I will be leaving Turkey in about 1 week. I am very impressed by this country. I have only seen a very small part, but the
people are wonderful, it is a very developed country, the food is good, and it
is part of the oldest civilizations in the world (the valley of the Tigris and
Euphrates rivers). The city where I am
has a fort that dates more than 1300 BC.
We are not working in Turkey, however, but in Syria. Syria was also a very developed country, but
as we all know, has some problems now. We
work in the north of Syria, providing health care in the rebel-held zones. We are the only non-governmental organization
sending international staff into Syria
This is not without risk, but this is in our principles. We do everything possible to assure the safety
of these people, who are providing health care to people in need
My work just before here, in Jordan was related to the same
conflict. As stated before, I cannot say
much more than that. Only that I am
proud to be part of this operation. It is stressful, and I will be happy to
have some rest
When I return, I will be working in Paris for 10 days. I will be working on our budget for 2014 for
this project, plus reporting on our accomplishments through end of 2013.
During my stay in Paris, I will have dinner with a
friend. He is a gay Ugandan, who fled
the country to escape death, because people found out that he is gay. I met him just before leaving, and I am trying
to help him to attain his refugee status in France.
After Paris I will return to Lyon, probably for a couple of
weeks before going out again somewhere. I might be in France for Christmas! For the last 9 years, I have been in the
field, in Africa. I love Christmas in
the field, but I have some good friends in Lyon also with whom I am sure I will
have a good time. Of course, if there is
a disaster somewhere in the world at that time (as almost every year), I will
go.
