BOOK OF THE DAY: PÁDRAIG CARMODYreviews Six Months in Sudan: A Young Doctor in a War-torn VillageBy James Maskalyk Canongate 340 pp, £14.99
THIS BOOK is a moving, sometimes beautifully written, account of a young Canadian doctor’s time in the Sudanese town of Abeyi working for Médicins Sans Frontières (MSF). Dr Maskalyk was MSF’s first officially sanctioned blogger . Abeyi is situated on the border between southern and northern Sudan and was a site of substantial violence during the long-running civil war there. The book is written partly from a combination of his blogs, some of which are reproduced in full.
The book begins with a map of the oil industry in Sudan, but it is not about competition between world powers or factions in Sudan over access to oil. Rather it is a personal account of the suffering, humanity and loss associated with poverty and conflict.
The author specifically wanted to be assigned to a war zone as death brings life into sharper relief. Indirectly he challenges popular stereotypes that conflict is innate in Africans, rather than part of the broader human make-up. As he puts it – “But war, I didn’t know it. Not yet. Not well. But it’s in me somewhere.”
War in Sudan partly stems from the fact that, as a Sudanese quoted in the book puts it, there are “too many resources in the hands of too few”. NGOs play a contradictory role. Their presence, he argues, partially absolves governments of their responsibilities. The expulsion of NGOs after the Sudanese president’s recent indictment by the International Criminal Court may change this dynamic there, but also risks further conflict.
Maskalyk avoids dehumanising the victims of the suffering he witnesses. He describes treating one child whose “ribs feel like a wooden accordion, pulling apart, coming together”. At the same time relief workers in conflict situations must cultivate some detachment to avoid being overwhelmed. This is perhaps the central, though unstated, struggle in the book. Through helping others Maskalyk achieves a fuller awareness of himself and the fragility and preciousness of life.
Questions about the global distribution of food also permeate the book. Arriving in Europe, the author notes: “Wow. Everything is food.” There are now more obese people in the world than malnourished. The issue then is one of maldistribution, rather than shortage.
The book is very well written and consequently easy to read, despite the subject matter. The juxtaposition of the blog entries and the text works particularly well. If there is a flaw, it is that the author overestimates the power of NGOs to resolve conflicts in Africa. According to him more important than the therapeutic care MSF offers is that they act as a catalyst for peace by creating weapons-free hospitals where people of different backgrounds can meet. However, after the author left, conflict broke out in Abeyi again. The town is of historic and strategic importance as a “bridge” between north and south and in terms of control of oil fields.
One of the things that comes across is the reach of Irish NGOs and the importance of the work they do in Africa. Goal’s work in Abeyi is noted repeatedly. The book serves as a timely reminder that saving people’s lives is worth doing, even in a recession. We are also saving ourselves.
Pádraig Carmody is lecturer in human geography at Trinity College Dublin. His most recent book is Neoliberalism, Civil Society and Security in Africa