In the final part of our interview series, Dr Ione explains the action undertaken by her NGO to support health centres during a period not exceeding five months. She emphasizes the need to quickly switch from humanitarian assistance (providing medicine and care) to development in order to restore the system as it was before the turmoil. After 34 years in the country, Dr Ione is still full of optimism, convinced that peace and development can and will be restored in the Central African Republic. She will keep on carrying this message to the rebels, to the government, to the population, and to whoever feels that the current situation of Central African men and women is unacceptable.
In the previous episodes, Dr Ione described her engagement in CAR and her life though rebellions and mutinies. In the region of Ngaounday at the border with Chad and Cameroon, she shared the hope of the population and assisted their initiatives to improve their living conditions. She witnessed the quick and promising establishment of community social services and the destruction of twenty five years of hard work by the successive rebellions. She recalled the attacks on Ngoundaye, and how she shared the fears of the inhabitants and had to hide with them in the bush in order to protect he life and her hospital. Finally, she was able to see the rising interest of the international community for the Central African crisis, and the response of humanitarian actors.
Living convictions: Dr Ione describes her incredible experiences in the Central African Republic. A thrilling eye-witness account of the country’s history.
In the seventh part of our interview series, Dr Ione describes how people undertook the rebuilding of their houses and collective facilities. She emphasizes the efforts made by the government to re-open a dialogue with the rebels and to restore trust among the population. Thanks to her privileged relationship with the people of Ngaoundaye, including rebels, Dr Ione has been able to discuss the government initiative with armed men in the northwest.
The signature of a peace deal between the Central African Government and the APRD, the rebel movement active in the region of Ngaoundaye, recently proved Dr Ione’s optimism to be well founded.
In the previous episodes, Dr Ione described her engagement in CAR and her life though rebellions and mutinies. In the region of Ngaounday at the border with Chad and Cameroon, she shared the hope of the population and assisted their initiatives to improve their living conditions. She witnessed the quick and promising establishment of community social services and the destruction of twenty five years of hard work by the successive rebellions. She recalled the attacks on Ngoundaye, and how she shared the fears of the inhabitants and had to hide with them in the bush in order to protect he life and her hospital. Finally, she was able to see the rising interest of the international community for the Central African crisis, and the response of humanitarian actors.
Dr Ione is now working for ASSOMESCA (association des oeuvres médicales pour la santé en Centrafrique), driven by the same enthusiasm that brought her to CAR 34 years ago.
Living convictions: Dr Ione describes her incredible experiences in the Central African Republic. A thrilling eye-witness account of the country’s history.
In the sixth part of our interview series, Dr Ione describes the difficulties faced by farmers whose fields had been destroyed and who were threatened on their way to the markets. She explains how people could only cultivate for their own survival, leading the entire agriculture of the northwest to collapse. However, the international community has started to react and to bring help to the most vulnerable people. According to Dr Ione, this intervention is crucial but shouldn’t lead to systematic assistance. The people of Ngaoundaye are only asking for temporary help to stand back up on their feet, and humanitarian assistance should only be a stage towards development assistance.
In the previous episodes, Dr Ione described her engagement in CAR and her life though rebellions and mutinies. In the region of Ngaounday at the border with Chad and Cameroon, she shared the hope of the population and assisted their initiatives to improve their living conditions. She witnessed the quick and promising establishment of community social services and the destruction of twenty five years of hard work by the successive rebellions. She recalled the attacks on Ngoundaye, and how she shared the fears of the inhabitants and had to hide with them in the bush in order to protect he life and her hospital.
Dr Ione is now working for ASSOMESCA (association des oeuvres médicales pour la santé en Centrafrique), driven by the same enthusiasm that brought her to CAR 34 years ago.
Living convictions: Dr Ione describes her incredible experiences in the Central African Republic. A thrilling eye-witness account of the country’s history.
In the fifth part of our interview series, Dr Ione recalls the turmoils faced by the population of Ngaoundaye, surrounded by belligerent parties. She explains how people were trapped between the rebels and the government forces, how the attacks have changed the life in the villages and how precarious the situation remains. During her recent conversations with young rebels, she encouraged them to open negotiations with the government and to put down their weapons. According to Dr Ione, the government’s initiative to have an inclusive political dialogue in the coming months might bring results in a near future but the failure of similar attempts in the past and the remaining presence of numerous weapons in the country serve to temper expectations.
In the previous episodes, Dr Ione described her engagement in CAR and her life though rebellions and mutinies. In the region of Ngaounday at the border with Chad and Cameroon, she shared the hope of the population and assisted their initiatives to improve their living conditions. She witnessed the quick and promising establishment of community social services and the destruction of twenty five years of hard work by the successive rebellions. She recalled the attacks on Ngoundaye, and how she shared the fears of the inhabitants and had to hide with them in the bush in order to protect he life and her hospital.
Dr Ione is now working for ASSOMESCA (association des oeuvres médicales pour la santé en Centrafrique), driven by the same enthusiasm that brought her to CAR 34 years ago.
Living convictions: Dr Ione describes her incredible experiences in the Central African Republic. A thrilling eye-witness account of the country’s history.
In the fourth part of our interview series, Dr Ione recalls the attacks on the village of Ngaoundaye, the farmers forced to flee into the bush, the violence inflicted upon the women and their incredible ability to forgive those who attacked them. Dr Ione recounts how she shared the fears of the people of Ngoundaye and hid with them at nights. Finally, she remembers the courage demonstrated by the population to protect their community hospital against the assailants.
In the previous episodes, Dr Ione described her engagement in CAR and her life though rebellions and mutinies. In the region of Ngaounday at the border with Chad and Cameroon, she shared the hope of the population and assisted their initiatives to improve their living conditions. She witnessed the quick and promising establishment of community social services and the destruction of twenty five years of hard work by the successive rebellions.
Dr Ione is now working for ASSOMESCA (association des oeuvres médicales pour la santé en Centrafrique), driven by the same enthusiasm that brought her to CAR 34 years ago.
Living convictions: Dr Ione describes her incredible experiences in the Central African Republic. A thrilling eye-witness account of the country’s history.
In the third part of our interview series, Dr Ione explains how insecurity and violence have destroyed the progress of decades of hard work. By 2000, the population of Ngoundaye had managed to set up an extensive network of schools, health centres and water pumps. Maintenance costs were progressively transferred from NGOs to farmers’ committees, ensuring sustainability for development initiatives. But hopeful times did not last. Militaries, rebels and bandits started to attack the population, ruining their villages, their economy, their achievements and their hopes. Thirty years after she began working in the country, Dr Ione and her Central African colleagues had to start all over again.
In the previous episodes, Dr Ione described her engagement in CAR and her life though rebellions and mutinies. In the region of Ngaounday at the border with Chad and Cameroon, she shared the hope of the population and assisted their initiatives to improve their living conditions. She witnessed the quick establishment of social services and the farmers’ will to lead their own development.
Dr Ione is now working for ASSOMESCA (association des oeuvres médicales pour la santé en Centrafrique), driven by the same enthusiasm that brought her to CAR 34 years ago.
Living convictions: Dr Ione describes her incredible experiences in the Central African Republic. A thrilling eye-witness account of the country’s history.
In the second part of our interview series with Dr Ione, she recounts the achievements of the population in the region of Ngaounday at the border with Chad and Cameroon. She reflects upon the quick establishment of social services and on the farmers’ initiatives to improve their living conditions.
In part I, Dr Ione described her first visit to the newly independent Central African Republic and her engagement to improve the country’s health system. Dr Ione spent half of her life in CAR, living through rebellions, mutinies, intermittent progress, and desperation. She has shared the hope of the population and supported their initiatives. She is now working for ASSOMESCA (association des oeuvres médicales pour la santé en Centrafrique), driven by the same enthusiasm that brought her to CAR 34 years ago.
Living convictions: Dr Ione describes her incredible experiences in the Central African Republic. A thrilling eye-witness account of the country’s history.
In a series of interviews, Dr Ione describes her incredible experiences in the Central African Republic: A thrilling eye-witness account of the country’s history.
In 1968, Dr Ione, then a young medical student from Italy, came to the newly independent Central African Republic to help run a hospital Ngaoundaye, close to the point where CAR, Chad and Cameroon meet. She has now spent half of her life in the country, living through rebellions, mutinies, intermittent progress, and desperation. She has shared the hope of the population and supported their initiatives. Today, she is still on their side, helping them to stand up again. Dr Ione is now working for the ASSOMESCA (association des oeuvres médicales pour la santé en Centrafrique).
In this first interview, Dr Ione comes back on her convictions and on the origin of her commitment to the population of the Central African Republic.
We are posting the first set of photos they brought back: Images of children in front of their destroyed homes, in what used to be one of CAR’s model development regions. Click on the photo for a full-screen slideshow.
The United Nations Country Team in the Central African Republic will sends its first one-week assessment mission to the troubled Ngaoundaye region in the extreme north-west of the country on Monday 24 September. A team of twelve, including staff from UNDP, OCHA, UNICEF, UNHCR and a photographer, will assess and document the humanitarian situation in this former development model region.
Since 2006 the Ngaoundaye, Bocaranga, Paoua triangle has become a strong-hold of the APRD rebels. Fighting between CAR’s presidential guard and the rebels has displaced large parts of the population of over 50,000 in this area. At least 1,700 houses have been burnt in the last months and an estimated 8,500 people have lost their home. Many have fled to bordering Cameroon. Any remnants of development projects from the 1990’s have by now been destroyed. Schools, health posts and water pumps have been looted or are defunct. Continue Reading »
MSF Press Release, Paris, June 13, 2007 – On Monday June 11, 2007, Elsa Serfass was struck by a bullet while travelling in the Ngaoundai region of northwest Central African Republic (CAR). She died at 12.30pm local time.
Elsa was travelling with two other Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) staff to Ngaoundai for the purpose of evaluating the health needs in the area. The rebel group the Popular Army for the Restoration of Democracy (APRD) is known to be active in this region. MSF duly informed in advance leaders of this group, as well as the other parties to the conflict, of the team’s movements. Elsa and her colleagues were travelling in a vehicle clearly identified with the MSF logo. Continue Reading »
The tragic death of Elsa Serfass is a terrible shock for MSF and we mourn her loss. Our thoughts are with her family and friends.
Paris/Bangui, June 11, 2007: It is with great sadness that Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has learned of the death of one of its volunteers in the Central African Republic. Elsa Serfass, a 27-year-old French citizen, was killed today by gunfire during an assessment mission in the northwestern part of the country. Ms. Serfass was on her first assignment with MSF, working as a logistician.
Elsa was based in Paoua, working in MSF’s project providing assistance to victims of ongoing violence. The northwest region of the Central African Republic is in the grip of a conflict between rebel groups and armed government forces. Criminal acts are also frequent and armed highway robbers often take advantage of the instability. Continue Reading »
About HDPT Central African Republic
The Humanitarian and Development Partnership Team (HDPT) unites all organizations working to alleviate the humanitarian and development crisis in the Central African Republic: United Nations agencies, the Red Cross Movement, NGOs and other organizations. For more information, visit About HDPT CAR or email us at info[at]hdptcar.net
Interviews with Dr Ione
Dr Ione describes her incredible experiences in the Central African Republic. A thrilling eye-witness account of the country’s history.
The United Nations Country Team in the Central African Republic will sends its first one-week assessment mission to the troubled Ngaoundaye region in the extreme north-west of the country on Monday 24 September. A team of twelve, including staff from UNDP, OCHA, UNICEF, UNHCR and a photographer, will assess and document the humanitarian situation in this former development model region.
MSF Press Release, Paris, June 13, 2007 – On Monday June 11, 2007, Elsa Serfass was struck by a bullet while travelling in the Ngaoundai region of northwest Central African Republic (CAR). She died at 12.30pm local time.
