"My work among the Taliban"

“I won't be able to forget that night, with the helicopters circling over the hospital where I worked. They were shooting wildly, the noises were intense, there were loud explosions. We were barricaded in a bunker built in the hospital. My first thought went to a one year old boy, he had a splinter on his head. Anyway, I would do it all again ». The desire to help others is unshakeable, despite the fear. Gianna Falchetto, a 33-year-old nurse from Orotelli, talks about her Afghanistan. That tormented land, once again in the hands of the Taliban, where he spent the last year of his life among the volunteers of "Doctors Without Borders".

Nightmare months

On the one hand, the fall of Kabul, with the flight abroad of the Afghan president Ashraf Ghani and the return of the Taliban. The terror spread by the Islamist militiamen, however, went beyond the capital and embraced the country. "After a period of relative and apparent calm, the situation worsened last May - says Gianna Falchetto, nursing director at the Boost Hospital in Lashkar Gah, since his arrival in August 2020 - The fighting has again intensified and brought closer to the city , in southern Afghanistan. The noises of the explosions became louder, the helicopters overhead were more and more frequent. In our hospital, originally, there were no war traumas. In recent months the situation has changed and we too have begun to receive more and more injuries from bullets, shrapnel and bombs ».

Only salvation

The bunker created under the Lashkar Gah Boost Hospital becomes the only possible solution. «The fighting got worse quickly, it was an escalation of violence - continues Falchetto in his story - We were forced to sleep in the bunker to stay close to patients and to those who continued to need us. Around there was a deserted city, the climate was surreal. We spent 12 days in that "safe" place. We had mattresses on the floor and blankets to rest whenever possible. This arrangement has allowed us to continue working to ensure continuity of treatment ».

From ASL to volunteering

We often hear the word “Sardità”, in the story of a woman who in 2016 left the San Martino hospital in Oristano and broke her contract with the local health company. The desire to travel and help others, to cultivate a dream is too strong. "The island's stubbornness played an important role, so I embraced the cause of humanitarian organizations - confesses Gianna Falchetto - The arrival at Doctors Without Borders took place in 2019".

The lesson of war

Memories are many and Gianna Falchetto tries to retrace them. "I am not at all regretful of my choice of life, even after the latest clashes." Then, with clarity he affirms: «In the meantime, people like me who go to places where there is war take into account that these situations can happen. I do this job for this too. The fact of being Sardinian, however, helped me a lot: we are strong, maybe we have an edge ». Now, the fear is behind us. "I would return to Afghanistan, I would have no problem staying another year".

Gianfranco Locci