UCLA alum speaks about work in war-torn Liberia

Children suffering from malnutrition. War-battered vestiges of
formerly bustling cities.

For Dr. Andrew Schechtman, a graduate of the UCLA School of
Medicine, such images were part of his daily life as he worked in
war-torn Liberia for Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans
Frontières.

Schechtman brought poignant photos and images of war and
suffering in the West African country closer to reality for his
audience at Bunche Hall on Friday. 

Liberia has been in constant war since 1989. Infrastructure in
most places has collapsed, leaving citizens without a clean water
supply and basic medical needs. Its tumultuous history has left
refugees constantly searching for safe shelter, food and aid.

Nonetheless, for Schechtman, working in the camps was a
fulfilling experience.

“I absolutely loved it; I really felt like a part of this
community,” Schechtman said.

The children would run after him, calling him “Dr.
Andrew,” and ask for food, not candy or toys. 

MSF was founded in 1971 by a small group of French doctors.
According to its mission statement, it strives to provide emergency
medical assistance and bear public witness to violations of human
rights.

The non-governmental organization also helps to combat more
recent issues such as rape being used as a war tactic.

In Liberia, malnutrition, anemia, malaria, AIDS and cholera are
some of the prevalent illnesses. Schechtman and his team often had
to build a hospital within 48 hours to be able to help the
community immediately.  

In one camp, Schechtman was the only doctor for 50,000
refugees.

Physicians worked with logisticians to provide medical care and
a clean water supply. Once, sand bags were needed to build a wall
to protect patients against stray bullets from nearby fighting.

Schechtman had worked elsewhere for MSF before taking on
projects in the Liberian refugee camps in areas such as Harper,
Model, the Bong County and Monrovia, the country’s
capital.

“I’d worked overseas before in Uganda and Guatemala
with MSF, but it still took a solid week to get used to
working in Liberia,” Schechtman said.

In a typical day, Schechtman would examine deaths that occurred
overnight, and then move on to other wards, reviewing cases with
physician assistants and examining each patient. When time
allowed, Schechtman would teach the physician assistants and
nurses.

Days when there were a lot of deaths were particularly taxing,
Schechtman said.

“On the day when six children died of severe malaria,
malnutrition and respiratory infections in July, I couldn’t
help asking myself if maybe one of them might have been saved if I
just worked a little harder, spent a little more time in the
hospital,” he said.

For Schechtman, it was “totally unacceptable” for
children to die of preventable and treatable diseases. Success
cases were victories ““ victories which made some of the
tragedies easier to bear, he said.

Working in a war zone entails precaution and planning, and
Schechtman’s team often had to abandon camps for security
reasons.

For Schechtman, being homesick didn’t occupy his mind
much.

“I missed things like a good steak and a hot shower, but
the work was so rewarding and the people (international volunteers,
local staff and patients) were so wonderful that I never really
felt homesick,” Schechtman said in an e-mail.

As a student at UCLA, Schechtman didn’t have an inkling of
his future with MSF.

“It was at UCLA med. that I got my first taste of doing
medical work abroad,” Schechtman said.

In his second year of medical school, Schechtman traveled to
Costa Rica to study Spanish and assist in community clinical care
with 10-15 other students.

“From that experience, I learned that it requires more
than a willing doctor to provide successful medical care in the
developing world. It requires a lot of logistical support ““
supplies, transportation, water for hand washing and
medication,” Schechtman said.

Schechtman was first interested in working abroad from an
experience he had as an undergraduate at UC Berkeley.

While procrastinating his studying for a midterm, Schechtman
happened upon an old book on a coffee table. The book was about
Albert Schweitzer, who won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1952 for his
extensive medical work at his hospital in tropical Africa.
Schechtman found the late doctor’s work
“thrilling.”

“His work cemented in my mind that that was what I wanted
to do,” he said.

Schechtman found his work with MSF enriching and intends to
search for more opportunities to go back into the field. But when
asked if he would return to a war zone, Schechtman said he is not
too keen to endanger his life again.

“I’d have to think long and hard before volunteering
to return to an active war zone. It was the best work I’ve
ever done, but I’m not crazy,” Schechtman said.

As for his family, Schechtman said they weren’t too happy
about him going to Liberia.

“They were … very scared for my safety during the
fighting in Monrovia and exerted some not-so-subtle pressure on me
to decide against returning to Monrovia after our team was
evacuated,” Schechtman said.

Presently, Schechtman is taking a hiatus from full-time medical
practice to focus on expanding an internet business and writing a
book on his work in Liberia.

Schechtman’s talk generated a lot of student interest and
concern for the country among the audience.

Debbie Lawrence, a fifth-year anthropology student who had just
returned from studying abroad in Ghana, said she liked the talk
because it “was what I don’t hear much, but like
hearing about ““ the positive things going on over there (in
Africa),” adding that she had worked briefly at a secure
refugee camp in Liberia.