From Nicaragua to Lebanon: finding strength amidst war
“Hi human!”
When someone greets you that way, you’d feel serene. That someone sees the human in you irrespective of anything and everything. That someone is called Luis Montenegro.
Luis, who is always tempted to ask if people know where his country Nicaragua is on the map, embarked on a journey to Lebanon in May 2024. He had accepted a mission to work as a doctor for non-communicable diseases in MSF’s project in Baalbeck-Hermel, northeast of the country.
The Lebanon mission recruited the right person for the job. Not only does Luis greet you as a human, but he also treats you as a human. Put that in our professional setting, you’ll find a doctor who pours his heart into helping people heal, irrespective of anything and everything.
The situation in Lebanon was deteriorating by the day. Luis could hear Israeli airstrikes somewhere in the valley that would shake the windows.
What Luis didn’t know was that this escalation of hostilities was going to be pivotal in his life. What was waiting for him is a position he had to step up to in the midst of the hardest times Lebanon was passing through.
And so came the infamous 23 September, and with it came the intensified Israeli bombardment on Lebanon. MSF launched an emergency response to support thousands of displaced people. We need to provide healthcare and the needs are huge. People’s access to healthcare was disrupted. They left home with nothing, of course they won’t remember their medical prescriptions.
Luis assumed the position of medical activity manager, so he was responsible for all medical activities in Beirut and Mount Lebanon. Okay, a lot of people need healthcare in a big geographical area, we need more teams! One team turned five in five days, until there were 7 teams of doctors, nurses, counsellors, psychologists, and community health workers.
The dedication Luis speaks of speaks for itself. Until the ceasefire took effect on 27 November, the teams in Beirut and Mount Lebanon alone provided: 11,326 medical consultations, 1,732 group mental health sessions, 1,148 individual mental health sessions, and 1,157 health promotion sessions.
After the ceasefire, many returned to their homes or communities, but many found their homes damaged or destroyed so they remain displaced. That’s when the teams had to reorient their services to the new areas where people need healthcare. One team is now operating in Beirut, and the other six were made into four teams operating in Nabatieh governorate.
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Between 23 September and 27 November 2024, during the intensified Israeli bombardment of Lebanon, MSF deployed 22 mobile medical teams which were operating in several governorates including Beirut, Mount Lebanon, Baalbeck-Hermel, Bekaa, Akkar, North, South, and Nabatieh. We provided more than 31,000 medical consultations, 2,700 individual mental health consultations, and 3,600 group mental health sessions.
After the ceasefire came into effect, our teams reoriented the medical services to the most hard-hit areas of Lebanon where people have returned to their homes or communities. Today, our 16 teams continue to operate in Beirut, Bekaa, Baalbeck-Hermel, South and Nabatieh governorates.
