the scorpion issue 5

The SCORPion

Fifth Edition

IFMSAwas founded in May 1951 and is run by medical students, for medical students, on a non-profit basis. IFMSA is officially recognised as a non-governmental organisation within the United Nations’ system and has official relations with the World Health Organisation. It is the international forum for medical students, and one of the largest student organisations in the world.

is to offer future physicians a comprehensive introduction to global health issues. Through our programs and opportunities, we develop culturally sensitive students of medicine, intent on influencing the transnational inequalities that shape the health of our planet.

Imprint

Editors in ChiefOmar Mukhtar, Egypt

EditorRaymundo Rojas, Chile

Design/LayoutOmar H. Safa, Egypt

PublisherInternational Federation of Medical Students` Associations

General Secretariat:IFMSA c/o WMAB.P. 6301212 Ferney-Voltaire, FrancePhone: +33 450 404 759Fax : +33 450 405 937Email : [email protected]

Homepage : www.ifmsa.org

Contacts : [email protected]

Printed in India

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EditorialWords from the Editor in Chief

SCORP PassionMessage from SCORP Director

Empower The Goddess In You

Of Friends and Family

Laboratorio di Mondialitathe approach of italian medical students to global health issues

Peace Test

And I Stood Watching

How I Fell in Love with SCORP

True Peace

HUMAN RIGHTS x HEALTH: A RELATIONSHIP THAT MUST NEVER BE FORGOTTENA Look Into the Brazilian Reality and SCORP Actions

I AM BEAUTIFUL AS A FLOWER

From Syria …… With Blood

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Peace Revolution19

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As the year comes to an end, we look back at all the changes the world came across and how we SCORPions came to change along with them. This issue is a commemoration of the amazing transitions we all came to experience as human rights activists and enlightened future physicians ready to unite against inequity and human rights violations wher-ever they’ll meet them across the globe.

This issue wouldn’t have come to light without

the help I’ve had from the SCORP Dream Team and the committed SCORPions around the world sharing with us their experience, stories and projects when it comes to our beloved standing committee.

If you’re holding this issue in your hands then you’ll know that the IFMSA August Meeting 2012 has finally commenced with the launch of a great set of sessions, trainings and workshops presented by SCORP.

Enjoy reading!Omar Mukhtar, Editor in Chief

Editorial

The SCORPion is an IFMSA publication© Portions of The SCORPion may be reproduced for non political, and non profit purposes mentioning the source provided.

Notice: Every care has been taken in the preparation of these articles. Nevertheless, errors cannot always be avoided. IFMSA cannot accept any responsibility for any liability. The opinions expressed in this issue of The SCORPion are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of IFMSA.Some of the photos and graphics used are property of their authors. We have taken every consideration not to violate their rights.

SCORP PassionMessage from the IFMSA President

Fares K. Al-FaresDirector on Human Rights & Peace

Dear Readers, We have now entered the year of 2012. It is

almost hard to believe the amount of events that have occurred all over the world. Whether students carrying out their right to protest in Montreal, or the first elections in Egypt for 5000 years, or the on-going fight for freedom in Syria. What is incredible that even though the times change, the passion and commitment from SCORP members remains the same. Members have spoken about the success and their struggles all over the world, with one common message. That message is to protect Human Rights, and to uphold peace.

As we approach the end of the term, it is wonder-

ful to recollect and remember the incredible projects and initiatives taken by these exceptional people from all over the world. As you turn through these pages you may yourself be inspired to take a new view on human rights and peace. Stories, opinions, ideas, beliefs are all shared in the spirit of freedom of speech and expression in this publication. I hope you enjoy this edition as much as I do, if not more, and be touched by the true magic that comes out of this Standing Committee.

Every year we may face a different global issue

or even a recurrent one; but the care, the human-ity, the passion, and the commitment remains the same. This can all be reflected by not my words, but the words of the contributors to this publication. I would like to congratulate Omar Mukhtar (Editor in Chief ) and Raymundo Rojas (Editor) for their hard work in both the International Team and in putting this publication together. As you turn the pages you shall see the outcome of their work, and hopefully you too shall be amazed by the stories of SCORPions all over the world.

www.ifmsa.org

The SCORPion - Issue 5 , August 2012

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Empower The Goddess In YouRowaa Ibrahim – EMSA SCORP MemberAlaa Skran – EMSA SCORP Member

History tells tales of empowered Egyptian women lead-ing armies and spreading wisdom to all of the land, but over the past few decades, they’ve taken quite a few hits.

Sexual harassment has plagued Egypt, turning a simple walk down the street into a traumatizing ordeal for most Egyptian women. Despite the conservative style chosen by most girls, men go out of their way to make vulgar com-ments, rude gestures and in some cases, inappropriate physical contact. Bystanders pay little attention to the events happening mere footsteps away from them and ignore the cries of disgust coming from the victims, giving proof that harassment has become a common occurrence and has been categorized as normal human behavior and not the disturbing psychological disease that it is. This uncivilized phenomenon has spread and become completely neglected by officials and society as well, to the point that women par-ticipating in an anti-sexual harassment march were harassed by a swarm of men as they spoke up for their rights.

In hopes of encouraging our community to take a stance against sexual harassment, SCORP EMSA dedicated a day of its Women’s Rights Campaign to this topic by holding a self-defense session for the female medical students at Ain Shams University along with a “Women’s Lounge” where

girls got the chance to share their own experiences and dis-cuss what needs to be done nationwide to give women their dignity and safety back.

The lifestyle of the Egyptian woman is a sedentary one with few opportunities for physical activity, and so on the second of the campaign, a girls’ soccer tournament was held to get them off the sidelines and get their blood pumping. The girls cheered each other on as they ran across the field in their long skirts and veils proving that even a Middle Eastern woman can connect with her inner Ronaldo.

On the last day of the campaign, SCORP EMSA orga-nized a conference discussing the role of Egyptian women in society, particularly after the revolution. A key speaker was Egypt’s first female presidential candidate, Bothaina Kamel, who spoke about how women have proven themselves in Tahrir Square and have leaped forward in the world of poli-tics.

The spirit of the young Egyptian woman is slowly picking itself up and will once again become the beacon of strength and resilience for those who have lost their will to fight.

The SCORPion | AM2012

Standing Committee on Human Rights and Peace

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Of Friends and FamilyAnny HuangIFMSA Publications Support Division Director 2010/2011

PatrickAt the back of a nondescript building in the centre of

Melbourne, I am resuscitating a friend. The movements of my hands as I bag and mask are mechanical, and I find my mind inadvertently wandering. I thought about the young man in front of us. We first met him when he walked into our office one day with his headphones on. His mouth was smiling widely, showing two rows of perfect teeth. But in his eyes there was something disconcerting.

Patrick is a pharmacy student who had taken an over-dose. Yet the trigger for this was not impending exams, or the breakup of a relationship or even being unable to pay study debts. Patrick is an asylum seeker from Cameroon. His father had been assassinated for his political views, and he had fled with his pregnant wife and young daughter. Their journey took them through Malaysia, where Patrick had studied briefly. But he saw Australia as the promised land. Before he left Malaysia, he promised his wife that she will be able to join him as soon as he receives his visa in Australia. Everything will be fine, they will be reunited soon, and they can have the new baby in their new home. More than a year later, he has only seen his new son in pictures. His mother, who is still in Cameroon, had been attacked by his father’s rivals. Patrick himself had been interrogated and forced to relive his trauma in the name of Australian law. Yesterday, Patrick received his rejection letter. He had two weeks before he would be deported back to Cameroon. Today, the cruelty of the developed world became too much for a man who had the courage to flee persecution.

The paramedics had trouble wheeling the ambulance trolley into our building to fetch Patrick. We had a two-room clinic in a rented building that was never intended for medical purposes. There was no parking for ambulances, no suction and no oxygen compressors.

Our clinic is a part of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC), a not-for-profit organisation based in Melbourne, Australia. Every day, hundreds of volunteers arrive and take up their stations in various parts of the building: health, le-gal aid, food bank, housing, English tuition and many more. Over its eleven years of existence, the ASRC has evolved

to include programs ranging from a catering service to a community soccer team. Last season, our soccer team had advanced to the finals and won against the local team 9-1!

The founder of the ASRC, Mr Kon Karapanagiotidis, is a friendly, fatherly man, a migrant himself, who likes to get to know each of our asylum seekers personally. He is a char-ismatic speaker, with a certain passion and warmth behind his words. A human rights lawyer and a lecturer in business, the ASRC first began as a class project with his university students. Armed with a few boxes of donated food, they set up a stall in the inner western suburbs of Melbourne, where many new migrants lived. More than 11 years later, the ac-tivities of the ASRC have expanded under the four pillars of aid, justice, empowerment and community.

Programs of the ASRCIt is midday on a Friday and Courtney, one of the ASRC

volunteers, carries the first warm pot of soup from the kitchen to the long table in the basement of the building..

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PEACE TESTJihad A. Imam PeaceTest Project coordinatorSCORP RA for Africa

PeaceTest is an international project based on a survey, which measures attitudes towards war, violence, tolerance, human rights and conflict resolution. The aim is both to collect comparable data on young people’s opinions and to open discussion and raise awareness on the topics men-tioned above. The target group varies from elementary school students to university students and general public. Within IFMSA, the survey has traditionally been conducted in elementary schools among 14-15 year-old students.

Mass violence is a major public health problem. Aggressive responses to intergroup and international conflict are partly determined by the processes of moral disengage-ment, in which collective violence is justified by public judgments of conflicts, choices and enemies. Individual and collective tendencies toward violence may be related to measurable and modifiable differences in attitudes sup-porting moral disengagement. The PeaceTest project has developed attitudinal survey methods for measuring moral disengagement and communication techniques for educat-ing young people about how moral disengagement can be resisted. The data can be collected from medical, university and secondary school students around the world. Statistical analyses will compare groups and investigate the psychomet-ric properties of the measurements. Technical findings can be published in scientific journals. Non-technical national reports can be widely publicized among medical, university and secondary students and more general audiences in each country, with educational outreach and an internet site de-signed to help young people learn to resist the processes of moral disengagement. Through this work we will develop an international network of future medical and public health leaders with internet-based capacities for ongoing survey and education projects to monitor and moderate national and group tendencies toward collective violence.

The main goal is to raise awareness of issues like hu-man rights, violence, war, and multiculturalism among students and, through that, to become a method of prevent-ing violence, and promoting tolerance and equality. We aim at opening discussion both among the youth and the general public about the topics mentioned above, so our target group is not necessarily restricted – it should include

whatever target group the National Coordinator feels it’s the most relevant for his/her NMO.

Based on the theory of “moral disengagement”, we try to reduce the level of support both to individual and to col-lective violence, and to promote peaceful alternatives. The idea is also to form an international network of involved students, and to use the results for international comparison.

Moreover, we attempt to explain, for each group of stu-dents we visit, why we, as medical students, think we should get involved with the rise of a peace culture.

The PeaceTest is a method for reducing the level of sup-port for violent resolutions, and of divulging the use and benefits of peaceful actions. We stimulate people to resist ar-guments invoking processes of moral disengagement, and to build arguments of their own to defend peaceful solutions.

The PeaceTest not only measures attitudes towards/raises awareness of war and violence, but also towards human rights, racism, and also in the root causes of violence, which often lie in poverty, hopelessness, prejudice, injustice and hatred.

The differences between different cities, countries and years can be analysed, and the possible reasons behind any significant changes can be considered. On an international level the Peace Test functions as an attitude meter, and the objective is to conduct it frequently in major part of the world.

For more please join the yahoo group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ifmsa-peacetest/ or contact me at [email protected]



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HUMAN RIGHTS x HEALTH: A RELATIONSHIP THAT MUST NEVER BE FORGOTTENA Look Into the Brazilian Reality and SCORP ActionsRogerio Malveira Barreto – NORP 2011/2012 – IFMSA Brazil

According to the journal “O Globo”, in april 2012, Brazil is the sixth biggest economic potency in the world, at the same time that has a reference model of public health and a Human Rights Secretary active and effective. However, it is sad to know that theory doesn´t means the reality. The coun-try utilizes only 3% of his money in health and the WHO classified Brazil at the 125th position among 191 countries. This reality needs to be changed and there is a gret tool to use: Human Rights.

According to the definition of health present in the Constitution of WHO, “Health is a state of complete physi-cal, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. The enjoyment of the highest attain-able standard of health is one of the fundamental human rights” (Besides, the article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, also ensures health as a fundamental right, as the Declaration of Alma-Ata). By the definition, we can see that is impossible reach health if we live in a society where not all the citizens are respected integrally, where the principals of peace and benevolence aren´t prioritized and, principally, where not all have the full exercise of them rights, with equity in the access to public health and to education.

In the Amnesty International´s report of 2011 about Brazil, it was said the country presents these realities: Police groups of extermination, 30 street people dead in a year in a city, contemporary slavery forms, homosexual people dead each 36 hours... How it can be reached a state of health in relation to population in general if there are vulnerable and neglected groups and if humanitarian principles aren´t valo-rized? We can note, therefore, that the relationship between Human Rights and Health is fundamental to the operation of the last one. Health emerged around Human Dignity, and that one is only real by the exercise of Human Rights. According to Routledge et al, 1999, it was demonstrated that the respect to Human Rights in the context of HIV/AIDS, mental diseases and physical deficiencies takes to a better in treatment. We can see, in that way, Human Rights are the base to the famous well-being triad: physical, psychological and social. Therefore, they are fundamental and important to the exercise of health centered in the individual and his interactions with environment.

It is by the awareness and divulgation of Human Rights that a fair society will born, a society that fights for its rights. Brazil has a great National Plan of Education in Human Rights and the Government is concerned about these ques-tions. What is missing is an engagement of the population, and it is in the point that the actions of the NGOs (like

IFMSA) get in to support governmental actions and spread Human Rights. The country has many NGOs and orga-nizations that work in this area. Thereby, Brazil has all the necessary tools: Motivated and interested people in change the reality where they live and support governmental in this question.

There are many topics that IFMSA, by SCORP, can work about Health and Human Rights. The list is huge: indigenous population, elderly people, women rights, prejudice, vulnerable populations, environment, education in Human Rights… One of them is Essential Medicines. Essential Medicines are the ones with capable to satisfy the priority necessities of population. According to WHO, TEN MILLION people day each year by treatable causes that could be solved using an essential medicine. The majority of the population don´t know about these medicines and, because of that, don´t fight for its right. Other item is il-literacy. According to UNESCO, illiterate mothers are more likely to have children with malnutrition and 5 times less chance of receive information about prevention of STDs. And, obviously, an illiterate individual feels excluded of the society, doesn´t understand the medical prescription and doesn´t have a good understanding of his disease. We must do something about it. We are creating an action here in Brazil to fight this reality, because we have 30 million people functionally illiterate.

In Brazil, we deal with a cruel reality that is very present in all world: child abuse. It is estimated that one in three women and one in six men suffered sex abuse. When is done, violates ALL child and adolescent´s rights. We are finishing the creation of a project to prevent sex abuse in children and adolescent. And we did an action to prevent negligence and physical and psychological abuses. We go talk with parents about these topics (how to help, get involved, prevent, rec-ognize it), capacitate health workers in how to recognize and help when face these situations and do pamphleteering to awareness the population.

Finally, it is notable the importance of Human Rights to ensure the access to health, to essential medicines, support to neglected population... And we have the tools to do actions in this area: International laws to support us and interested people in change the reality. It is acting locally, but thinking globally, that we join efforts to change the world.

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Laboratorio di Mondialita:the approach of italian medical students to global health issues Perfetti Alice, Mereu Alessandro, Bolchini Susanna, Cuccuru Laura and Martino Ardigò

Italian medical students have estimated the teaching of Global Health (GH) issues to be more important than their current representation in the academic curriculum at the university. The lack of teaching Global Health issues has been shown by several studies, e.g. the Doctors with Africa CUAMM- Segretariato Italiano Studenti in Medicina sur-vey in 2007.

In order to promote a healthier life for single patients or large populations, students have ascertained that classical academic curricula today do not place enough relevance on Global Health issues and their impact as socio-economic, political, demographic, juridical and environmental de-terminants, as well as the complex relationships between globalization and health in terms of equity, human rights, sustainability and international diplomacy.

Instead of accepting the absence of any kind of GH teaching, students as well as citizens have taken action to promote GH teaching for medical students. As a first step, an extra-curricular workshop on Global Health issues was organized for the first time in Italy. This one weekend work-shop called “Laboratorio di Mondialità” was aimed at medi-cal students all over Italy.

“Laboratorio di Mondialità” (LabMond) was a real revo-lution in Global Health teaching in Italy, as it put students in the middle of their own educational program.

The main topics during this workshop were: global health, determinants of health, health inequalities, inter-national cooperation, migrants medicine and the complex relationship between globalization and health.

But LabMond is more than just a simple course in Global Health: it represents an educational opportunity for participants as well as for the organizers and the trainers. The organizational choice of a laboratory, rather than a course or a conference, aims to call into question the position of participants. “Laboratorio” is the best definition for this ac-tivity, as it underlines the importance of the students work on their own knowledge and our attempt to stimulate their curiosity to go deep into the subject.

Since 2007 six LabMonds have been organized by SISM in collaboration with the Centre for International Health (CSI) and the Italian Global Health watch (OISG) thus en-abling more than six hundred students to learn and improve on the issue.

The general structure of LabMond consists of three parts: in the first part basic working knowledge is given to the students by guest speakers or other students; the second part consists of discussions and analyses whereas in the third part conclusions are drawn. The discussions within the stu-dents as well as with the expert speakers are crucial during the whole workshop. Teaching methodology is inspired by global health principles in terms of participation, equality, cooperation, justice and social cohesion. The workshop’s sessions are organized and conducted by students through small-working group sessions, interactive case studying, role play games, round tables and peer-to-peer education tech-niques. Some sessions are led by expert speakers as well.

This concept is designed to pass on different perspectives on the issues as well as to allow for interactive moments. The experimentation is made in order to give some points of reflection about didactic methodology and to provide the



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audience with didactic skills.

In order to organize this event a Scientific Committee was created. It is responsible for the creation of the event’s agenda and the coordination of the speakers. The Scientific Committee called ‘Quelli di Bologna’ holds regular meet-ings, in which not only the workshops are organized but also with the goal of sharing experiences, informations, skills and improve their proficiency in several topics related to Global Health. The Scientific Committee is engaged in the research of training aids and scientific literature on the Global Heath issues so that it’s available for free and for free sharing.

Over the past 3 years, the students who participated in LabMond were working and training together in small groups in order to organize the LabMond sessions and to bring in their own faculties “small Labmonds”.

The constitution of these “self-training groups” is the biggest revolution of LabMond. This innovation guarantees the transmission of the principles of global health to dif-fuse out of these workshops and into the daily life of the participants, thereby allowing them to keep on going with their education process and to transmit their skills to other students in their faculties. Thanks to these groups, students become the main characters.

Every edition is characterized by the easy accesibility for medical students. This is possible due to the low cost fee (only 20 euros fee for a three-days workshop) and the reservation of, at least, two places for each faculties. For each event, special attention is given to the logistic aspect of the workshop in order to create a low cost event and to decrease its environmental impact. A low cost overnight-stay solution is selected and fair trade commerce products (or km zero) are used for making meals. One-way materials are not allowed and every participant has to bring his own dishes. Various strategies to reduce water consumption and to avoid the use of plastic bottles are adopted. To reduce paper waste only recycled paper is used additionally to the digitalization of pre and post evaluation tests send by emails.

The LabMond is sponsored only by public institutions and SISM’s partners.The “Laboratorio di mondialità” has three objectives:

• To inform students about global health themes be-cause the Medicine and Surgery syllabus in our coun-try is often lacking this type of formation, despite the students’ high interest in it.

• To provide the students with a new perspectives, which could enable them to open their eyes to a real-ity they have not had the opportunity of knowing.

• To make the students more aware of health inequali-ties, acknowledging that it is also their duty to close the gap between the well-off and the poor.

The main objective of the laboratory is to create a new generation of doctors, with the firm conviction that the

right for health is a fundamental right of every human being. Making doctors aware between this this and the disparity of rights in reality, they are given the means to actively reduce it.

SISM’s members believe that it’s necessary to continue to support this process in which a lot of students are involved, in order to foster ethical thinking in the minds of students and future health-professionals. This enables students to engage in reducing health inequalities and injustices which nowadays contribute to the killing of people on a large scale. This support needs to come from other students involved in these changes but the change itself will never permanently come true without the participation of Universities; that’s why we need to involve professors potentially sensible to these topics in this process. SISM, of course, throughout this process is working hard on the future class of teachers, in order to see the revolution that Italian medical education needs to face.

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AND I STOOD WATCHINGAsma Javaid a student of khyber college of dentistry pakistan

Born in Pakistan, in a beautiful poor land , born as a “Muslim” , a name given to the people of a nation that follows Islam. ‘The rule of peace’ once I stood watching was never once. Each time I crossed the periphery of my home I stood watching...

From the very day my senses came to me, I have been given the will of choosing the right and wrong, and justify-ing the right and wrong. I have grown up to enter the second decade of my life and grown enough to judge the right and wrong more precisely until I thought I was too small to make a difference.

The life I am enjoying with a shelter and a car in the garage is a bless that very few ones are blessed with. Each day after getting up, dressing up with a brand from my ward-robe, having my favorite breakfast, I leave my home, sitting with my mother on the front seat , with my favorite music, and on my way to school passing through slums, the only thing I question myself is those eternal smiles on the faces of those small children starting their day in dirty clothes, while they leave their homes to collect garbage, while they are run-ning in the slums with that million dollar smile, while they can have minds equivalent to Einstein and Newton , while they can be better students than I am , while they can have a better life than I have, I just pass by in the car, I keep watch-ing, every day I come to school and that scene repeats and

I keep watching it. While in the school surrounded by the large number of educated people, children from filthy rich families, we have concerns that would rather sound funny to people who lived a life in the historical eras, when I am concerned with the Fifa fever, the twilight fever, the harry potter fever, I ignore the hunger fever and the poverty fever, I ignore Imdad, the guy at the school who serves tea and lunch to the teachers. In his common coarse clothes, the guy who just knows the path that leads from the canteen to the staff room. And the only help I can offer him, is giving a little bit of money each time I spare from my pocket, but once I saw him singing and whistling, enjoying the spring or trying to forget the illiteracy of himself around so many literate people I already had my purse open so that I could offer him a little money, but when I asked him to stop, he eventually asked what do I get you from the canteen? And there, I stood watching: why did I remind him of who he was? Why did I bring him back from the world he was enjoying in his mind? And I stood watching, he isn’t always demanding money, he knows he is there for work; how great he would have been if he would have more opportunities than life offered him. I stood watching because I can’t make a difference, I am not blessed to be, I am limited by the resources of my life.

Life continued and I cleared up the 11th and 12th grades from college. Every passing day our thoughts and ideas about life change and this is what happened with me. I always thought I lived in a conservative society where it’s hard for women to work until I grew up to understand that it may not be that way.

Pakistan has been in highlights for a lot of wrong reasons and one of them has been terrorism.

After 9/11, things have been tough due to invasion of Afghanistan and certain factors in the north western prov-ince. It was very normal to know about a bomb blast any-where in the country until a small town “swat” was partially invaded by the extremists. It was in that time when people migrated from swat and its surroundings and settled in the villages nearby. Almost 20 people were displaced in this un-fortunate situation and had to settle in other places until their region was cleaned up and they could live in peace in their own town. People of Pakistan are aware of the impor-tance of peace and the charity based emergency campaigns



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were held to help the internally displaced people.

In those times, the best work I could saw was Abdul Sattar Edhi’s. He runs a social based welfare Pakistani so-ciety. Edhi Foundation has the world’s largest ambulance service and operates for free to old people’s homes, orphan-ages, clinics, women’s shelters, and rehab centers for drug addicts and mentally ill individuals. It has run relief opera-tions in Africa, Middle East, the Caucasus region, Eastern Europe and US where it provided aid following the New Orleans hurricane of 2005. He has been nominated by the government of Pakistan for the Nobel peace prize. And this is my inspiration to don’t limit my actions for humanity. Watching this man working in all those odd times makes every Pakistani passionate to work for the maintenance of peace at all levels.

Inspired by Edhi and many like him, I took my first step after the country was hit by floods. We went out for char-ity and it was great to see that people are so passionate to work for noble causes. We collected a lot of money for the flood victims. From elder citizens to Children under 5 years, everyone was ready to give something for the needy victims. And that was the first time I realized that it was always easy to watch over a situation and feel upset about it but after I helped out, it made me sure that charity needs a lot of energy and by the end it makes you happy about your positive role in your society.

Later after I got admission in the university, before the semester started I voluntarily joined a preschool nursery to help young and poor children settle in the new environment of school. It wasn’t an easy job at all and only an experienced teacher could tell you more about it but every day, I would work for straight 6 hours without any break with all those thirty children around. Each of them were missing their parents and homes during the school hours and knowing every child in person gave me another lesson that a minor help we can offer in any sector to any person without any discrimination is actually helping ourselves in future. Each of those children knew me and liked staying around me for longer and I feel immensely happy about thinking that one day they will all be grown up and would serve the society in different sectors.

On the last day of my two months job at school, a child came to me with a flower and said “Mam I would become YOU one day”. She was too young to use correct grammar but I certainly got her message and I took a lot of pride in her words because I stood watching one more person who knew the worth of a minor help.

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HOW I FELL IN LOVE WITH SCORPAdelina Toma is a 3rd year student (general medicine) at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Carol Davila” in Bucharest, Romania. Has been the LORP of the Bucharest Medical Students’ Society for the past year, taking care of four project coordinators and personally organizing activities for Human Rights’ Day and International Day against Discrimination.

I love SCORP. I really do. And the reason I chose to write about this passion of mine is quite simple: in IFMSA, as in everyday life, love comes when you least expect it.

I had been an active member of my local organiza-tion in Bucharest, Romania, for 1 year and a half, having volunteered for different projects in all the departments. I liked the SCOPHian spirit that had been transmitted from generation to generation, the SCORA attitude, the intellec-tual atmosphere in SCOME. I had no different feelings for SCORP, the youngest and smallest of our departments at the time – I enjoyed thinking that we were making a difference in the life of the refugees we visited periodically, but I never really understood what or why exactly we (and they) were doing.

Then came the August Meeting in Denmark. My first IFMSA GA and I was the NORP-delegate, bound to attend the sessions of this green department. I still remember going in for the first meeting, being late as usual, and infiltrat-ing the check-in circle. I was mesmerized by the number of people there, by the diversity of cultures, ethnicities and at-titudes, all of them giving off this creative and passionate en-ergy. We all took our places and then Beata (the SCORP-D at the time) introduced an elderly man that had been with us in the room the entire time: the first IFMSA President, Professor Erik Holst! He told us about the beginnings of SCORP, about his youthful adventures as an eager doctor trying to help victims of discrimination, abuse, torture. You could see everyone shiver every time someone said the word: torture.

That was it. The first time I felt like a SCORPion. I stood there amazed by the passion and belief this incredible person spoke with, 60 years after founding the IFMSA, with what I assume was the same desire to make the world a better place. How could someone not be inspired by such a commitment?

But it only got better: Beata Syzdul, Diego Iemmi, Fares al-Fares, Nassima Dzair, Marc-André Lavallée each took the central position during the next days and I could feel the same hopes, strength, beliefs and determination in each of them. And it seemed like the others did, too.

It was such a wonderful atmosphere, such an inspira-tion, I left the GA with this new, unexpected love in my heart, for IFMSA, for the people I had met there, for the incredible Department on Human Rights and Peace. I knew that Mahatma Gandhi would have been proud to see us: „Be the change you want to see in the world”, he said – and this was it, young people from all over the world, making it happen!

Only 2 months later I became LORP, and to this day I have not lost my enthusiasm and eagerness to work in order to make this society a better one, one little step at a time. I’m proud to say we have 5 projects in progress, 3 of which are also taking place in other countries, being Transnational or International IFMSA Projects (Peace Test, Go SCORP! and Human Rights Day/Week).

I want to end my article by sending a message to all those who are afraid of trying – even if it’s trying out for a project in SCORP, trying to coordinate a project, trying to improve and develop the Department locally or nationally: YOU CAN DO IT! And it’s not just a cheesy Hollywood line…you have the power to make a difference, the support of a great team led by our dear SCORP-D, Fares –al Fares, friends from all over the world to give you feedback and great pieces of advice.

Green Hugs from Bucharest, Romania.



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True PeaceMahmoud EL-Gendy is 5th year medical student in AL-Azhar university in Cairo, a current LORP in AL-Azhar Medical Students’ Association.

I believe I can tell you one or two reasons why two people would come to hate each other to the extent that they hurt and even murder each other.

One reason is attributed to the idea of NOT ENOUGH. When resources are not enough for everyone a simple solu-tion is to subtract few consumers from the list. This is the case in the animal world when survival of one species de-pends on the extension of another. But through the history of mankind not a single case was recorded. Never was the life of a human dependent upon the death of another human. The calculations are correct, the world is self-sustainable and there is enough food to eradicate hunger from the world. Except for the natural cycle of health and disease humans are meant to survive together. It’s because of our greed that we ask for more than we need so we start by taking what is not ours. It’s because we fear the future that we tend to reassure ourselves by keeping supplies for tomorrow, although we may not live until then. And only then the resources will not keep up for long and there won’t be enough for everyone and then people will start fighting, wars will be lunched, famines will prevail and it’s only justified by man’s inability to share with others what already belongs to them.

Another reason could be our INTRINSIC IMPERFECTION. No one can pretend to be completely true nor can anyone pretend his ability to prove that. Except for what can be proven experimentally or by mathematical equations all remains just an opinion. But this is where the problem occurs. Humans are free to believe in anything, and unless it’s a scientific fact, accepting any thing remains their choice. However those believes remains hypothesis and no matter how strong your belief is you can’t pursuit others to have the same belief for the fact that your belief is not a fact. But the more you hold on to your thoughts the more aggressive your persuasion will be and when you can’t prove that you are correct you will find it justifiable for you to make people follow your path even if it was against their will. And this is where dictatorship first appeared in history. It’s because some didn’t accept this imperfection that they found it justifiable to bring their thoughts to existence de-

spite the controversial effects and then let the future judge. If I can’t prove that I’m right nor can you prove that I’m wrong then let everyone try his own way and let the time judge. A fair deal except when two people have opposite opinions and the more correct one will be the more wrong will be the other and since no one can prove he is right the two people will think of other ways to win. By any mean everyone will defend his opinion even if he had to kill whoever thinks the opposite way.

Both reasons have dramatic effects on humans’ survival and it’s only by paying attention to our real motives that we could clearly define our flaws. Humans are meant to survive together. This is simply because all humans share the same Privileges and the same flaws. Simply because all humans look for their welfare and prosperity that no human can pretend that he deserves more welfare and prosperity than anyone else. It’s because all humans can feel pain that no one should cause pain to others. Humans should care for each other simply because it’s the human only that know how it feels when some care for you and humans only can appreciate such feelings. It’s only when we are able to take what we can give and wish to others what we wish to our-selves that we could find the true peace.

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I AM BEAUTIFUL AS A FLOWERetienne chantal

I am beautiful as a flower, a subject I have elected in dedication to all women who work in IFMSA by the International Women’s Day.

All women are beautiful. This activity is very significant for its day, remembering that also applies to human rights. Always remember that every woman has a large representa-tion in the family too.

Each year around the world, International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated on March 8. Thousands of events oc-cur not just on this day but throughout March to mark the economic, political and social achievements of women.

We had the cooperation of SCORP to make the video. We received over 100 photos of the 13 countries (Algeria, Bolivia, Colombia, Brasil, Bulgaria, Helmsic –Greece, India, Iran, Jordan, Mexico , Netherlands, Venezuela, Norway, and more photographs MM in Ghana), that integrates IFMSA, we are very grateful for having participated in the next year and hope the participation of more countries.

So make a difference, think globally and act locally !! Make everyday International Women’s Day. Do your bit to ensure that the future for girls is bright, equal, safe and rewarding.

Watch our video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQNe5KZm6ro&feature=g-upl

More Info about the activity write:

[email protected]



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From Syria …… With BloodOwais K. Alsrouji is a medical student from Syria, who currently studying at Jordan University of Science and Technology.Zaid H. Imam is medical student from Syria, who currently studying at Jordan University of Science and Technology

It all started one spring when a group of children in the city of Deraa graffitied a wall with anti-governmental child-ish slogans. A few days later they were arrested and when released from custody they were either dead, or severely mu-tilated. The Syrian people have had enough and a revolution began on the 15th of March. Peaceful protests started in an attempt to remove the oppression which has lasted for de-cades to grant their children the chance of a future that they have always dreamt of. Their demand was simple: freedom.

As I write these lines, hundreds of Syrian civilians come under ruthless shelling from army forces in many towns in

Syria. The shelling has claimed 16321 documented lives until the moment of writing this article and incurred many injuries so far. Casualties include numerous women and children who have come under indiscriminate fire. Over a hundred thousand arrests have been made all around the nation.

The progression of the revolution As the protests grew in strength and numbers, so did the

governments’ killing and arresting radius. Soon Homs, Idlib, Banyas, Lattakia and numerous other Syrian cities were hit by the full arsenal of the Syrian army. The regime’s killing

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machine simply knew no bounds. The situation on the ground was miserable; tens of people were massacred each day with no help at all.

Arrests all around the country continued with the kill-ings, people arrested were subjected to all sorts of torture. As one man in Banyas describes through tears: “My father -65 years old- and I were walking back from a mosque when we were gagged and cuffed, only to find ourselves in the public stadium where we were surrounded by soldiers who hit us badly then urinated on us”. In addition to that the government also launched a massive propaganda campaign, focusing on Syria being the center of a Universal conspiracy and insurgents from terrorist organizations were advertised as the killers. However, the people of Syria didn’t fall for those woven lies of the regime and kept up the protests.

The declining conditions have forced over 120,000 people to leave the country and over a million to abandon their homes.

Houleh: A massacre “Sir, Oh Sir please don’t kill me” cried a child, as a big

person gloomed over his friend ,slit his throat and came to gut him as well. In the background a child covers himself with the blood of his brother to fake death. This isn’t part of a horror movie, or a fantasy story. This is the story of one of the tens of children and women that have been slaughtered in a transgression that revokes all sacred principles of hu-manity in the small town of Al-Houleh in Syria at the hands of the Syrian regime’s militias also known as the ‘Shabeeha’.

The current medical situation ”You either report your patients to the authorities and

put your patients at risk of arrest and torture, or if you choose to protect your patients, you’d suffer the same fate”. This is the main obstacle Health professionals are facing in Syria whenever they have a patient who got injured by the regime security forces during peaceful protests. Syrian authorities are more concerned about identifying wounded persons in order to interrogate them rather than provide them with es-sential medical care. Injured people are scared from seeking medical care in government hospitals. Instead they go to private clinics which most of the time can’t provide needed urgent care. Even those private clinics become a target to the Syrian regime forces. Many of the injured people don’t sur-vive because they are afraid of seeking medical care although their injuries are manageable.

My cousin was one of the victims of Syrian regime forces. He got caught while protesting in Damascus. He was stabbed twice in his back while he was trying to run away with his life. They took him first to interrogation be-fore providing him with needed medical care although his injury resulted in a hemothorax. A condition where blood accumulates between the lungs and the chest wall in the pleural cavity, he could have died any moment because of lung collapse and inability to breath. They took him to one

of the government’s hospitals after interrogation where he saw detainees being tortured by electrocution, slamming their heads against walls and being beaten with wooden bats. They operated on him without giving anesthetics and they kept scaring him that he isn’t going to make it out alive.

Unbroken Spirit Imagine living without electricity, having to sit in the

streets under sniper fire to collect rain water, watching your twelve year old bleed to death over 24 hours from a macer-ated face, being forced to sit in a 2x2 room awaiting the next mortar shell missing you by a few meters, standing with a gun to your head with your sister getting raped in front of you, reading words written with blood by a man left to die in a hospital freezer. Close your eyes, open them, this is not a nightmare, this is Syria for the past year.

The people of Homs, the revolution’s capital, are well renowned for their humor, 6000 plus deaths have done nothing to dampen their love for a good laugh. After tanks filled their streets, they came up with the popular Facebook page: “The Homs International Tank washing facility”, ask a Homsi about directions, and he’ll look at you smiling, and say “Go 3 tanks straight ahead then go right”

I have almost never seen a spirit to match in our modern world. Young men going from protest to protest, standing in front of whizzing bullets, unflinching; Doctors travelling from city to city trying to aid the wounded with meager sup-plies and ridiculously basic equipment; A mother sacrificing her 4 children and wishing from the depths of her heart that she’s next. Army soldiers refusing to fire at civilians, and get-ting shot at the spot. But this 10 year old boy who lost both his hands, his left eye, and the skin of his belly was just too much for a med-student sitting behind his hp laptop screen:

”God has given me two eyes; he has now taken one, he has graciously left me the other, so that I might see freedom one day”.

Syria is bleeding and Syrian people are paying their blood as a price for their freedom. We can’t sit back and watch all these human rights violations, there’s got to be something that everyone of us can help with. You can start by raising awareness in your country about the massacres happening on the ground. During the IFMSA March Meeting 2012 in Ghana we decided to make our statement as medical stu-dents around the world that the International Federation of Medical Students Associations is against the human rights violations happening in Syria. I believe the people of Syria with their great sacrifices have earned the right for freedom so let’s aid them on their journey my dearest readers.



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Peace RevolutionRaymundo Rojas Araya is a 3rd year medical student in Santiago de Chile. He is the SCORP Development Assistant for NMOs and the editor of this issue.

We are living the most violent World War that the hu-manity has seen…

If you do not agree, I encourage you to keep reading these lines…

I’m not talking about guns, death, battlefields or tanks; which we can still see in many different places of the world, but what about those places where we do have democracy, where we do have a health system, an education system, and still, we can see a lot of violence, in every corner you can find one aggressive cold look from someone you do not know, where it seems like nobody cares about what is happening to the person that is next to them…Where is really hard to find people without the eyes of discrimination.

We live in a world which looks to develop on what they produce, on what they can profit, where I don’t know why, at some point, someone thought that money equals happi-ness. But if happiness is the real purpose, why we still focus on producing more and more and faster and faster?

Everywhere I go it’s gray, gray streets, gray people with gray smiles, where it is hard to find one honest smile.

Now, if you agree we do have a problem, where we are indeed living in violent times and where we are looking for the wrong things, then why don’t we focus on what really matters?

What about hospitals?We go to a hospital when we feel sick, when we actually

feel bad and most of the time, in hospitals, people have to wait for hours, even days and even after that, they have to tolerate a doctor that treat them like if they didn’t deserve any better.

Hospital should be one magical place where people just felt better because they feel that they are in good hands at that place, and here I don’t mean only to have health workers on the highest quality but excellent human beings. Health

workers should be people raised with human rights values, with empathy, respect, tolerance…People that don’t see with eyes of discrimination, people that cares about a human be-ing that is going through a bad moment and that they are going to do everything to try to make that person feels better and as you can imagine at this point, I’m not talking about only treatment, but one look, one smile, one touch…

A good friend of mine once told me that medicine is ac-tually really easy, because we only have two types of patients, the ones that are urgent and the ones that aren’t. For those patients who need urgent care, there is a protocol to follow, where as faster and precisely we work, better. But for those patients that are not urgent, getting to a diagnosis can be sometimes easier and sometimes more tricky, but in both cases, it is essential the relationship we get with the patients, and it is not only about getting the attention to get the correct information from the patient or giving the correct information for a correct treatment, but it is also a perfect opportunity to educate people in every aspect we want to. Medicine can be really simple, getting the information, get-ting a diagnosis and give treatment when it corresponds. But now, what if I tell you that you have the power to change the things you want of your society? If you could see a change in the attitude of people, what would it be? And if you could contribute on that change, would you do it?

We are going to be doctors, who are powerful change agents of our society; we can manage to educate people on the right values and the things that really matter. How? We are always educating, we are always going to be an example for someone; if you want people to smile more, why don’t you start smiling more to people then?

“Be the change you want to see in the world” makes more sense than ever to me.

Open a door, pick up a paper on the floor, smile to a stranger, assist someone in need…Create peace, in this violent times, create a Culture of Peace in your society and maybe all, someday, we can make a Peace Revolution.

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www.ifmsa.orgmedical students worldwide

Algeria (Le Souk)Argentina (IFMSA-Argentina)

Armenia (AMSP)Australia (AMSA)

Austria (AMSA)Azerbaijan (AzerMDS)

Bahrain (IFMSA-BH)Bangladesh (BMSS)

Bolivia (IFMSA Bolivia)Bosnia and Herzegovina (BoHeMSA)

Bosnia and Herzegovina - Rep. of Srpska (SaMSIC)Brazil (DENEM)

Brazil (IFMSA Brazil)Bulgaria (AMSB)

Burkina Faso (AEM)Burundi (ABEM)Canada (CFMS)

Canada-Quebec (IFMSA-Quebec)Catalonia - Spain (AECS)

Chile (IFMSA-Chile)China (IFMSA-China)

Colombia (ASCEMCOL)Costa Rica (ACEM)Croatia (CroMSIC)

Czech Republic (IFMSA CZ)Denmark (IMCC)

Ecuador (IFMSA-Ecuador)Egypt (EMSA)

Egypt (IFMSA-Egypt)El Salvador (IFMSA El Salvador)

Estonia (EstMSA)Ethiopia (EMSA)Finland (FiMSIC)France (ANEMF)

Georgia (GYMU)Germany (BVMD)Ghana (FGMSA)

Greece (HelMSIC)Grenada (IFMSA-Grenada)

Hong Kong (AMSAHK)Hungary (HuMSIRC)

Iceland (IMSIC)

Indonesia (CIMSA-ISMKI)Iran (IFMSA-Iran)

Israel (FIMS)Italy (SISM)

Jamaica (JAMSA)Japan (IFMSA-Japan)

Jordan (IFMSA-Jo)Kenya (MSAKE)

Korea (KMSA)

Kurdistan - Iraq (IFMSA-Kurdistan/Iraq)Kuwait (KuMSA)Kyrgyzstan (MSPA Kyrgyzstan)Latvia (LaMSA Latvia)Lebanon (LeMSIC)Libya (LMSA)Lithuania (LiMSA)Luxembourg (ALEM)Malaysia (SMAMMS)

Malta (MMSA)Mexico (IFMSA-Mexico)Mongolia (MMLA)Montenegro (MoMSIC Montenegro)Mozambique (IFMSA-Mozambique)Nepal (NMSS)New Zealand (NZMSA)Nigeria (NiMSA)Norway (NMSA)Oman (SQU-MSG)Pakistan (IFMSA-Pakistan)Palestine (IFMSA-Palestine)Panama (IFMSA-Panama)Paraguay (IFMSA-Paraguay)Peru (APEMH)Peru (IFMSA Peru)Philippines (AMSA-Philippines)Poland (IFMSA-Poland)Portugal (PorMSIC)Romania (FASMR)Russian Federation (HCCM)Rwanda (MEDSAR)Saudi Arabia (IFMSA-Saudi Arabia)Serbia (IFMSA-Serbia)Slovakia (SloMSA)Slovenia (SloMSIC)South Africa (SAMSA)Spain (IFMSA-Spain)Sudan (MedSIN-Sudan)Sweden (IFMSA-Sweden)Switzerland (SwiMSA)Taiwan (IFMSA-Taiwan)

Tatarstan-Russia (TaMSA-Tatarstan)Thailand (IFMSA-Thailand)The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (MMSA-Macedonia)The Netherlands (IFMSA-The Netherlands)Tunisia (ASSOCIA-MED)Turkey (TurkMSIC)Uganda (FUMSA)United Arab Emirates (EMSS)United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Medsin-UK)United States of America (AMSA-USA)Venezuela (FEVESOCEM)

Mali (APS)Belgium (BeMSA)

Tanzania (TAMSAz)

Haiti (AHEM)

India (MSAI)

the scorpion issue 5

Documents

ifmsa presidentfares

views of ifmsa

world health organisation

scorp directorempower

scorp actionsi

human rights activists

ifmsa publication portions

sensitive students of