Finnish nurse speaks of “sad atmosphere” at Gaza hospital

Surgical nurse Susanna Kauppi of the Finnish Red Cross has seen the worst side of the war in Gaza.
More than 3,000 Gaza residents have been injured during 13 days of fighting.
On Thursday, Kauppi had been working for a fourth day at the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, where the facility has to deal with a constant flow of newly injured victims of the fighting.

“The atmosphere in Gaza is generally very sad, and life here is difficult. Most households in Gaza City suffer from shortages of either electricity or water. There are hardly any people on the streets. Walking on the streets is unsafe, and in some parts of Gaza it is impossible. Most of the stores are closed”, Kauppi wrote in an e-mail that she sent to Helsingin Sanomat late on Thursday evening.
“There is much work to be done in the hospital. The hospital staff does long shifts, and they are tired. However, I have not heard anyone complain much about the workload. The staff is very committed, and they can manage surprisingly well with large numbers of patients coming at one time. Many employees also have concerns about the safety of their own families”, Kauppi said.

Kauppi has previously worked on Red Cross missions in Afghanistan, Kosovo, Sudan, and also in Gaza a year and a half ago, while Fatah and Hamas were locked in a power struggle.
“In my previous deployments in conflict areas, people have been able to flee the fighting, but not here. There is actually no safe place.”
The Shifa hospital is full. “The patients are women, children, and men. Injuries needing treatment span the whole spectrum, from minor scratches to multiple injuries caused by explosions and bullets. All patients in the hospital have war wounds. So-called ordinary patients are not to be seen. There is much suffering all around.”

“I have been in difficult places before, but here the difficulties are greater than on any of my previous jobs”, Kauppi wrote on Thursday evening.

http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Finnish+nurse+speaks+of+%E2%80%9Csad+atmosphere%E2%80%9D+at+Gaza+hospital/1135242611138