Focus 580; Green Parrots: A War Surgeons Diary

In this hour of the program the second hour of focus 580 Our guest is Dr. Geno Strada. He is a physician and surgeon grew up in Italy did his medical training in Milan and for a time after medical school practiced as a heart and lung transplant surgeon and spent time in the United States at both Stanford and University of Pittsburgh he also worked in hospitals in the U.K. and in South Africa. Back in the late 1980s he decided that he wanted to take his skills and apply them toward people who'd been injured in war. And for a number of years after that I worked with the International Red Cross in a war zones a number of places around the country. It was as a result of that experience that he decided the that he would like to try he and some other people like to try forming an organization that would be specifically dedicated to trying to provide medical assistance treatment and also rehabilitation to civilians who had been injured by war. And that organization which they called emergency was founded in 1994. And in the years

since they have set up hospitals for people who have been wounded in war they have done also the same thing trying to provide physical and social rehabilitation. And they have set up emergency clinics in a number of places around the world including Afghanistan Iraq Cambodia Sierra Leone. He's written about some of his experiences in a book titled green parrots a war surgeon's diary. And this is a book that was first published in Italy and sold very widely there and has also been translated into a number of languages including English and is available now in English. If you're interested in and reading about it he's know spending some time traveling around the United States talking about the work emergency and he is here in our area in fact he'll be giving a talk this evening at the first Mennonite church in Urbana. And I think at some point here will get a little bit more details if you be interested in hearing him. But of course here on the program he will talk with us and tell us about some of his experiences and also if you have questions

you may call 3 3 3 9 4 5 5 we do also have a toll free line. That one is good anywhere that you can hear us. That's 800 to 2 2 9 4 5 5 so locally 3 3 3 9 4 5 5 or W while 3 3 3 8 9 4 5 5 toll free 800 2 2 2 9 4 5 5. So at any point here if you can call. You're welcome to call on feeling we asked people just try to be brief just so we can keep the program moving along. Well thanks very much for being here. Well I think using voter intent. Tell me about why it is you decided. First of all going back to I think this was in maybe one thousand eighty eight that you decided to go from what you had been doing you know working in big hospitals major research institutions doing that kind of surgery. You wanted to go there to work for the Red Cross. Well I wanted to see the job of the surgeon. It was looking like in

the areas where you know needs or be given. Unfortunately there are no facilities to treat people so at the beginning they say it was just a curiosity. And then I happened to do work in a hospital on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan where all the victims over the war in Afghanistan against the Soviet occupation or die time who had missed that. I now realize you know something for me I absolutely knew about about war which means 90 percent of the victims they were civilians they were noncombatants I mean people who had nothing to do with the war. BDD wouldn't even know why the war was full. So the idea started to grow up and to be interested in these in these areas. Well I mean to stand it you and perhaps some other people started emergency literally at your kitchen table at your house is that correct. What was it that

you hoped to be able to do with that organization that something like the Red Cross for example couldn't do. We didn't think of any of it. Competition would direct cross the coast. The problem is that. The needs are so big that hundreds of organisational would be welcome in most countries at war and the civil population is just no access to any kind of medical or surgical care so if you're wounded or or maimed you just die and this is something I think not acceptable. So we thought that bringing together professional people particularly surgeons and nurses. And goading to it is counter to set up surgical facilities would have been something useful for the population. You first. The first place you went was a Rwanda. Yeah. When when emergency was established two months later we went to Rwanda was. Terrible experience because you know

we could not be operational for the first month in the sense that the whole the hospitals had been destroyed to loot it. So in fact we spend a few weeks trying to piece together what was left and you know do to at least have an open radio room where we could treat the wounded. So this this must have been just very shortly after the genocide and that was that was in 1994. Yeah yeah I think we arrived in d end of May. I had 94. So that must've been just literally maybe a matter of five weeks if not you know all month or or so after. Yeah had happened. Yeah well the day idea to establish approaches it was you know to be immediately operational and and we succeeded in that even in Rwanda we have three that a lot of patience you know how many people did you have how many staff did you have there right at the beginning. One of the beginning we left to be defers thema I think we were five or six people and then in Kigali we started to recruit was a big would bother

me at least to get together with that we do a few doses and doctors were left in the country I mean surviving there's a messiah Yeah there I don't understand that. Certainly the organization has grown considerably from. A few people and a budget of maybe a few thousands of dollars to now. Millions like 17 and a half million euros or something like that in a couple of years ago 2003. That's an in the normal growth over. It has been 10 years but that's a tremendous growth. Yeah we did not expect that actually. But I think that you know dealing with victims of war. And showing that you can do a good job with with the donations you receive and reporting regularly to Donal's about the usual dad money which is not our money they're made you know emergency highly credible organization and that made it possible to gain a lot of support in Italy. I like to stress that all our

donations they do come from private citizens. They do not come from official institutional donors or governments. They come from a large a very large amount of private citizen. Last year I think the overall budget was about twenty four million dollars or something. I guess I did think that that you had to receive some money from the Italian government and maybe some money from the United Nations. Well we had some part of our approach is financed for one year or so for. Basically building infrastructure we had a grant from the United Nations out of the old for food resolution money that was for Iraq six seven years ago and something similar for the talent corporation but that was you know quite you know in a peace road and he stopped in the past 3:40 is I think another percent

of old gold or money or emergencies. I would write it in your private donations. You have gone some some very difficult and I'm sure also dangerous places you've been in Iraq you've been in Afghanistan and said you've been in Cambodia even some places in Africa. How did how do you decide where it is you're going to go and work. Well normally the decision is made only based on assessment of the needs without any you know political consideration. We tend to go into areas where there are no other facilities available. And where we could set up the only hospital where patients could be treated. We also try to be very much independent and neutral in our in our action. I mean we do not take side only going to conflicts I mean. No we don't we don't point of fingers towards those who make wars. I

mean we prefer to look at the consequences of that them and he said pointing fingers to you know start working hard and try to save a life so we doubt any discrimination so we have done that in many countries establishing hospitals on either side of the frontline and and being independent and neutral helped us a lot in terms of credibility and possibility to work. And you as I said there now your primary focus is on civilians do you do you ever treat soldiers or do you say that well that's not what we're you know Koso coast with three soldiers with three military people we have been even treating U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan in the. Past few years. But that you know quite occasionally happens. Matter of fact is that in every conflict in the past 40 to 50 years they didn't. The vast majority of victims are civilians who are well above 90 percent in every conflict so. And the few facilities available are normally reserved for the military so in

fact for the civilian population there's nothing left. That's our main focus. Obviously whoever will come to the gate or hospital when he's a patient is going to would receive treatment in the same high standard. How do you have some idea of over time how many people you have treated. Yeah in 10 and a half years of activity because emergency was established in May 94 we have three to 1.4 million people worldwide. That's a remarkable number of people. Yeah it is it is a big state a drop in the bucket but I mean we are very very proud of what we have achieved in old old emergency supporters are very proud of that. You know what is important is also to point out the fact that I were a minister of the coast were. Between 5 and 6 percent of the budget. So we were able to use the money for actual operations and keep the demonstration cost I mean to have the machine running to to a minimum.

Our guest in this focus our focus my video should introduce again Dr. Geno Strada He's a physician and surgeon and is one of the founders of an organization and talian humanitarian organization called emergency that was set up in 1900 for us a little bit more than 10 years old. The idea is that it would respond to situations where there were a lot of civilians people who were noncombatants but who were injured in war. And since 1994 when they first had their first effort in Rwanda they have been involved in a number of countries including Iraq and Afghanistan. And as he said have treated millions of over a billion people around the world and various places in their clinics not only providing a kind of emergency treatment but also more kind of a long term rehabilitation have fitted people with prosthetics and and so forth. He's here visiting in the United States and here in Champaign Urbana. He'll be speaking about some of his experiences at the first Mennonite church in Urbana. That's at 9:00 on to West Springfield

and that's at 7:00 o'clock tonight and I expect that anybody interested in stopping by and meeting him and hearing what he has to say should feel welcome. 3 3 3 9 4 5 5 and toll free 800 to 2 2 9 4 5 5. You talked about the fact that you think that it's very important perhaps a key sort of idea that you maintain neutrality. That is when you go into a place if there's a conflict you don't take sides. I would still think though it might be the business of dealing with local authorities whoever it is in power still could be a very difficult thing. Well it is sometimes. But you know if you showed that you were doing the same things for everybody it was a neat weed out any political or ideological Oreck may call religious discrimination. At the end you were able to. To be accepted at least that doesn't mean that the job is

a smooth one without any obstacle. Sometimes we had difficulties for instance we had difficulties we had to tell a bozo regime in Afghanistan. But even in that case you know. The tally was knew that we were doing the same things on either side of the front line and we would also visit in the Taliban's prisoners on the Northern Alliance side in Afghanistan and when you do that in a neutral and independent way showed that you were not interested in politics you're just interested in saving human lives because this isn't the mandate of who a doctor or organisation which is basically a media organisation then I think they tend to respect you. Well was it was a problem with the Taliban that in fact that you were the benefit you were doing things in a sense they would say would have helped the Northern Alliance or were it was just that you you weren't living along Islamic principles on the part of the deal was just how it is you you did your daily business.

Oh yeah I mean we had difficulties I imagine in Kabul the Taliban regime did not to accept that women could work in our hospital has no SE's or even that women could be treated. And we had to put our foot down and say No way. I mean this is a precondition for us to work here. And slowly slowly we managed to to recruit about 40 percent of our personality were female staff and women's never being denied treatment in our hospitals is something that you know day by day you have to gain confidence. Overcome sort and strange feelings that they had about women they were a bit psychopathic sometimes I mean but again you can achieve something if you showed it. You are not working for any code except the code of a human being is to keep him alive.

I just you get you got to know the line of the pain share when Schama soon and then who is the leader that the Northern Alliance Masood was a good friend of mine a good personal friend. I still miss him a lot in Afghanistan I think it would have been the only the only possible leader or Afghanistan actually. I'm sure Masood was was a very interesting personality I think he changed a lot over the years from from being a war to load. Do they now and f them national ace them in the DND it only wanted was to stop fighting and tried to do something for the population regarded a women's issue. Masood told me one day you know please don't come here and speak about women's rights women's rights. Simple here in Afghanistan. Try to give them a job and education. And that will do the job. It was it was a very very interesting post on the very very nice leader.

Tell me about your experiences in Iraq and you have particularly for a long time even going back now before the war you were involved in the Kurdish areas of Iraq in the north. Yeah we started to look at Iraq can march 95 mostly in the north because that was the area with the biggest needs. But. Over the years we established count as we had with the government of Iraq and was several times in Baghdad tried to set up medical programs down there. The Iraqi government at that time was quite reluctant to tool to accept a foreign presence and particularly coming from an organization was what had been helping the coats for many years. But we continue to work that and even now we just we're still in Iraq. Unfortunately it's not easy to work at the moment and we had to put big projects on hold and we are

building a hospital in the holy city of Karbala. What the the sort of point you know six months ago to engineers and. And a construct as they they did with field secure anymore to work so we had to stop. I hope we can start very soon again. Have there been have members of your organization been targeted because they were they were Westerners or European Union. No we do not have anybody injured by it. We felt over the past year and a half an increasing danger I mean there. Geos Percivale the few of us who have remained in Iraq are forced to go around in private cars to keep a very low profile because you know potentially every every foreigner is a target and that you know it doesn't surprise me unfortunately I think that these is a consequence of the fact that military operation has a new money to carry an

operation has been sometimes mixed up. But so a DNB you know there's a lot of confusion and the population doesn't know exactly who is who but who does what. So these affects the work of everybody. Tell me about some of the difficulties involved if you're coming into a place and you're wanting to set up a clinic or maybe even a hospital and the place doesn't have just even basic infrastructure. You have to have power you've got have access to clean water and of course then you have got to have all the equipment that you need and you've got to have medicines and and and and all of that I mean how what do you do if you come into a place that does not even have the basic things where you don't have power and water. This is bait I would experience in many places. Still allow been in northern Afghanistan. The hospital we have a bank sheerly is completely run by generators this there's no power to an idea. There's no clean water so we had to set up water reservoirs that water would have filled the ward to

purify the wood I mean he's a big case of size but it still is possible to build high standard hospitals in those areas. One of things and I know that you're very concerned about and I mentioned that you had written this book about your experiences that title green parrots and people might be curious about what what the title refers to would refers to as anti-personnel mines a particular kind of them and I think that this is something that you've really been concerned about trying to promote awareness of. Yeah preparedness is an expression that was used by the old Afkham So I mean they had they called a green parrot as the PFM one butterfly mines Soviet made decent small mines that they look like like a butterfly. More than a part of the meeting had yet been scuttled by helicopters all over the Afghan villages and the point is that you know I've done surgery on many victims of this particular mine and I don't remember one single adult. They would all children because obviously children

but legally small children rather curios they see these objects and they pick it up. And these minds are designed not to explode instantly but they need some money palatial. So sometimes the tragedies are amplified because a child you know picks up a mine and then he starts playing with there with other children and then after half an hour the minus blows in the stead of one victim you have three or four. Personally I think that you know do use of these weapons. He's a form of terrorism myself because you know a landmine does not recognize a ceasefire a peace agreement it keeps killing and killing and killing. Landmines were killing today in Afghanistan Wolf for late 15 years ago. They do not expired unfortunately. Yeah and that is the case that there are a lot of other places around the world where mines have been placed in old conflicts and indeed it could be the same thing with the conflict's been over for a long time they had those explosives they're out there. They're in the environment they may be buried they may be lying on

top of the ground and as you say there's there's no expiration and they're still they still. Continue to kill people. Absolutely I mean you can count approximately 25000 victims new victims every year due to interpose too in my eyes. But you know these figures are probably underestimation of the reality because in those areas a lot of people get killed and nobody would never really court the case because there are no hospitals or facilities there just killed and died a jungle. So these it is in fact a weapon of mass destruction although it's cities a slow motion in the four day case instead of having them an immediate effect. But it is a real formal terrorism towards a civilian population I mean in Afghanistan you have thousands and thousands and thousands of maimed people or handicapped people who cannot be aided and the breadwinner anymore for their

families and therefore you know you trigger a cynical pull Girty that affects a community and then the land that cannot be. Let's say that agricultural land is in fact a destroyed and therefore you have also lack of food and this produces malnutrition which again you know is a spiral is a spiral phenomenon and so the fact that. In many countries you have cut the landmines and potentially every square kilometer full of mice makes living conditions very dramatic. And what can you really say that those things were designed not to to be a danger to soldiers but that they the idea really was that they were there intentionally to kill and injure civilians.

Well that's for sure. I remembered that fully since Saddam Hussein declared that you know when he we drew in 1991 is army from the north they declared OK the army goes back to Baghdad but I would invisible army was they here mean exactly landmines and the same is being done by dictate those or precedence or whatever. In many many countries. And there's no military target of a landmine I mean in the land mine it is not a weapon like you know a a gun that you know you point the gun is something and that is the target who is going to be the target I mean when your when your schedule it in in the fields normally the shepherd those who are collecting food or gathering voodoo or you know who are farming. So these are definitely not militant activities if you think that they're one of the most dangerous activity for a landmine injury

is to play. And the fact that 30 or 35 percent of the victims are children I think speaks myself I mean. I don't know if it was done intentionally but that is the result. And the result is that you know you compromise the entire health system will become free by creating a new name as number of the home anti-cult people could all be cute left. Yeah I know that now going back some years there has been an international effort to ban them. No there are a number of countries have signed on the United States not being one of them. Has there been much progress do you think in generating awareness about it and then also on a governmental level of countries saying OK we're not going to we're not going to use them we're not going to produce them maybe even put some resources to toward the effort to actually going into places where there are landmines and large numbers and get and working on. It's obviously very

slow and laborious process because there are so many and of course it's dangerous for the people who do it but trying to go in and actually cleaning these things up. Yeah. And did a campaign to to buy land mines has been successful. Only no. I mean many countries including Italy for instance completely stopped a production in Italy was one of the would biggest producers of mines. They have stopped they've stopped production they stop export they have destroyed land mines. Unfortunately very important countries not only United States but China Russia India Pakistan they did all scientists. And I think it's a crime I mean I'm not I don't know looking at it in a political way. I just I'm just of the is that if the government would know exactly what these would victims a land mine is they would stop immediately because it's.

For me as a surgeon. Even now after thousands of cases treated sometimes they feel nauseated when they when they see a landmine victim is the most horrific injury you can imagine what sort of injuries are you talking about. Well I mean people cut into just blown up I mean children that remain without hands sort of blind and you know this. Is a big big tragedy I mean no we have an unfortunately a huge collection of photographs that we will probably never show fully spec'd to the public but the. These atrocities and these should not be acceptable not even in a war situation. Well is the is the intention of these Exley the intention of these weapons not so much to kill people out right. All that's possible is it really the intention is to to severely injure the arson so that then that then that I guess the

Therion military would be if you kill somebody either on the other side the soldiers will say OK that guy's dead and they'll just leave him. But if you wound someone really badly then then the fellow soldiers will think well now we've got some we've got somebody that we have to take care of we can't just leave this person so it's almost better to do that than to kill them outright. Yeah you're probably right that I mean obviously what is the real objective will never be expressed as such but a matter of fact is that if a child gets killed. OK you can. So for him to cry. But if the child is blind that child has to be looked after for the rest of his life. If you create hundreds of thousands of people in a country in fact you put that country in a deep crisis particularly that country's poor it doesn't have the resources for a full medical kit

or the ability ation. We're little bit past the midpoint here and again I do want to mention that our guest in this hour Gino Strada is visiting here Champaign-Urbana he'll be giving a talk at the first Mennonite church in Urbana tonight March 2nd. The church is at 9 0 2 West Springfield and it's at 7 o'clock and I'm sure that people are interested in hearing more from him. They should feel welcome to stop by. He is a physician and surgeon grew up in Italy did his medical training in Milan also did some time here at the hospital's large institutions the United States. Also in the U.K. and South Africa. Back in one thousand eighty eight he decided he was interested in putting his skills to work in situations of war and spent a number of years working with the International Red Cross in a number of war zones then after that in 1904 he decided he had some other folks decided to start an organization that's very specifically would be dedicated to try to provide medical care to civilian.

People who were hurt in war and they started the group called emergency and now they work in a number of countries around the world it started out pretty small with a relatively small budget and a small number of people and now over the 10 years has grown quite large and they've been involved in in Afghanistan and Iraq. In some countries in Africa in Cambodia He's also the author of a book about some of his experiences which is titled green parrots a war surgeon's diary was first published in Italy sold very widely in Italy and has been translated into a number of other languages including English. So that's something that you can look at two questions by the way are welcome 3 3 3 9 4 5 5. Toll free 800 to 2 2 9 4 5. Perhaps you could talk a little bit more about some of the physical rehabilitation work that you've done particularly I guess with with people who have had these kind of injuries landmine injuries that we're talking about who may have lost you know hand arm

leg or what have you. Yeah. Well the first rehabilitation center we established was in Iraq. That was done in 1998 99. Their idea was. When we have to treat a minor victim quite often unfortunately to patients as up would deny mutation. So where where does therapy end. I mean assuming that the stars in the operating room as an emergency operation. But is it enough to discharge a patient and say good luck in such a situation when the patient as is missing one leg or an arm or whatever. We felt that we should do something more. So yes we have established the center or were prostheses were made. And physiotherapy and physical rehabilitation was done. But then again

you know you're still in front of a person was it was an anti cap. We doubt any job opportunity particularly in that country where unemployment is very very important. So we we decided to teach them a job. We have organized laboratories or you know Laxmi taught carpentry or copper making a door. Do teach the handicapped people a job and then putting them together in a small coper at Dave's and helping them to become self-sufficient also from the economical point of view. In other words you know it we feel like our duty as doctors and sweat and. The handicapped person instead of being a mouth that you have to feed is in fact the person who provides food for everybody else. Then I think we have done what we can. Well I think we have some callers here to talk with. Let us go to

Bloomington Illinois that would be the first on our toll free line line for. Hello Mr.. You're actually as well as Miss Quinn an excellent show. She's a. I didn't hear the first five minutes but which you're a guesser but I noticed he said with the children I hate to talk about this you can bring it up but. With the children going down I notice he said. He did all much of that was intentional. Well it it brought it to my mind on Terry Gross on fresh air which is on NPR. It had a guest. He wrote a book Children of War and the author said. They say they are these children. They're sending them down. I want to know how true this is or what his knowledge is on this or his experience rather than send their experienced military man and their officers their Goliath or their sending their own children to test for the landmines.

There's other things I'd like to ask you I don't know if you know them but were there really Brandon these kids and give them given them drugs and all that but I just wondered in reference to the landmines and I can hang up and. OK. Thank you. Well thanks for the call. Well certainly there are places around the world conflicts where they we have had child soldiers. Oh yeah definitely we had that experience in the Sahara will. But regarding landmines I mean almost all mine injuries do not occur when people or even children are sent to the mining area. Injuries happen you know unfortunately as a daily routine. And when we started to collect they'd try to spot the most dangerous activities. It was clear that they don't. Military operations they didn't they didn't come into this to disfigures they wouldn't. Basically the landmine is not the weapon that is

going to use to protect M.A. them installations or whatever that are much more efficient means to do that. It is in fact a way to to keep to more Rollo depopulation Willow and to and to create the discard of fear. And to paralyze a population imagine when the when you are living in a country where you know the water sources are blind. The agricultural land is mine. The main road I'm not talking about paved the road but you know the main roads are mine I mean your life is complete a compromise and and most injuries happen them in. Why children are so often affected. Just because you know children they move much more than that. They go to work by Surely in those countries what as for instance we have a low incidence of female affected by mine injuries because females tend to be more in the House and in other activities are done by man or small kids.

And again I think probably it's a point worth making that part in in part what we have here is a problem where minds are put out. Maybe there's a conflict going on minds are put out but that conflict could end and it could be years and years later. The war's over. The mines are still there and that and in many cases people are fine. They're just kind of stumbling over them they're there they're finding that it's not like they're going out looking for them. They're they're there and they may be hidden. And people may you know may just come across them sort of by accident or absolutely go see the you know when you speak about mines we talk about an object which is 100 150 grams made of plastic so that when he's cut in the Phils does a state that position you know after a big rain moving. I mean. Quite often you'll find him in the reverse. There also would be resisted what in fact would approve. So even de-mining territory is scented that

can never be 100 percent operational. When when that attorney told us polluted with land mines we stay polluted forever probably you can decrease the risk but you can't go to limited release and I don't think we will be happy for what kids they go to play to a playground where maybe even one landmine. 110. Do not make a diff that is actually in terms of you know making the old life safe. Let's talk with someone next in Savoy. That's line number no party let's go next to Indiana. Why number two. Hello. Yeah it certainly was. Thank you for your work and wish there were a lot more men in the world like you. My question mainly I guess in a broad sense is recruitment. I sort of like to know some facts about how to how you go about getting

doctors and I presume nurses to you know jawing what most you know what countries give the most. What age levels do they come right out of those medical school or are you after with doctors who have you know 10 15 years experience something along. Those lines in the question that just popped up when you started talking about landmines I'm I'm fairly old so land mines to me your you know basically World War 2 you know in Korea and stuff like that. The plastic ones and he said it weighed one hundred fifty grams that's credibly small really and I just you know first thing in my mind is who in the world makes these things are they made by in different countries or is there one particular country that has the manufacturing capabilities of making these mines. Thanks a lot. OK. Well the first question the sort of acute burden of the emergency having been established in Italy

we had the majority of doctors and nurses coming from Italy. I would say about 60 percent. But to get the food to the same comes from a different country including the United States. We tend to employ personnel highly qualified and we disappearance. I mean a war surgery is a very very challenging surgery is not there's no room for you know a freshly graduated people without this period to be able to perform properly. It is not an easy job but we will welcome you know personnel from from different countries also because it's good that. That everybody sees what what would describe really means we kind of injuries they say they stop a weapons producer the human body. I got to the second part of your question I mean a few years ago before

did an international campaign started to buy land mines did top producers who toward the were China or Russia. And unfortunately Italy. United States as well. But many many countries were aware produce it let my eyes let you know produce a land mines a land mines a very low technology weapon I mean you can even make it in your basement. I made a beat of the explosive material data rate already in a plastic. To cover up everything and he's done so. I've seen a lot you know Merdeka for instance landmines made with food in cages and handicraft. Different thing is you know when you produces millions on landmines like was the case for me is to see when Italy was was selling landmines to Saddam Hussein in 1991. So on one side you know you had to tell a government participated in day to call the shots

against Saddam Hussein and the other on the other hand you ID telling companies providing Saddam Hussein will lead mice in the. You know unfortunately there are still big countries producing landmines countries who did not sign the treaty. To stop production and say. Do you talked about earlier about the fact that most of the money that supports emergency does come from private contributions from individual donations it is most of that most of the those people Italian that have given money to devote the vast majority. But you know no emergency stablished legally in the United States as a nonprofit organization and information who could be seen on our website which is w w w o USA dot org.

We hope to gain support also in the United States not only for financial support and donations but even more important to get you know medical personnel involved to be able to expand I want your money Terrio programs also thanks to DAY TO DAY contribution to commitment of those and knows he is from the United States. And maybe you know to get not only donations but to get drugs and to get the mint and to get all these medical so proves that we have and we are throwing to being in the now at least countries where as you know in other countries it would be a godsend. Let's talk with another caller someone listening in Urbana line three below. I think it was last year or the year before on WRAL TV there was a program to work to deactivate only landmines but also cost a bomb. I think the focus was lost.

But there's one group stuck in my mind and we contributed to it I think we could all think about where we make our choices for disposable things that we buy that we don't really need. We could sense of our money to get rid of them that are these cluster bombs and mines that are already in place and reduce the work that you need to do. I'm just looking at their screen one the group that we've given given money to is called am a chief for Mine Action Group. Their website is. W w w that mag America or $26 is is all that is that it costs to field one fully trained and equipped local D-minor for a one day course they need lots and lots and lots of people in the some place. Sometimes I have to go over the ground multiple times and I see that $41 buys a product to enable the monitor to determine these. Location when one Miss Greendale mother things like that. But they are just all to do

whatever we can in whatever way we can to help reduce the amount of damage in our country have contributed. Thanks. Thanks Co. Other questions are welcome we have maybe about five minutes a little bit less someone to call real quick. 3 3 3 9 4 5 5 toll free 800 to 2 2 9 4 5 5. When you when you were working as I mentioned the beginning you were working on doing a heart and lung transplants before you got into doing this kind of work and I'm sure that your your skills were considerable but that when you got into doing working in war zones that it would require a different somewhat different set of skills that maybe you would you hadn't been trained in in med school this is this is a special area of training that the doctors probably now don't really get and you think maybe that should be something that should be part of or or could be part of doctors training. Well. Unfortunately War Surgery is not something that you can load in the

universities. Fortunately we don't see it is type of injured as in I will say this. But. You can you can load it in the field. And it is a very challenging process. I mean. You need a lot of his spirit is to perform a high standard or war surgery. A good surgeon does not necessarily is able to perform war surgery. We have seen so many disasters die by military teams for instance in Afghanistan over the past few years. Because you had you know general surgeons coming in and pretending to operate on mine victims as well without knowing exactly the direction of the treatment and the basic guidelines. I think it takes a lot it takes a lot to me it cannot be done

to your ethical ego you know universities. So for all our soldiers those who come in the first mission with try to put them together with motor spirit you know to shorten the loading cove. I'm sure for a lot of physicians and you're used to seeing things that most people don't see and if you're a doctor for example I would imagine if you work in a big city emergency room you're going to see some pretty scary stuff. But I don't know is there any way to prepare something someone for what they what they would see if they do this going well you couldn't gave conferences and show them pictures and then also give lectures about to debase the principles and war surgery but again that's there's not enough and they had to field experience is very different. Let's talk with someone here in Chicago line for yes what I have to make a comment or have an experience or knowledge of the health care system as it is until I know I don't know if you know the number of the observations.

I'm not sure your comment. OK I don't know if you've ever been in John and I'm sure I have no spirit gives whatsoever and I mean I've never visited the country and I don't know how the health system is like OK. Sorry that is just beyond his experience I told him the beginning of the program that someone asks someone questions beyond your experience is OK to say so I'll say the gas is well let's. That's a fine question but I'm just not the guy who who knows it so do you expect that you're going to keep it just as long as you can you'll keep on doing this work do you see yourself retiring at some point. Oh not really and truly I think we will love to be completely useless and I would adore to go fishing but I'm afraid. It was happening live the next few years. Well for people who are listening this morning if you are in an around Champaign-Urbana and you would be interested in meeting and hearing more from our guest Dr. Geno Strada he will be giving a talk at the first Mennonite church in Urbana. This is 9 0 2 West

Springfield at seven o'clock tonight. And I think anyone who is interested should feel welcome to stop by and hear him. Also if you're interested in finding out more about the organization that he helped found emergency that works to provide emergency medical care and more long term health care and rehabilitation to civilian victims of war and they have worked a number of countries around the world. If you have internet access they have a website that you can look at which is w w w dot emergency USA dot orgy or you can find out more and also you can look for the book that's about his experiences. It's titled green parrots a war surgeon's diary. Our guest here Dr. Geno Strada. Well thank you very much for talking with us. Thank you. Thanks a lot.