Health care and humanitarian workers are increasingly in the cross-hairs as hospitals and aid centers have become part of the battlefield in today's wars.
Health care and humanitarian workers are increasingly in the crosshairs as hospitals and aid centers have become part of the battlefield in today's wars. So far, there has been little to stop the profound surge of violence seen across several open-ended conflicts which has claimed thousands of lives, destroyed health systems, triggered mass displacement and state collapse, and exposed the crisis facing the norms of international humanitarian law contained in the Geneva Conventions. The New Barbarianism is a CSIS Global Health Policy Center original feature documentary (58 minutes) that examines the crisis, its causes, the limited international response and possible ways forward through dozens of interviews and dramatic original footage obtained from inside Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan. It builds on several years of prior GHPC work on the intersection of health and security, the role of militaries, and the human tragedies seen in Syria and Yemen. The film features a wide array of voices including Syrian and Afghan doctors, Doctors WIthout Borders President Joanne Liu, Former British Secretary and International Rescue Committee Chairman David Miliband, Sen. John McCain and many others.
The New Barbarianism
Healthcare and humanitarian workers are increasingly in the cross-hairs as hospitals and aid centers have become part of the battlefield in today's conflicts. So far, there has been little to stop the onslaught in several conflicts which has claimed thousands of lives.
The New Barbarianism is a CSIS Global Health Policy Center original feature documentary that examines the crisis, its causes, the limited international response and possible solutions through dozens of interviews and original footage obtained from inside Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan.
Chapter 1 - Aleppo
The opening chapter of "The New Barbarianism" examines the April 27, 20016 attack on Al Quds hospital in Aleppo, Syria. The aerial bombardment killed 55 people including one of the city's last remaining pediatricians - Dr. Muhammad Wassim Moaz.
Interviews:
Dr. Rami Kalazi - Aleppo Neurosurgeon
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Chapter 2 - The Syria Vortex
"The Syria Vortex" explores the scope, scale and effects of the Syrian war's destruction of health care and humanitarian infrastructure. There have been more than 450 attacks on medical facilities in country and more than 800 health care workers have been killed. Nearly a quarter of them were shot and dozens more were tortured to death.
Although Syria represents the most extreme case, many humanitarians are concerned that the country's war is emblematic of a new and more brutal trend of attacks across several conflicts and an erosion and shredding of international norms.
Interviews:
Sen. John McCain - Chairman, Senate Armed Services Committee (R-AZ)
J. Stephen Morrison - Senior Vice President & Director, Global Health Policy Center, CSIS
David Miliband - President and CEO, International Rescue Committee (IRC)Former British Foreign Secretary
Susannah Sirkin - Director of International Policy, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR)
David Harden - Former Assistant Administrator, Bureau of Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance, USAID
Dr. Rami Kalazi - Aleppo Neurosurgeon
Nancy Lindborg - President, United States Institute of Peace (USIP)
Jason Cone - US Executive Director, Doctors Without Borders
Rabih Torbay - President, Project Hope
Robert Mardini - Regional Director, Near and Middle East, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
Ken Isaacs - Vice President, Programs and Government Relations, Samaritan's Purse
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Chapter 3 - Geneva Under Siege
Out of the ashes of World War II, the Geneva Conventions were updated in 1949 to include specific provisions to protect medical staff, humanitarian workers, civilians and even enemy combatants. Those and subsequent updates to the international agreements should be offering more protection to vulnerable parties in today's armed conflicts but are not.
"Geneva Under Siege" examines the roots of today's crisis and how today's terrorism, counter-terrorism campaigns actions and impunity towards extreme violators are leading to the "shredding" of the international agreement.
J. Stephen Morrison - Senior Vice President & Director, Global Health Policy Center, CSIS
Leonard S. Rubenstein - Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health
David Miliband - President and CEO, International Rescue Committee (IRC)Former British Foreign Secretary
Dr. Joanne Liu - International President, Doctors Without Borders
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Chapter 4- Yemen's Cage
Despite large scale destruction and ever worsening humanitarian and health care crises, the war in Yemen has been widely off the radar for much of the rest of the world. Those crises have become far worse by attacks on medical and aid facilities, blockades of medical and humanitarian supplies and the disruption of aid flow on the ground by various parties to the conflict.
"Yemen's Cage' takes an on the ground look at the struggles of those inside the war ravaged country including Mohammed Abdulla Ghalib Ali, a wheelchair bound child who barely survived an airstrike and Giorgio Trombatore of the International Medical Corps (IMC) as he and his staff navigate the deadly realities of Yemen's war including staff abductions, facility attacks and heavy restrictions on the distribution of aid.
Mohammed Abdulla Ghalib Ali - Hospitalized Child
Anthony Cordesman - Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy, CSIS
Rabih Torbay - President, Project Hope
Giorigio Trombatore - Yemen Country Directory, International Medical Corps 2015-2017
Sarah Margon - Washington Director, Human Rights Watch
---Chapter 5 - The Kunduz Tragedy
In the early hours of October 3rd, 20015, Doctors Without Borders surgeon Dr. Esmatullah Esmat was woken up by explosions and smoke as his hospital was attacked by an American AC-130 gunship in Kunduz, Afghanistan. The incident, which the Pentagon said was the result of a series of breakdowns including communication/coordination errors and equipment malfunction, resulted in the deaths of more than 40 people including 14 Doctors Without Borders staff members.
"The Kunduz Tragedy" explores the attacks, its consequences, the subsequent investigation and disciplining of personnel by the Pentagon, and lessons from the tragedy which might help prevent future incidents from happening.
Dr. Esmatullah Esmat - Surgeon, Doctors Without Borders
Dr. Joanne Liu - International President, Doctors Without Borders
Jason Cone - US Executive Director, Doctors Without Borders
Theresa Whalen - Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Global Security
Rabih Torbay - President, Project Hope
J. Stephen Morrison - Senior Vice President & Director, Global Health Policy Center, CSIS
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Chapter 6 - What Can Be Done?
There is increasing frustration that there is little to stop the increasing threats to health care and humanitarian workers apart from self-policing nations or insurgent actors. "What Can Be Done?" explores recent attempts by NGO's to pressure the international community to action (UN Security Resolution 2286) and their limited impact despite exhaustive efforts.
Many, however, believe that the fight must continue with a realistic and sustained effort and that more individuals and nations must join the effort to improve and stop the slide against hard won gains in humanitarian law after World War II.
Richard Haass - President, Council on Foreign RelationsAuthor, A World in Disarray
Dr. Joanne Liu - International President, Doctors Without Borders
John Hamre - President and CEO, CSIS
Susannah Sirkin - Director of International Policy, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR)
Nancy Lindborg - President, United States Institute of Peace
Dr. Zaher Sahloul - Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS)
Dr. Samer Attar - Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS)
J. Stephen Morrison - Senior Vice President & Director, Global Health Policy Center, CSIS
Sen. John McCain - Chairman, Senate Armed Services Committee (R-AZ)
David Miliband - President and CEO, International Rescue Committee (IRC)Former British Foreign Secretary
Wendy Sherman - Albright Stonebridge GroupFormer Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
