Episode 3: The fall of Srebrenica

Duration: 40 mins

July 1995 - the fall of Srebrenica is one of the toughest chapters of the Bosnian war. It only took 10 days for the Muslim enclave of Srebrenica to fall. The two MSF staff stationed there at the time witnessed the Bosnian Serb force’s attack.

Around 8,000 men and boys over the age of 16 were massacred by Bosnian Serb forces in the enclave.

But how does this happen with hundreds of UN peacekeeper in a so-called ‘safe zone’? Having trusted the UN Protection Force’s commitment to protect the enclave and its population, must MSF accept partial culpability for or complicity in the UN’s abandonment of the enclave and the ensuing massacre of the population? Didn’t MSF give the population the false impression that it would be safe as long as the team was present? And what mechanisms did MSF put in place so that they could speak out over the UN’s inability to protect the people of Srebrenica?

Image: © Olivier Jobard/MYOP

Episode 2: Prison doctors

Duration: 37 mins

MSF has been working in the enclave for over 2 years now and has repeatedly informed the media about the difficulties it’s been having trying to get supplies, medicine, and even volunteers inside facing the haggling by the Bosnian Serbs. MSF is still the only source of medical care in the enclave, but its job is being made harder and harder as the violence worsens and the living conditions deteriorate.

The organisation starts to question its role there and wonder if it’s contributing to the Bosnian Serbs’ strategy, acting like prison doctors?

And as the Bosnian-Serb authorities tighten their grip on Srebrenica, MSF is faced with another dilemma - would calling for the evacuation of civilians be the equivalent of abetting the Bosnian Serb’s ethnic cleansing policy of driving out all Muslim inhabitants and claiming the land? Even if those same civilians want to leave.

Image: © Rip Hopkins

Episode 1: Entering the enclave

Duration: 27 mins

The Muslim population trapped inside Srebrenica is living under constant shelling since the start of the war in Bosnia in 1992. Even after the UN declared the city a ‘safe area’ in March 1993, not much had changed.

The joint French/Belgian MSF unit entered Srebrenica with UNPROFOR leader General Morillon in March 1993. They were the first NGO allowed inside the enclave.

There, they witnessed the French General vowing to protect the enclave’s population. The MSF team focused on providing medical care, securing the water supply and sanitation, and preparing the enclave for the upcoming winter.

However, they’re starting to question how much protection the UN peacekeepers in the enclave can actually provide.

Image: © René Caravielhe

Our producer Jess Brown looks into the potentially catastrophic secondary impacts of COVID-19 on the lives and health of women and girls.

Sexual and reproductive health services are difficult to access in normal times and the secondary impacts of COVID-19 have made them even more elusive

This episode includes voices from our projects in Honduras and South Africa, discussing the impacts of losing access to essential sexual and reproductive health services, particularly safe abortion care and contraception care.

*Correction: Since publication it's been established that some ambulance services are running in proximity to our Honduras project.

In this episode of “Inside Yemen”, Agnes and Natalie take you to Mocha on the banks of the Red Sea – a strategic crossroads just two hours from the front line where landmines are wreaking havoc among the civilian population.

A tent hospital, the sound of artillery fire and an all-pervading wind: welcome to Yemen.

In episode 1 of “Inside Yemen”, you are plunged straight into the heart of Sanaa, Yemen’s capital. Natalie tells you about her journey to Saada in the mountains in the north of the country. This is Houthi territory - the target of thousands of airstrikes over the last five years. Not far away, Thierry and his expedition are heading for the besieged town of Taiz, through the mountains and at night… to avoid the snipers.

Bernard knows Yemen well, especially his operating theatre. Let’s go to the emergency department of an MSF hospital trapped between the frontlines south of Hodeidah and surrounded by mine fields.

It is Ghassan’s turn to take you deep into Yemen to discover the cholera epidemic that broke out across the country in 2016 and 2017, amidst controversy and media manipulation.

A grenade ready to explode, armed militia in a pick-up, Kalashnikovs everywhere. Ghassan and Thierry tell you about the everyday violence in Aden, the southern port where all semblance of normality has been lost.

Is Yemen’s a hopeless war? And what should be done when we can “only” care for people we know nothing about? In this last episode of “Inside Yemen”, Natalie takes you back to the north of the country, into the caves that serve as shelters for families when the bombs rain down.