emergency\/","og_site_name":"The BMJ","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bmjdotcom\/","article_published_time":"2011-09-13T15:15:52+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.bmj.com\/columns\/icons\/stephen_ginn2.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"BMJ","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@bmj_latest","twitter_site":"@bmj_latest","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"BMJ","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2011\/09\/13\/stephen-ginn-living-in-emergency\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2011\/09\/13\/stephen-ginn-living-in-emergency\/"},"author":{"name":"BMJ","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#\/schema\/person\/ba3da426ed20e8f1d933ca367d8216fe"},"headline":"Stephen Ginn: Living in emergency","datePublished":"2011-09-13T15:15:52+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2011\/09\/13\/stephen-ginn-living-in-emergency\/"},"wordCount":427,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2011\/09\/13\/stephen-ginn-living-in-emergency\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.bmj.com\/columns\/icons\/stephen_ginn2.jpg","keywords":["Congo","Liberia","MSF"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2011\/09\/13\/stephen-ginn-living-in-emergency\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2011\/09\/13\/stephen-ginn-living-in-emergency\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2011\/09\/13\/stephen-ginn-living-in-emergency\/","name":"Stephen Ginn: Living in emergency - The BMJ","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2011\/09\/13\/stephen-ginn-living-in-emergency\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2011\/09\/13\/stephen-ginn-living-in-emergency\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.bmj.com\/columns\/icons\/stephen_ginn2.jpg","datePublished":"2011-09-13T15:15:52+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2011\/09\/13\/stephen-ginn-living-in-emergency\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2011\/09\/13\/stephen-ginn-living-in-emergency\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2011\/09\/13\/stephen-ginn-living-in-emergency\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.bmj.com\/columns\/icons\/stephen_ginn2.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.bmj.com\/columns\/icons\/stephen_ginn2.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2011\/09\/13\/stephen-ginn-living-in-emergency\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Stephen Ginn: Living in emergency"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/","name":"The BMJ","description":"Helping doctors make better decisions.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#organization","name":"The BMJ","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2018\/05\/The-BMJ-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2018\/05\/The-BMJ-logo.jpg","width":852,"height":568,"caption":"The BMJ"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bmjdotcom\/","https:\/\/x.com\/bmj_latest"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#\/schema\/person\/ba3da426ed20e8f1d933ca367d8216fe","name":"BMJ","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b4d8f39281bcae118348a1c027347b8e53b82d42520e774a8b50dd9a6ac6c01d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b4d8f39281bcae118348a1c027347b8e53b82d42520e774a8b50dd9a6ac6c01d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b4d8f39281bcae118348a1c027347b8e53b82d42520e774a8b50dd9a6ac6c01d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"BMJ"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/"],"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11118","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11118"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11118\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11118"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}