Reviews for Imperfect Offering: Humanitarian Action for the Twenty-first Century

The average rating for Imperfect Offering: Humanitarian Action for the Twenty-first Century based on 2 reviews is 5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-01-04 00:00:00 Frank B Gibson III She was slightly older than middle aged. She had been raped. Semen mixed with blood clung to her thighs. She had been attacked with machetes, her entire body systematically mutilated. Her ears had been cut off. Her face had been so carefully disfigured that a pattern was obvious in the slashes. Both Achilles tendons had been cut. Both breasts had been sliced off. Her attackers didn't want to kill her; they wanted her to bleed to death. They knew just how much to cut to make her bleed slowly. She lay on the road, a 1 taped to her forehead, and now we were just looking at each other. "Je m'excuse, je m'excuse," I said, apologizing for the pain my pinching forceps gave her. She blinked once, slowly to let a wave of pain pass. She held my forearm. I felt a wave of nausea as I looked again at the pattern someone had cut in her face. I turned from her and vomited for the first and only time during the genocide. She waited as I spit out what was left of the bile in my mouth. Then she touched my forearm again. I looked into her brown eyes. "Ummera." I wasn't sure if she was saying it to herself, but then she continued. "Ummera-sha." Sha, I thought, it means my friend. She was speaking to me. "Ummera, ummera-sha." she repeated. I tied off the bleeding arteries where her breasts had been. The nurses were calling again, "Docteur, le pro chain, le pro chain! Vite, Docteur!" The woman was one among many, among hundreds. She knew there were so many more. Again she reached to touch my forearm. She didn't hold it this time. She nodded, looking at me. "Allez... allez... Ummera, ummera-sha," she said in a slow whisper. "Go, go. Courage, courage, my friend." It was the clearest voice I had ever heard. I finished this book feeling repulsed yet oddly comforted. The sheer weight of human suffering is palpable, and the corresponding list of depravity goes on to include everything from genocide, to pharmaceutical greed, to the exploitation of famine relief. In stark contrast stands James Orbinski, a man I have subsequently developed a great deal of respect for. In some of humanity's darkest moments he remains vigilant, dedicated, and compassionate in his work. He doesn't differentiate between the large and the small fights, and from opposing big pharma to putting his own life in danger to save a single person Orbinski is a guiding light in a world of darkness. While many parts of this book were deeply disturbing, reading it all from the perspective of such an exceptional human being lent a silver lining of hope. Where I live, we simply do not grasp what occurs in other parts of the world. We read about it, we may watch it on television; we may even meet someone who has experienced it, but that is never a substitute for being there. Many of Orbinski's words describe scenes of unimaginable horror. The largest portion of the book is devoted to his role in the midst of the Rwandan genocide, an event that affected him profoundly. Yet rarely does he address the personal impact of his experiences. There are many scenes that I found difficult to finish, including one that forced me to put the book down for the rest of the day (the one I have quoted above). How Orbinski managed not only to survive but to be a positive force in the midst of such suffering and chaos I will never know. As advocate and for a time president of Medicins sans Frontieres, Orbinski's work has taken him all over the world. Other chapters are devoted to Afghanistan, Somalia, Zaire and Kosovo (among others). He developed MSF's Access to Essential Medicines campaign, and established Dignitas International in Malawi to combat its rampant HIV/AIDS epidemic. The latter topic deeply resonated with me, having travelled to Malawi three years ago. As a tiny, landlocked country with one of the highest HIV/AIDS infection rates in the world, it rarely receives much press. The exceptionally high death rate means countless orphaned children and broken families, an out of control intellectual/workforce drain, and little to no healthcare support. It's not uncommon to meet someone there who has lost their entire family. The most compelling part of this book stems not from its darkest passages, but from the voice of its author. If one man can face such daunting challenges with so much care and perseverance, perhaps there is hope for us after all.

Review # 2 was written on 2010-05-16 00:00:00 Michael Schall a while ago, I saw the film 'Triage' and there leaned a bit about Dr. James Orbinski and his work. it was incredibly moving and i was absolutely fascinated - with his work and with what a great story teller he is. The film covered his return to Somalia and Rwanda where he had worked for MSF (Doctors without Borders) and his (then) current endeavor of writing a book about his experiences and viewpoint. i do highly recommend the film. the book itself is a more thorough look at his life, motivation, and time spent working for MSF and beyond. it's difficult to say 'this is a good book' in a conventional sense - as the subject matter is at times frustrating, horrific, and emotional. yet it is the best book i've read in some time. but again, I find Orbinski is an incredible story teller - focusing in on such small but important moments in the midst of detailing the political situations. it is amazing to me that someone can see the worst of humanity and still have hope, still fight. and that, to me, was the question i had reading this book. Quote: Stories, we all have stories. Nature does not tell stories, we do. We find ourselves in them, make ourselves in them, choose ourselves in them. If we are the stories we tell ourselves, we had better choose them well.... I ask again and again, "How am I to be, how are we to be in relation to the suffering of others?"... It is about a way of seeing that requires humility, so that one can recognize the sameness of self in the other. It is about the mutuality that can exist between us, if we choose.