Tirej wisdom, one more time. His starfish storie I want to share with you. He told it to me two weeks ago. I was sad. Sad because my job is to release pain, and suffering. But so many time in Samos I was confronted to things I cannot change. It’s frustrating, and so hard. Too many sad stories to my ears. Too many sad stories.
What to say to your patient with a rhumatologic degenrative disease (ankylosing spondylitis) that we don’t have the treatement he is suppose to have and he will just wait in the terrible condition of the camp that his asylum request will be accepted – or maybe rejected – to go out of there and take care of his health properly? What to say to the young woman with total incontinence after being rape a couple of monthes ago, that was already saw a midwife from MSF but who was already told that we don’t have anything here to help her with urogynecology rehabilitation? What to say to the old man who would need surgery for his legs but will not have as well and struggle to walk? this old man, every time he comes to the physio told you again the story of his son dead by a wall that felt on them in his country in war. What to say to the man with two arthrodese wrist or worse, the one with amputated forearm after 14 unsuccesfull surgeries that cannot wash their clothes by hands, that I will not make a referal for laundry for them, because right now laundry tickets are just for scabies cases? What to say to patients that are so tired to be stucked there since monthes or years, exhausted, and tell you they would prefere to die than to live in those conditions? Patient with psychiatric difficulties, borderline personnality disorders, psychotics symptoms, voice talking to them, anxiety crisis waking them up in the night, that we don’t have psychologist for them to talk to? Telling you why am I so afraid? Everyone would be so afraid in those conditions, my dear. It’s so hard sometime to find the good words. No pill for hope, as used to write my friend Henry.
No pill for hope. But still, sometime, for patients, juste having someone listening to them make a huge difference. Someone who is there for them, treat them as humans – so many describe being treated like animals by the greek autorities – try to help a little bit, it’s so important. Health care professionals who take time to explain them and understand better their pathologies, what to do with the pain for now, in that transition time where the conditions are bad. Really bad. Encouraging them to keep hope it’s just a transition, just a time. No one will stay on Samos for ever. Even if the time doesn’t seem to pass sometime. No one is there forever. And if you are here, it does mean you already went through countries, throug a see on tiny a little boat. If you are here, you are stronger than you think you are. So just keep hope a little bit more. And pray . Those were my daily words, in physiotherapy. Fighting for hope.
Anyway, my fist idea was to talk to you about the storie of starfish:
"One day, somehwere, somehow, on a nice beach, after the tide went down, thousands and thousands of starfish were stucked on the sand, and drying in the sun. Thousands or maybe millions, I don't remember well. I was sad, I could only listen halfway through my tears. And a little girl was here, taking a starfish, and bringin it back to the sea, bringing it back to water, to life. An old man was walking around, and saw her. He aske her what's the point to save a starfish at a time, when still hundreds (thousands? million?) will die anyway. A couple of starfish will not make a difference. And she answered, that for each tiny little starfish she save, for that starfish, and then this starfish, it does make a huge difference. "
It does. Of course volunteering a couple of monthes on such a huge world crisis make you feel like it doesn’t make a difference. For world. Maybe even for all those 7600 refugee on Samos. But for every patient I saw, it does make a difference.
Thank you Tirej to remind me that.
And I do hope that hope and kindness have the ability to spread. On Christmas, an african woman told me she was so happy we were open on that day Because in africa, many hospital close. And her little daughtes died one year ago, on a Christmas day, because of that. She told me that seeing that we still work on Christmas and New Year made her want to help more people. When new women arrive in the camp, she did use to give them a blanket and shelter for the night. She did use to share her food. And slowly and slowly people does, as well. When she will be out of that hell, she want to work in an orphanage, maybe open one, one day. Kindness bring kindness, some times. I hope. Inchallah.
I get blessed those last monthes by God from arabic, farsi and african patients. I do hope god is god, there is one for everyone, and that slowly and slowly people will remember it and help each other, instead of fighting each other.
That was the starfish storie.
A little one
Notes de voyage 