One thing that prevents people in relatively wealthy countries from engaging with poverty is the difficulty they have in understanding the conditions experienced by people living in poverty and the factors which cause poverty. One of the biggest causes of poverty is “insecurity”, which includes war as well as sporadic acts of armed violence which are not sufficiently well defined to be characterised as “war”.
A new film about the work of Médecins Sans Frontières provides insight into what life is like for people living in a war zone. The film, entitled “Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders,” shows the medical and personal challenges of four MSF doctors (including Australian Dr Chris Brasher) in intimate settings with unvarnished details. The film will be shown in 440 US cinemas on 14 December.
As Chris Brasher says in the movie’s trailer, “The conflicts are real and the people are just normal people… They’re no different to you or I.” The people living in these conditions experience the same hopes and fears, joys and sadnesses as anybody else; however they have the added problem of incessant insecurity. Every time you meet someone could be the last time, and any day the men with guns might come for you.