Faces to remember

I waved as hard as I could as we drove away from the children standing outside the Health Center in Pankisi. We didn’t speak a word of the same languages but smiles and hands communicate enough. We only spent an hour at the ambulatory clinic, evaluating primarily the immunization situation. The conditions for the Chechnyan refugees are not good. Nobody seems to have anything to do: young and old were sitting around the clinic, squatting on the grass or on logs. There was garbage all around, cats and chickens. There is no running water, even at the clinic. The clinic is really an old Soviet building without windows and lighting. The place for examination is a large wood board. Despite what seemed to be a disease-inducing place, the nurses expressed that everything was working very well and they had no additional desires. They receive vaccines once a month for Hepatitis A and B, polio etc. One of the issues was the fact that the refridgerator for the vaccines from UNICEF had to be kept at the home of one of the health workers because otherwise it would be stolen.

Before going to Pankisi we spent time at the Akhmeta central health facility. The good-humored director said she was happy to talk to us because she knew she could be honest, as opposed to Soviet times, when she had to portray everything as good and wonderful. The facilities were poor but the health workers know what they are doing. After the interview, we were provided a large meal which I could hardly partake in given the abundance of meat. The director gave at least 12 toasts, for everything from children’s health, to the Georgian highlands, to our families, and to love. She was so warm and fully embodied the heartiness that is Georgian hospitality.
Earlier, we met with the UNHCR reps in the region. We apologized for the intrusion but the representative hummed that “there is no emergency”. Perhaps this explains the somewhat relaxed attitude humanitarian workers have in this country...