Wednesday, February 4, 2009

2 MSF staff killed in Pakistan

On Sunday Feb. 1,2009 two of the medial staff, Riaz Ahmad (24) and Nasar Ali (27), from Doctors Without Borders were killed in Pakistan. Their ambulance was attacked while they traveled to an area of fighting to retrieve wounded. http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/news/article.cfm?id=3385&cat=field-news&ref=home-sidebar-right

During a military conflict, International Humanitarian Law requires that medical staff and medical facilities be spared. I can not even fathom what kind of person would not respect these laws. Everyday fighting spill over onto civilian territories, and somebody needs to be there to help those people survive. Who will help if the aid workers are are unable? No one. Are there even repercussions when medical staff are attacked? What happened on Sunday was not an accident. Their clearly marked ambulance came under attack.

The sacrifice that these two men made should be remembered always. They knew the risk and selflessly attempted to help make a difference anyway. Although I have never met these men my heart goes out to their families and friends. If I could talk to them now, I would say they were heroes.

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