March 7, 2018 - An Evening with Refugees and MEDU's Mobile Medical Clinic
One of MEDU's main operations is their Mobile Medical Clinic/Camper. The link explains what they do in detail, but basically they have a motor home that is set up as a medical clinic that they take to refugee camps and other places where many refugees live or stay and offer free medical services to them. They go out three nights per week (Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday) from 7pm to 10pm.
They have several doctors, nurses, and others who volunteer to do this. They also have at least two cultural mediators/translators each time. I went with them last night to a large camp near the Tiburtina Train Station (one of the main train stations in Rome). There were two doctors, one nurse, one administrator, two cultural mediators, three other volunteers, and me (The two cultural mediators and one of the volunteers were men. The rest were women.). Several of the staff have been doing this for many years. Others just started a month or two ago. I was very impressed with all of them, and I was particularly impressed with the cultural mediators. One of them is originally from Eritrea and the other is from the Ivory Coast. They have amazing stories of their own. They each speak several languages (Italian, English, French, Arabic, and several African languages), and it is completely obvious that they are crucial to this work.
We parked the RV as close as we could to the camp, but this was still a couple hundred yards from the camp. Several people immediately came and expressed a desire to meet with the doctors. The volunteers collected information about each person (basic demographics, where they were from, how long they had been traveling, what services they had accessed, where they were sleeping, what symptoms/concerns they had, etc.) on a form. The volunteers also informed the people of resources available in Rome. They also set up a table and chairs under an awning and offered some cake to the people who were waiting. They also provided clothing to those who needed it.
I really wanted to take some photos, but I also did not want to disrespect people's privacy and dignity. The refugees are also quite fearful (and rightly so) of being identified for deportation. I took a few when I could discretely do so. This also means that I had to take them quickly, so most did not turn out. Here is a picture of the RV.
We also walked into the camp. As you can imagine it was quite heart-breaking. It is a large tent city in the parking lot of an abandoned warehouse/factory, where more than 100 people live. Many stay for just a few days on their way to somewhere else. Most of the people we spoke with were hoping to head somewhere else (France, Germany, Great Britain, Northern Italy, etc.) as soon as they had the money. There was one large tent (the big white tents with plastic windows you see at large weddings and other outdoor events) where a food bank of some sort was giving out food. It was completely packed inside as people got food (It seemed like at least 100 people to me. I only saw one woman among the crowd, though I'm sure there were others.). I obviously could not take a picture in the tent, but I tried to take a picture of the tent city, when no one was looking . Unfortunately, because I took it so quickly it is very blurry. Imagine tons of really wet tents (It has been raining every day since arrived.) on either side of a large parking lot. There is no running water and no bathrooms. Apparently they have electricity, at least for the large food tent.
I spent part of the time outside the RV and about an hour and a half inside, observing. The doctors and cultural mediators were fantastic! They took significant time with each person, not only about their medical conditions, but also to find out about them personally. There refugees came with a lot of skin problems (fungus, itching, pain), coughs, and headaches. The doctors typically gave each person a medication or cream. At times they referred them to some other medical service. They met with 19 people last night. They said sometimes they see up to 30 in an evening. They go to a different place each night. It was an amazing experience! I hope to be able to go again.
They have several doctors, nurses, and others who volunteer to do this. They also have at least two cultural mediators/translators each time. I went with them last night to a large camp near the Tiburtina Train Station (one of the main train stations in Rome). There were two doctors, one nurse, one administrator, two cultural mediators, three other volunteers, and me (The two cultural mediators and one of the volunteers were men. The rest were women.). Several of the staff have been doing this for many years. Others just started a month or two ago. I was very impressed with all of them, and I was particularly impressed with the cultural mediators. One of them is originally from Eritrea and the other is from the Ivory Coast. They have amazing stories of their own. They each speak several languages (Italian, English, French, Arabic, and several African languages), and it is completely obvious that they are crucial to this work.
We parked the RV as close as we could to the camp, but this was still a couple hundred yards from the camp. Several people immediately came and expressed a desire to meet with the doctors. The volunteers collected information about each person (basic demographics, where they were from, how long they had been traveling, what services they had accessed, where they were sleeping, what symptoms/concerns they had, etc.) on a form. The volunteers also informed the people of resources available in Rome. They also set up a table and chairs under an awning and offered some cake to the people who were waiting. They also provided clothing to those who needed it.
I really wanted to take some photos, but I also did not want to disrespect people's privacy and dignity. The refugees are also quite fearful (and rightly so) of being identified for deportation. I took a few when I could discretely do so. This also means that I had to take them quickly, so most did not turn out. Here is a picture of the RV.
We also walked into the camp. As you can imagine it was quite heart-breaking. It is a large tent city in the parking lot of an abandoned warehouse/factory, where more than 100 people live. Many stay for just a few days on their way to somewhere else. Most of the people we spoke with were hoping to head somewhere else (France, Germany, Great Britain, Northern Italy, etc.) as soon as they had the money. There was one large tent (the big white tents with plastic windows you see at large weddings and other outdoor events) where a food bank of some sort was giving out food. It was completely packed inside as people got food (It seemed like at least 100 people to me. I only saw one woman among the crowd, though I'm sure there were others.). I obviously could not take a picture in the tent, but I tried to take a picture of the tent city, when no one was looking . Unfortunately, because I took it so quickly it is very blurry. Imagine tons of really wet tents (It has been raining every day since arrived.) on either side of a large parking lot. There is no running water and no bathrooms. Apparently they have electricity, at least for the large food tent.
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