Every year, millions of people are killed, wounded or displaced in armed conflict around the world. Civilians account for the vast majority of the casualties. As an international medical humanitarian organisation, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) works tirelessly to provide emergency medical aid to those who need it most.
|
MSF Truck Exhibition "Living in Conflict" will tour around Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories from today to 1st October.[MSF] |
To share with the public the reality of humanitarian emergencies in conflict zones, MSF launches the "Living in Conflict" Truck Exhibition today. It will tour around 7 sites in Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories until 1 October. The exhibition hall is located in a 40-foot-long container, decorated as an MSF operating theatre and emergency ward on the front line. With the set, lighting, materials and objects used in field projects as well as an audio guide based on true stories, the exhibition plunges the visitor into the realities on the front line. Each visitor receives an MSF passport before they start the visit. By stepping into the truck, he will be put in the shoes of an MSF doctor having to treat an influx of casualties in an overcrowded health facility. He will also learn the key areas of MSF medical work and its challenges.
The exhibition is built on MSF's experience in Sri Lanka, Gaza Strip, Haiti and Liberia. Dr. FAN Ning, President of MSF-HK and MSF field worker who worked in the first three conflict settings, says in the opening ceremony, "Civilians are the most vulnerable ones under armed conflict. In some areas, even aid workers are targeted by attack and this drastically hampers the relief work." He calls on all parties in conflict to respect the neutrality of aid workers so that they can continue the delivery of aid. MSF currently works in over 70 countries with more than 300 medical projects, among which over half of them are in the context of armed conflict or internal instability.
Dr. CHOI Kin, President of the Hong Kong Medical Association, shares that he really feels like being on the front line of armed conflict by stepping into the truck. He is very impressed by the exhibit simulating the triage area overloaded with patients, which shows the dilemma a doctor has to face. Several post-80s youths also shares their feeling after experiencing the exhibition. Candice LIU, a university fresh graduate, reflects that civilians are those who suffer most in conflicts. She hopes to arouse more public concern about the plight of people living in conflict by spreading the message online.
The other guests including Mr. CHAN Kai Ming, Secretary General of Hong Kong Red Cross, Mr. John SAYER, Director General of Oxfam Hong Kong, Ms Armin KALYANRAM, Chair of Amnesty International Hong Kong Section, Ms. Irene CHAN, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Committee for UNICEF, Ms. Monique KUO, Senior Development Manager of Save the Children Hong Kong and Mr. LUM Kwok Choi, representative of UNHCR, also participate in the opening ceremony.
Living in conflict is never easy. Live their stories through the latest MSF thematic website "Living in Conflict – Would you survive?"