his is all wild enough to really take in and understand, without adding the stress of
the Kosovo war and the thousands of refugees that are pouring into this country.
It was our first day here that we visited some of the refugee camps in
the area.
We visited the transitional camp (a gymnasium) where people are first taken when they
arrive in Vlore,
and afterwards, some of the permanent camps in the area.
t was dark outside by the time we were on our way back to the orphanage. Another
temporary volunteer (like us) was driving. The street lights only work
occasionally and on this night they seemed to be off. From the other direction a
car was passing us and temporarily blinded his vision. When it was by, there was
just a split second to see that something was in our way.
Dave first thought was that it was a
huge dust cloud, but we all soon realized it was a pile of gravel that
had been dumped on the road. This pile was so big it completely blocked the side
of the street we were on. The driver swerved to miss it, but we plowed into it and then
rode over the side.
he guys were fine, but the two girls suffered a little.
An Italian missionary at
the orphanage hit her head on the windshield, smashing the glass. Jill hit her face on
the back of the driver’s headrest. The skin on the bridge of her nose split open and
folded back and there was a lot of blood. Because of the most visual wound, it was impossible
to tell if anything was broken.
The day had been so emotional already with all that we had seen, that the thought of the
hospital conditions here was really over the top.
A lot of prayers were said in a very short time.
ithout all the details (you can get those when we see you), a very pompous and proud doctor
put four skin staples down the bridge of Jill’s nose and told her to come back in 10 days.
There was a lot of confusion over the correct procedure and ongoing treatment for the wound,
but the doctor would only consider his prescribed plan and nothing else. The Nyberg’s called
an American doctor who said the staples should come out in no more than 3 days. With the
van somewhat smashed up, and one bum nose, Mark took us and the van to Greece the next day
for some fix-it work.
n Greece they cleaned Jill up and checked things out, but said at least five days before
they would take them out. With yet a third differing opinion, Dave called his cousin,
Cheryl (a pediatrician in Indiana) who agreed with the first US doctor and said, "Get
them out now and you should have minimal scarring." With the fear of a railroad
track-looking scar down the bridge of Jill’s nose on our minds, we went back to the
hospital in Greece and demanded to get them out. As they took off the bandages,
the expression on the doctor’s face told us
that the repair job was very Frankensteinian-looking. Five minutes later the staples were
out and bandages applied for another week.
uring this current week, we have been spending most of our time
working on refugee-related stuff. It is difficult to describe the destitution of
the people we have seen. They arrive in Albania
in shock and with nothing. At the border, the Serbians take all their documents and
anything else they want. We find that everyone has a story to tell about
murdered family members or the anguish of not knowing the status and
whereabouts of someone they love. As they arrive at the transitional camp,
they are so tired and their entranced eyes look as if they can no longer
see anything. Used to a more Western standard of living, they are corraled
into the poor conditions that Albania has to offer. These are what we would
consider condemned buildings with no adequate plumbing, windows, kitchens and
sometimes even roofs. Dave compares it to Americans being refugees in rural Mexico.
his is all wild enough to really take in and understand, without adding the stress of
the Kosovo war and the thousands of refugees that are pouring into this country.
It was our first day here that we visited some of the refugee camps in
the area.
We visited the transitional camp (a gymnasium) where people are first taken when they
arrive in Vlore,
and afterwards, some of the permanent camps in the area.
t was dark outside by the time we were on our way back to the orphanage. Another
temporary volunteer (like us) was driving. The street lights only work
occasionally and on this night they seemed to be off. From the other direction a
car was passing us and temporarily blinded his vision. When it was by, there was
just a split second to see that something was in our way.
Dave first thought was that it was a
huge dust cloud, but we all soon realized it was a pile of gravel that
had been dumped on the road. This pile was so big it completely blocked the side
of the street we were on. The driver swerved to miss it, but we plowed into it and then
rode over the side.
ithout all the details (you can get those when we see you), a very pompous and proud doctor
put four skin staples down the bridge of Jill’s nose and told her to come back in 10 days.
There was a lot of confusion over the correct procedure and ongoing treatment for the wound,
but the doctor would only consider his prescribed plan and nothing else. The Nyberg’s called
an American doctor who said the staples should come out in no more than 3 days. With the
van somewhat smashed up, and one bum nose, Mark took us and the van to Greece the next day
for some fix-it work.
uring this current week, we have been spending most of our time
working on refugee-related stuff. It is difficult to describe the destitution of
the people we have seen. They arrive in Albania
in shock and with nothing. At the border, the Serbians take all their documents and
anything else they want. We find that everyone has a story to tell about
murdered family members or the anguish of not knowing the status and
whereabouts of someone they love. As they arrive at the transitional camp,
they are so tired and their entranced eyes look as if they can no longer
see anything. Used to a more Western standard of living, they are corraled
into the poor conditions that Albania has to offer. These are what we would
consider condemned buildings with no adequate plumbing, windows, kitchens and
sometimes even roofs. Dave compares it to Americans being refugees in rural Mexico.
