Between the doctor and the patient, there is a void; a chasm of the unknown, territories of wild terrain, fertile for a relationship to grow, to nurture and become a healing. The healing. The healing comes as an ending; a termination of the settlement of the pain identified by the bearer being recognised by the […]
Category: Global Health
St. Panteleimon: Patron Saint of Physicians
By Ayesha Ahmad A few weeks ago, in the city of Belgrade, I sat alongside some of the most eminent of ethicists in current biomedical debate, and discussed the morals of enhancing humans. In light of our scientific and technological development of the means to cause our own final destruction, for our survival, it was […]
Ayesha Ahmad: ‘Unorthodox Sufferings; The face of the man’
I will remember the face of the man who I had not expected to see. In suburban Johannesburg, the soil begins to turn into a rich gold color. The soil summons an enticing depth to the earth, where as Jean-Luc Nancy (1994) writes, we find existence as the cradle between our birth and our death. […]
Ayesha Ahmad: Where Our Ancestors Walked (Danced)
I recently attended a performance by choreographer, Gregory Maqoma, from South Africa. I was not aware of the profound reflections that would occur during the movements of his dance; a depiction of the life-story of his great-grandfather. […]
Ayesha Ahmad: Medicine’s Soul Suffering
It is not so often in our contemporary clinical environment that the passages of the soul find quiet refuge. What we believe (with)in has been overturned by what we can know, as if knowing brings meaning. We know that we shall die but it does not tell us what our death will mean. […]
Singing for the Motherland, Singing Medicine’s Cure.
A recent evening attending a live Greek music ensemble revealed some important characteristics about human nature; and significances for medicinal practices about the interconnectedness of our human condition with the Land on which we are born, live, love, suffer, and die. The words of the song bore no meaning until my friend kindly whispered its […]
In Sickness and In Health : The Sharing of Pain in Namibia
Between a doctor and a patient, there is a very special and unique relationship contained in an exclusive realm. The connection is formed from the presenting of an illness and the sick are drawn to the healing. The healer in turn aspires to release the sick from their symptoms and pain. Our wonder of medicine […]
Fasting: Unto Life and Until Death
The month of Ramadan is drawing to a close. During this time, Muslims from every terrain, from the hottest countries, to the most Westernised societies, have been involved in a shared yet equally an exclusive passage of religious rites. Ramadan is a unique time in the Islamic year. For a period of one month, the […]
When a child is born, where is the war? In Memory of Dr Karen Woo.
The recent deaths of ten people in Afghanistan, working for a Christian charity to promote healthcare, have shocked nations across the globe. In particular, the unfolding story about British Dr Woo’s decision to enter a war zone have revealed a raw and sobering side to the war that we have grown used to hearing the […]
“In the Land of Invisible Women” by Qanta Ahmed
I have recently been reading a memoir by a British lady, of Pakistan origin, who undertakes a position as a medical doctor at a hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The book is beautifully formatted, with a cover decorated in Islamic art and design, with each chapter laid out to chronicle another adventure in Dr Ahmed’s […]