Memoirs of a Red Cross Doctor: Better to Light a Candle
"A doctor who worked for the Red Cross in war zones and disaster hit areas across the world has given a rare insight into his thirty-five-year career saving lives." —Daily Mail
Synonymous with conflict and humanitarian aid, the mandate of the International Red Cross (ICRC) is to protect the wounded victims of war, civilians, prisoners and refugees alike.
In Memoirs of a Red Cross Doctor, Frank Ryding recounts the missions he undertook with the Red Cross during a career spanning thirty-five years. Having worked as a doctor in many of the worlds war zones and natural disasters from the "killing field" era of Cambodia, to Afghanistan, Chechnya, Somalia, Pakistan and Sudan his is an account of observation and also personal experience, contrasting the serious, the terrifying, the heart-rending and the heartwarming.
It is also the story of the victims who suffer the consequences of war and disaster. It shows both their courage and that of the aid agencies sent to help them. As Frank recalls from some Somali graffiti: "It is better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness."
"The memoirs are an eye-opening insight into the work of the Red Cross in the war-torn places of the world. The memoirs give a good account of the patience and dedication of the staff from all over the world of the ICRC. They also show humanity at its best—selflessly tidying up the mess that others have created!" —Countypost
1127062037
Memoirs of a Red Cross Doctor: Better to Light a Candle
"A doctor who worked for the Red Cross in war zones and disaster hit areas across the world has given a rare insight into his thirty-five-year career saving lives." —Daily Mail
Synonymous with conflict and humanitarian aid, the mandate of the International Red Cross (ICRC) is to protect the wounded victims of war, civilians, prisoners and refugees alike.
In Memoirs of a Red Cross Doctor, Frank Ryding recounts the missions he undertook with the Red Cross during a career spanning thirty-five years. Having worked as a doctor in many of the worlds war zones and natural disasters from the "killing field" era of Cambodia, to Afghanistan, Chechnya, Somalia, Pakistan and Sudan his is an account of observation and also personal experience, contrasting the serious, the terrifying, the heart-rending and the heartwarming.
It is also the story of the victims who suffer the consequences of war and disaster. It shows both their courage and that of the aid agencies sent to help them. As Frank recalls from some Somali graffiti: "It is better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness."
"The memoirs are an eye-opening insight into the work of the Red Cross in the war-torn places of the world. The memoirs give a good account of the patience and dedication of the staff from all over the world of the ICRC. They also show humanity at its best—selflessly tidying up the mess that others have created!" —Countypost
17.99 In Stock
Memoirs of a Red Cross Doctor: Better to Light a Candle

Memoirs of a Red Cross Doctor: Better to Light a Candle

by Frank Ryding
Memoirs of a Red Cross Doctor: Better to Light a Candle

Memoirs of a Red Cross Doctor: Better to Light a Candle

by Frank Ryding

eBook

$17.99 

Available on Compatible NOOK devices, the free NOOK App and in My Digital Library.
WANT A NOOK?  Explore Now

Related collections and offers

LEND ME® See Details

Overview

"A doctor who worked for the Red Cross in war zones and disaster hit areas across the world has given a rare insight into his thirty-five-year career saving lives." —Daily Mail
Synonymous with conflict and humanitarian aid, the mandate of the International Red Cross (ICRC) is to protect the wounded victims of war, civilians, prisoners and refugees alike.
In Memoirs of a Red Cross Doctor, Frank Ryding recounts the missions he undertook with the Red Cross during a career spanning thirty-five years. Having worked as a doctor in many of the worlds war zones and natural disasters from the "killing field" era of Cambodia, to Afghanistan, Chechnya, Somalia, Pakistan and Sudan his is an account of observation and also personal experience, contrasting the serious, the terrifying, the heart-rending and the heartwarming.
It is also the story of the victims who suffer the consequences of war and disaster. It shows both their courage and that of the aid agencies sent to help them. As Frank recalls from some Somali graffiti: "It is better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness."
"The memoirs are an eye-opening insight into the work of the Red Cross in the war-torn places of the world. The memoirs give a good account of the patience and dedication of the staff from all over the world of the ICRC. They also show humanity at its best—selflessly tidying up the mess that others have created!" —Countypost

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781526716903
Publisher: Pen & Sword History
Publication date: 01/31/2020
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 248
File size: 7 MB

About the Author

Dr Frank Ryding is an anaesthetist from Hereford who started working for the International Red Cross in 1981. His Red Cross experiences were made into several programmes for BBC Radio 4: 'Letters from the Front Line and the programme 'Friday Lives won the 'Sony Award for Best Feature. He was awarded an OBE for 'Services to the Red Cross and the campaign to ban land-mines. Outside medicine, he writes plays, runs a hospital choir and lectures on architecture. In another life, he spent 2½ years on the ice on two expeditions with the British Antarctic Survey anaesthetising elephant seals.

Table of Contents

Introduction ix

Part 1 In the Killing Fields: Cambodia, 1980 1

Chapter 1 Crossing Borders 3

Chapter 2 First Day 9

Chapter 3 Malaria, Drips and Theatre Tickets 12

Chapter 4 Time Out 20

Chapter 5 War Zone 24

Chapter 6 Khmer Rouge 31

Part 2 Khao-I-Dang Refugee Camp: Thai-Cambodian Border, 1987 35

Chapter 7 The Dog's Back 36

Chapter 8 Kru Khmer 43

Part 3 The Afghan Conflict: Quetta, 1989 49

Chapter 9 A Peshawar Head 51

Chapter 10 Criteria 57

Chapter 11 Into Afghanistan 65

Part 4 Land of Sand and Slaughter: Somalia, 1991 73

Chapter 12 The White Pearl 75

Chapter 13 Berbera 78

Chapter 14 Front Line 81

Chapter 15 Mogadishu 91

Chapter 16 Sloop Steve B 97

Chapter 17 Rotting Fish 103

Chapter 18 Last Day in Mogadishu 107

Part 5 A City Besieged By the Mujahideen: Kabul, 1991 111

Chapter 19 Landmines 112

Chapter 20 Into the Field 117

Part 6 Interludes: Aid to Armenia and Siberia 125

Chapter 21 Armenian Earthquake 126

Chapter 22 Siberia 128

Part 7 The Ruin and Desolation of Grozny: Chechnya, 1995 129

Chapter 23 The Terrible City 131

Chapter 24 Hospital No. 4 139

Chapter 25 Meat Paste and Car Washes 146

Chapter 26 Chechen Checkpoints 154

Chapter 27 Budennovsk 162

Chapter 28 Bugs and Bandits 169

Part 8 Landmine Interlude 173

Chapter 29 Cause and Effect 174

Part 9 Sudan, 2000 177

Chapter 30 The Hospital in Lokichokio, Northern Kenya 179

Chapter 31 Shape-changer 185

Chapter 32 Into Sudan 192

Part 10 An Earthquake in the Foothills of the Himalayas: Pakistan, 2005 201

Chapter 33 Tremors 203

Chapter 34 Influx 209

Part 11 War in the Poorest Country in the World: South Sudan, 2014 217

Chapter 35 Security Level 'Extreme' 219

Chapter 36 Old Fangak 223

Chapter 37 Juba 230

Index 236

From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews