“...the Revolution, now first feeling
its power, feeling the unnumbered masses it has aroused, the colossal
tasks, the pride in success, the joyful failing of the heart at the
thought of the morrow which is to be still more beautiful than today.
The revolution still has no ritual, the streets are in smoke, the
masses have not yet learned the new songs. The meeting flows without
order, without shores, like a river at flood. The Soviet chokes on
its own enthusiasm. The revolution is mighty but still naïve.”
“...a class deprived of power
inevitably strives to some extent to swerve the governmental course
in its favour...The Character of a political structure is directly
determined by the relation of the oppressed classes to the ruling
class. A single government...is preserved so long as the ruling class
succeeds in putting over its economic and political forms upon the
whole of society as the only forms possible”
“The feeble and reflected light of
the moon makes possible important conclusions about the sunlight”
I have almost finished Trotsky you will
be pleased to hear, next week will be the last you have to hear from
him!
Another day at the clinic. It is
unclear if people come especially to treat burns, or if there really
are just such high instances of them, but probably 80% of all the
patients I saw presented with various degrees of burns, most often to
feet and legs, but also a depressing number to faces. As the photo
shows, our supply of materials is woefully inadequate. With last
week's brief on-the-job training, I am now trusted to do everything,
which is terrifying, as I really have no idea what I am doing. Most
cases follow the same basic routine- remove the old bandage, clean
the wound and surrounding area with something pink, then apply either
the violet liquid for a burn, or the iodine for a different wound or
a still bleeding burn, (if the patient is returning for a bandage
change after visiting us the week before, then this stage is replaced
by applying a 'burn cream'), then its simply a case of covering the
wound with a compress, and then bandaging it up. Job done. Infection
hopefully avoided, but that is about it. All of this done at a cost
to the patient of 20-40p, which is apparently the cost of the
materials. All of the wages at the clinic, and indeed the clinic
itself is a Catholic concern. The work is exhausting, with the
smells, heat and cries making it a tough place to work, but it
certainly feels rewarding, and I am certainly learning to be less
squeamish around blood and puss. There were so many patients this
week that we stayed an hour longer than normal, and lost an hour of
our daily three hour lunch break! Zoot alores! There is another
'foreigner' working here, a student nurse from Quebec, on a seven
week placement to learn on the job skills. Rather than nursing
though, she is given the role of doctor, diagnosing and prescribing
to the patients. She has to deal with the place every day, so I feel
for her, but it is certainly good preparation for a life in medicine.
Her English is also rather terrible (there are locals here with
better English), which is just crazy, coming as she does from North
America. There is a rather strong (financial) presence from Quebec
here, with a major solar-panel company, and the Thies University both
bearing the Quebec flag, in what I can only assume in gratitude for
support.
Today, our work felt fully like a token
measure to keep us busy. Which is not to say it wasn't without merit
or purpose, but it was significantly detached from our youth and
health focus, revolving as it did around agriculture. We were
assisting a local NGO- GRIM – in its programme to grow fruit trees.
This involved weeding and counting thousands of seedlings. It was
great to get out and see more of the farms surrounding Thies, and my
tan certainly benefited, but, as to the overall purpose of it all, I
am unsure.
We visited another Daara this
afternoon, again to check on the results of the health sensitisation
programme. I have grave issues with the value of the programme, as
lecturing these kids on the benefits of cleanliness is pointless when
one looks at the boys and sees how filthy they are. They are clearly
not being given access to water and soap, and when asked if we could
introduce and supervise collective washing, was told by the 'teacher'
that this was impossible and unnecessary. We will continue to try,
but one cant help but feel frustrated and impotent. It is these
illiterate and uneducated children that will be the strain - and
drain - on Senegalese society once they have left these schools, and
the associated unemployment, health and crime issues will all be far
more expensive and difficult to deal with. But they all seemed
happier than the last group, and the compound was a slight
improvement, it contained a mango and lime tree, so no scurvy at
least. For mine (and therefore you sake), they also allowed us to
take photos, so here are a few. I only had my phone on me, so
apologies for that.
The one day we visit a daara and are allowed to take photos, and i leave my camera at home- typical. These were taken on my phone.
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