Community Service in Azarbaijan - Essay Example

Community Service Introduction This paper is about my experience in Baku, Azerbaijan while doing my internship with Wangdo Inc. I was in Baku from June 2006 to August 2007. During this time I participated in various activities related to the company that included Market research and cultural exchanges between Azerbaijan and Korea. This paper specifically is about my experiences while conducting a medical camp in Baku. There was a team of volunteers who had come all the way from Kyunhee University in Korea and I detail my interactions with them and the kind of work that we accomplished together as a team. The backdrop of this medical camp is that there were lots of refugees as a result of the war with Armenia and we had to ensure that they were properly looked after. I have made an effort to list down all the activities that I performed in my interaction with the refugees and their relatives and the kind of medical assistance that we provided for them. One of the most important things to come out of the medical camp was the fact that I learnt a lot personally about the human conditions in refugee camps and the kind of medical assistance that needs to be provided for them. The team from Kyunhee University was very helpful and eager to work in the various departments of the medical facility. A point to be noted is that we conducted the medical camp after extensive interaction with the local hospital and then we ensured that all of them get the medical assistance that they needed. The next sections describe each of the activities in detail and the summary of my experience is also provided in the last section. War with Armenia The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan that killed 30,000 people and created one million refugees supposedly ended 13 years ago with a ceasefire in 1994 -- but the countries are still at war over Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory in Azerbaijan controlled by ethnic Armenian forces. Ordinary citizens are now caught in the middle. Azeri farmers living along the borders of the war zone dodge bullets as they attempt to sow vegetables and graze cattle; their irrigation water is blocked by Armenian forces and a lake that used to feed into six local villages has dried up. Traveling across the war zone to visit the nearest town six kilometers away requires a special pass, American and European efforts to resolve the issue diplomatically have failed, and the president of Azerbaijan is threatening a new war if the Armenians do not give up the occupied territory. The government of Azerbaijan also refuses to recognize the results of an upcoming presidential election in Nagorno- Karabakh because they do not consider it a separate state. This war has been called a “never ending conflict”. This war is the outcome of a longstanding dispute between the two countries and this has been exacerbated with the collapse of the erstwhile USSR. After these countries became independent, they started fresh conflict over the territorial claims and they are in no mood for resolving the conflict. Thus, the war is taking a toll on the population with lots of refugees from both sides pouring into the other country. The next section describes the human element of this war. Refugees Further to the war, many Armenians left Azerbaijan whereas Azeris left Armenia and, to a small extent, Artsakh. For instance, 299,000 Armenians left Azerbaijan to Armenia and 231,635 Azeris fled Armenia for Azerbaijan (1994 UNHCR data). In the meantime, Artsakh originally hosted 23,000 Armenian refugees from Baku, Sumgaït and from Lower Karabakh (artificially excluded from the Soviet Oblast). However, 40,000 Azeris left the Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Region. In 1994, following the recon quest of the whole historical Artsakh by the Nagorno Karabakh army, 375,000 additional Azeris left the area surrounding the autonomous region. Today, according to the 2003 UNHCR data, there are 239,250 remaining Armenians refugees from Azerbaijan whereas it remains 326 refugees in Azerbaijan. 2003 UNHCR data also points out 575,609 internally displaced persons (IDP) in Azerbaijan, of which roughly 400,000 are due to the conflict of Artsakh. However, the treatment of the refugees by each country has been strongly dissimilar as stated by the UNHCR: “The naturalized refugees were among the 360,000 ethnic Armenians who arrived in Armenia from Azerbaijan between 1988 and 1993 as a result of the conflict over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. With no resolution in sight for the Nagorno-Karabakh situation, the government and UNHCR have focused on helping refugees integrate locally in Armenia. Local integration is, of course, one of the three main solutions that we seek for refugees – the other two being repatriation or resettlement to a third country. Naturalization became an option for the refugees in 1995 with the enactment of a citizenship law containing special provisions to make naturalisation much easier for refugees from Azerbaijan. UNHCR supported the process with financial and material assistance to regional government offices to help with administration and paperwork.” Because of the influx of refugees, the Azerbaijan government has a task at hand in dealing with them and providing necessary facilities to them. Medical Facilities There was a local hospital setup that had departments in internal, otorhinolaryngology, pediatrics, dentistry, orthopedics, oriental and total of 50 doctors and students. The medical facility had a number of doctors who specialized in these fields and there were students who also contributed to the success of the facility. We supplemented their efforts with a team from Kyunhee University that provided the necessary back up and rest for the over worked doctors and relieved them of their stress once in a while. We operated on a shift basis wherein there would be a mix of the duty doctors from the medical facility and also from the volunteer team. This facility was expected to cater to the medical issues of the refugees and ensure that they get timely medical help from the authorities. The team from Kyunhee University assisted the hospital in providing medical assistance to the refugees. The medical facility in Baku had all the necessary provisions for dealing with normal intake of patients but was not geared to handle the heavy influx of refugees. This made the task of providing relief for the refugees that much more difficult and hence there had to be a provision wherein all the refugees could be accommodated in the medical facility. There were procedures involved in getting the clearances from the authorities for the treatment of the refugees and providing relief and succor to them. One of the ways in which this was being done was to allow some patients to be housed in the hospital and the others to be housed in temporary medical camps setup outside the hospital. Arranging documents I played a part in arranging for documents for the medicines and other equipment to be brought from Korea to the medical facility in Baku. There was lot of paperwork to be done before the medicines and medical equipment could be imported from Korea. This was because the Azerbaijan government did not allow for free import of all the equipment and could only permit certain kinds of equipment and medicines into the country. This made the task of importing all the equipment an administrative and logistical challenge. We had to work around the bureaucracy and necessary paperwork to get the same to Baku. There wee lots of clearances from the concerned departments that needed to be taken and hence there was some amount of running around to be done before all the clearances could be obtained. The medicines were needed to treat the refugees and ensure that their medical condition is cured with the help of the latest anti-biotic and the like. Treatment I helped setup the medical camp where the refugees could be treated. This was a novel experience for me as this involved co-coordinating with all the departments as well as the suppliers of the materials for setting up the medical camp. There were enough materials that were available for the medical camp to be setup from the local hospital and these included many forms of tent material and the necessary equipment. There was a heavy influx of people who came to be treated at the medical camp and we literally had to arrange the place in such a way that there would be no over crowding or any other means of rushing to get the places. On an average around 500 to 600 patients visited the medical camp to get treated for their disorders and the doctors at the camp did a thorough job in treating all of them. As I mentioned in the previous section, the availability of anti-biotic and the medicines in adequate quantities ensured that the supplies to the camp did not run out because of the heavy rush. What was moving was that there were refugees who had come all the way from long distances to get treated by the doctors at the medical camp. Some of them had medical conditions that were simple but were not treated in time and hence the condition worsened. It saddened me to think of the way in which medical facilities were available in Korea and the contrast between the two was striking and this made me work with more fervor in organizing relief for the refugees. This was a humanitarian crisis and hence had to be dealt on a personal basis instead of an administrative basis. All the necessary conditions for the humanitarian assistance were in place and we had to ensure that everything moved according to schedule. The refugees had to be transported from their camps to the medical facility and this meant that we had to organize means of transport from the destination to the place in which they were to be treated. Along with the other logistical support, this one also went off smoothly and we ensured that the patients were treated and looked after. My other activities My other activities at the medical camp included moving about looking for patients who needed to be treated urgently and then moving them up the queue. Since there are conditions that require immediate attention as opposed to other disorders that can be treated at a later date, we had to prioritize the patients in such a way that the urgent disorders get the first preference and then the patients who could wait could be treated later. As happens with so many conditions the patients wanted their needs to be addressed immediately. We had to counsel and calm the patients in such a way that some of them could be treated at a later date and we had to explain the procedure to them patiently and without giving an impression that we were trying to get them out of the way. Some of the patients had to be housed in the temporary medical camp and we had to provide food and other amenities for them to stay overnight at the medical camp. There were different kinds of medical conditions and most of the refugees did not have even the basic medical attention to their condition. Thus, we had to ensure that they get treated for the same and also give them necessary instructions on how to avoid further complications and future medical disorders. Many of the refugee camps lacked basic amenities and medical facilities and hence were unable to provide for the medical assistance for the refugees. Thus, we had to intervene with the local authorities and ensure that there was a provision for at least some facilities at the medical camps. I also worked as an interpreter between the team from Kyunhee University and the local patients. I had developed some knowledge of the local language and hence was able to converse with the patients in the local language. Since I had been residing in Baku for almost a year, I was able to understand some part of the local language and the dialect and this helped me get the point across to the patients and their issues to the doctors from Korea. Treatment for Kids There were some kids who needed to be treated for their ailments and we moved them up the queue and got them examined first. We realized that they had congenital heart diseases and hence they needed to be treated by specialists. And we also found that most of them needed extensive treatment that was not available in Baku. So we went into a discussion on how to handle this. We tossed around several alternatives that included getting them treated in nearby republics, but realized that this may not be a feasible solution. Then we hit upon the idea that we could send them to Korea for treatment. After we agreed on this, there were several things that needed to be considered. First, we had to arrange for their visas and travel documents. These kids did not have passports and hence needed to be provided with the same for their travel to Korea. And then we realized that they needed visas as well and we had to intercede with the Korea embassy to get them the necessary visas. After that we had to contact the hospitals in Korea where the surgery for these kids could be performed and ensure that these kids are taken care of by them. After arranging for the same, we also went to the website of the hospitals to find out what the facilities and the expenses for the treatment would be. Thus, we ensured that the kids traveled to Korea for treatment. Humanitarian aspect Above everything else, my experience as an Intern in Baku and my association with the medical camp taught me to look at the humanitarian side of things. I learnt a lot about human suffering and how the lack of basic amenities and poverty can exacerbate the suffering of poor people. Compared to the kind of amenities that we are used to in Korea, this was certainly an aspect that left much to be desired in Baku. Added to this was the effect of war which left several thousands as refugees and the government were unable to find relief for them with the meager resources at their disposal. Thus, it was left to the non governmental agencies and volunteers like us to provide relief and succor to the refugees. The arrival of the volunteer team from Korea helped matters to some extent but even by importing medicines and equipment, there were several areas in which we could not proceed without adequate assistance in the form of men and material by which we could provide relief and assistance to the refugees. The needy among the refugees needed monetary assistance as well in addition to the medical relief that we provided. And the treatment of the kids in Korea meant that we had to provide for their accommodation and transport there as well as arrange for specialized treatment of the kids there. To sum it up, the refugee crisis was a humanitarian crisis and I learnt the different aspects of dealing with a crisis of this magnitude. The volunteers from Korea did a good job as well in providing the medical facilities and the relief for the refugees. Conclusion As I conclude the paper about my internship experience, there are several aspects of the same that I need to put in perspective. First, I come from a relatively privileged environment as compared to the people I saw in Baku. And this makes me that much more efficient in dealing with logistical and other issues that arise in day to day dealings. But, I also realized that given a chance and the proper environment, there are enough people who do well and learn to adapt to the circumstances around them. Mostly, it is the endurance of the human spirit and the nature of resilience that proves to be the most successful when dealing with human emergencies. Given the right conditions and facilities, there exists the capacity for growth and development in all of us. My experience in Baku has taught me to adapt to conditions where I had to learn to make do with basic amenities as compared to the lavish life that I was leading in Korea. This was the most important lesson that I learnt from the conditions of people in Baku. All it needs is some care and concern from the people and crises can be overcome. What we need to do as individuals is to reach out to others in distress and make sure that we help each other and in this way help ourselves as well. The simple message here is that we can become better by helping others and this leads to our growth as individuals and as people as part of the larger humanity. Read More