|
From Russia, with love
 What
do flying on Aeroflot, mixing red
wine with cha-cha (a vile Georgian beverage), and running through the
snow
carrying two laptops have in common? They are all very very bad ideas.
And yet
they are all excellent distractions from the wonders of the Endocrine
and
Reproductive systems. So while my second year comrades were all hard at
work
sorting out the thyroid, I found myself in Russia,
the land
of Lenin, Leo
Tolstoy, the gulags, and
borscht.
What
possessed me to meet up with two
Germans and a Swede in the middle of March in St Petersburg? Especially with exams
looming?
What was I thinking? Well, to make a long story short, I am rather
concerned
about nuclear weapons. I am broadly concerned with all sorts of things
that
affect human health which lie outside of the health care system, like
landmines
and poverty and dirty water, like inequitable government policy and
unserviceable third world debt. But these days I am particularly keen
to
discuss the unique threat of nuclear weapons, and a global system in
which 8 or
maybe 9 countries now possess nukes, 5000 of which are on hair-trigger
alert.
In practical terms, hair-trigger alert means that we are always
potentially
only 8 minutes away from a nuclear strike.
So what does
this have to do with
medicine? Well, as a future doctor I like to think we can fix things if
people
aren’t healthy, but in the event of a nuclear strike, doctors would be
pretty
useless, so the only way to deal with this considerable public health
risk is
preventatively. For example, after the strike on Hiroshima 60 years ago, about 70 000
survivors needed immediate medical care. And there were only 3 doctors
left who
were able to provide this care. So that sucks. Which is why I went to Russia.
 In
2001 a group of people at a medical
student conference in Sweden
decided that they wanted to send international delegations of medical
students
to all of the nuclear weapon states in order to meet with other
students there,
and ask them the question “How do you feel about inheriting your
nation’s
nuclear weapons programme?” When I heard about this project, in
September of
last year, I knew I had to get involved. It just makes so much sense to
talk to
people we have so much common ground with in order to find a way to
bridge the
distance in the areas where we don’t agree. Since September, the
project has
sent two delegations to the United States,
because they’ve got the most nukes, and there are plans for delegations
to China, India
and Pakistan
before the end of the year.
Picture,
then, a room full of students
at a medical school in Moscow, the Sechenov Academy,
the best med school in Russia.
And picture me, up in front of them, attempting to chair a dialogue
about Russia’s
need for a new approach to security. After introducing ourselves and
hearing a
presentation from Kuba, one of the Germans, on the medical effects of
nuclear
weapons, I asked them “Do you think the Russian Federation needs
nuclear
weapons?” They ALL put up their hands, and the discussion began. At
this point,
two things were slowly dawning on me. One, this is a tough crowd, and
two,
these people are smarter than me. Despite these slight obstacles, the
dialogue
went forward amiably and I learned a great deal from listening to the
concerns
of Russians who depend on Russia’s
arms to ensure its place in the world. It was very humbling to talk to
people
who without having spent time in preparation for dialogues, were able
to give
us specifics about things like how many nukes Russia has on hair-trigger
alert
and the exact dates of the various nuclear weapons treaties.
After each
dialogue with students we
asked for them to evaluate the experience and we got the overwhelming
sense
that they were grateful we had come to meet with them and that they
were
inspired by our enthusiasm and determination. Many of them felt that we
had
shown them that they could make a difference in the areas that they
were
concerned about.
I am
extremely, profoundly grateful to
the amazing doctors of MedActSA, the South Australian branch of the
Medical
Association for the Prevention of War (MAPW). They have not only
supported this
endeavour financially but have been endlessly encouraging. Also I’m
thankful to
the German and Swedish affiliates, who helped support the delegation
too, and to
FMSS for their grant.
Ruth
Mitchell, NWIP Australia
|
