A critical time

WARNING!  This blog will contain nothing about the Coronavirus. I know that in these times, there can be no other topic of concern or information which more important,  but I am going to take the bold step of actually talking about something else.  Feel free to stop reading now. 

What I would like to mention first is that our little village of Nyankunde is in a state of conflict. I won’t say the word “war”,  but the security situation is at a low point. There have been rumblings for several months. The local tribe here is Bira.  For reasons that we do not fully comprehend, a local Bira militia has been formed.  Their purpose was ostensibly to protect the local population, but whenever you mix tribal issues and bands of enthusiastic armed youth, things are liable to go astray. Go astray, they did.  There have been a number of “incidents” over the preceding months.  There were some attacks of people in the community. There were a number of murders which took place. It was difficult to get an accurate account of what was going on and why. It was hard, and still is, to understand whether this movement was supported by the local population or not.  

Anyway, things came to a head last night.  The militia had openly come into Nyankunde town for the first time, brandishing arms.  There was some incident regarding a shopkeeper who was accused by the Congolese army of supplying the militia.  The army moved in, and last night, we heard shooting in town. One Congolese soldier was seriously injured and several bodies were found around the town this morning. 

They called me to the hospital last night to see the injured soldier.  He had a thoracoabdominal wound appeared to have injured his lung and liver.  He was in shock from bleeding into his abdomen. Everyone was convinced that he had been shot. The patient himself asserted this.  There was an entrance wound, but no exit wound.  Trauma surgery is pretty simple stuff.  The question is, “where did the bullet pass and what did it injure en route.”  I got an X-ray and discovered a bullet in the left lower quadrant.  This meant that the bullet had passed all the way thought the abdomen, from side to side and top to bottom.  There was a potential for devastating injury and we took him immediately to the operating room. I opened him up and discovered that there was a wound to the diaphragm and the right lobe of the liver, which was bleeding, ...but nothing else.  I just could not figure out how the bullet ended up where it was, without injuring something else.  After some head-scratching, I ended up packing around the liver to control the bleeding, and closed.  After closing, it hit me that this was not a gunshot wounds all, but a stab wound.  The knife had cut cleanly into the diaphragm and liver.  The bullet I discovered on X-ray, had been there for years, and he had forgotten about it.  This morning he admitted that there had been a lot going on, and that yes, it might be possible that he was stabbed instead of shot.  He needs more blood, but seems to be doing fine, for now.  

Excuse the medical diversion. Our peaceful little town is now in a state of fear and confusion.  The majority of the population left. The Congolese army is firmly established in town.  The militia have reported pulled back, but it is uncertain whether or not they will attack again.  We do not know what the future holds.  For the moment we do not feel personally threatened. I feel that my presence here is needed at the hospital and it is my desire to continue to demonstrate that I wish to stay.  There is always a tendency for all expatriates to run away in time of need.  This obviously is a decision which must be carefully weighed.  There is a time when non-essential personnel should be evacuated. We are discussing what we should do as a family.  It is hard to contemplate evacuation in a time when the world seems be a on lock-down and any other place may be scarier or more dangerous.  

On a less dramatic note, I have been waging another war, against dust.  We have been embroiled in a project to redo the floors in the OR/ICU in terrazzo.  Our floors had deteriorated to a point where we could not properly clean them.  We got some funding and we have had them redone in terrazzo.  This is a durable and beautiful option, though very expensive.  It involves pouring a mixture of cement and small stones.  When it hardens the surface is ground down, leaving a beautiful surface with small colored stones.  The process of grinding down the floor puts out a fine dust powder which is EVERYWHERE!  I’ve spent the last week cleaning every surface, every window, every piece of equipment and moving them back into the rooms.  It has been an massive job and it has nearly done me in.  We are finally nearing the end, and we actually operated in the our “new” OR on the stabbed patient who though he was shot, see above. 

On the homefront we have offered shelter to two large extended Congolese families in our guesthouse.  This is a record for the number of people we have lodged.  We have 21 people in a 3 bedroom house!  There is plenty of room for cooking outdoors and a bit of a yard which is helpful for the kids to play.  Many Congolese families have sought shelter in other villages, but since the hospital side of the village is more peaceful, we are lodging these people here.

So that’s the news from Nyankunde.  It is disturbing and unsettling. All over the world, we are coming to terms with the reality that this world can be a scary place, and none of us can think that we are somehow “safe” in the bubble we have created. Here, in our troubled little village, as you are wherever you may be, we assert that we are in God’s hands and we can rest in that calm assurance of his peace.  

We appreciate your prayers and support.

Warren, for the Coopers