September 30, 2025 • 28 mins
This week, in the final episode of our Summer Profiles series on the Inside Geneva podcast, host Imogen Foulkes talks to Irish physiotherapist Rieke Hayes, who now works in Gaza for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
“I think I went into physio with the classic idea – I’d have a little clinic, do outpatients, you know, back pain, neck pain. Turns out I really, really didn’t enjoy that setting at all once I was in it,” says Hayes.
Her first posting was unexpected.
“I got this email: would you be willing to go to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in two weeks’ time? I didn’t know what DPRK was, so, yes, North Korea, and I went, of course, yes.”
Now, she works in Gaza, treating patients with spinal injuries.
“It’s very complicated for someone with a spinal injury to get off the ground and to mobilise with a walking frame – if they had one. But you don’t have a walking frame, you don’t have a wheelchair and you don’t have a raised bed. You’re in a tent and you might be sharing it with 20 relatives.”
Can her patients recover, given the situation in Gaza?
“Many patients leave our hospital and I say: we did a good job, we’ve done the best we can. I don’t know if they’re still alive or if they’re still walking, but we do what we can. But yes, they’re very dependent on friends and family – if they have any left, of course.”
Join host Imogen Foulkes on our Inside Geneva podcast for the full interview.
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Host: Imogen Foulkes
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_05 (00:07):
This is Inside Geneva.
I'm your host, Imogen Folkes,and this is a production from
SwissInfo, the internationalpublic media company of
Switzerland.
In today's programme.
SPEAKER_04 (00:21):
When I first went to Bangladesh, first of all I was
weeping because I'd gone fromScottish climate to 30 degrees,
Bangladesh, 100% humidity, and Ijust remember crying under the
shower at 3 a.m.
because I couldn't sleep.
And I had frogs in my room.
And I got this email of wouldyou be willing to go to DPRK in
two weeks' time?
(00:42):
I didn't know what DPRK was.
So yes, North Korea.
And I went, of course, yes.
I'm very curious about thislife.
The first time I went into Gazawas last year, and it was just a
few weeks after the Rafa borderhad been shut.
So at that stage, Rafa was stillrelatively intact, but now it's
completely flat, it's completerubble.
(01:05):
We've got three basic walkers inthe whole hospital for at that
time 60 beds, and now we've 120patients, so even harder to
share any walking aids.
So it's very, very complicatedfor someone with a spinal injury
to get off the ground andmobilizing with a walking frame
if they had one.
But you don't have a walkingframe, you don't have a
(01:25):
wheelchair, and you don't have araised bed.
You're in a tent and you mightbe sharing it with 20 relatives.
SPEAKER_05 (01:41):
And in today's programme, I know summer is
really well and truly over formost of us.
But we are going to tweak to afinal summer profile.
Our guest today has been verybusy doing a very challenging
job over the summer months.
But I really wanted to get heron our podcast.
So I caught up with her at lastand joined a well-earned break
(02:05):
at this week.
SPEAKER_04 (02:06):
My name is Rika Hayes.
I'm from Ireland, and I'm aphysiotherapist.
I've been working for six yearsnow with the International
Committee of the Red Cross.
SPEAKER_05 (02:14):
So you're a physiotherapist.
I always ask people this, andit's a bit it's sometimes it's a
bit formulaic, but when you weregrowing up, is that always what
you wanted to be?
No, I wanted to be an astronautfirst.
SPEAKER_04 (02:27):
Um I got to in Ireland we've got six years in
secondary school, and the fourthyear isn't compulsory.
So it's a year when the focus ison more non-academic skills.
And during that time I did workexperience in a centre for young
adults with learning andphysical disabilities, and I was
very surprised that I enjoyedit.
(02:49):
I purely had gone there becausea friend at a range had had an
ant connection.
So and I found I was justworking as a care assistant more
or less.
Um, but I found the conditionsreally interesting.
I'd learned about spina bifida,the staff they would let me read
about it, and I could see it andI could see the symptoms of it,
and then working alongside theclients as well and just helping
them with day-to-day care.
(03:10):
And I was just surprised howmuch I enjoyed working with
people.
SPEAKER_05 (03:15):
And so did you work in in the health service in
Ireland first, or did youimmediately think I want to take
these skills abroad?
SPEAKER_04 (03:22):
Or uh no, I started off I did a I did a degree in in
physiology, actually, and then Idid the conversion course
masters in Scotland.
I think I went intophysiothinking, the classic, I
would have a little clinic, dooutpatients, you know, back
pain, neck pain.
Turns out I really, really didnot enjoy that setting at all
(03:42):
once I was in it, and againsurprised myself by finding that
I was very geared towardsintensive care, trauma
orthopedics, and from there on Ikind of geared my career towards
the humanitarian sector.
Because I thought it was onlyvolunteering at first.
I didn't know I could get acareer in it.
So I did the training for the UKemergency medical team.
(04:02):
It was a training specificallyfor occupation therapists and
physiotherapists, so that wecould be part of a medical team
that gets deployed uh by thegovernment in response to, say,
an earthquake.
So, of course, we had a lot ofspeakers who were specialists in
burns, in trauma orthopedics,and amputations.
And that's the first time Itwigged that you could have a
full-time career as ahumanitarian physiotherapist.
(04:25):
So that was when, after aboutfive, six years in the NHS, I
just handed in my notice and uhdecided to go to Bangladesh for
six months, uh, working atSpinal Cords Rehab Center and do
I helped out in university withteaching, but I I also got some
clinical work experience, evenat the Red Cross.
That's how I got my CV in.
And I also worked in Nepal forthree months again with spinal
(04:47):
cord injuries.
So it's a good way to explorewhether you would like that
work.
It's a good kind of testinground because if if it doesn't
work out, you can just go backhome, essentially, you know,
pick up your job again in theNHS and and continue on and go,
okay, that was nice.
But no, I I loved it.
SPEAKER_05 (05:04):
You've worked in a a number of places, and I know
you've worked in North Korea,which I want to ask you about
for a moment.
But I'm always curious.
I mean, lots of people who havemedical training think, uh, I'd
like to take this abroad.
But a lot of them, excellenthealth professionals, but a lot
of them have told me that whenthey first arrive in a place
(05:26):
which is not Western high-techmedicine, there's a lot of
make-do and mend work that theyhadn't quite expected.
SPEAKER_04 (05:33):
Well, I think when I first went to Bangladesh, first
of all, I was weeping becauseI'd gone from Scottish climate
to 30 degrees, Bangladesh, 100%humidity, and I just remember
frying under the shower at 3a.m.
because I couldn't sleep becauseI was actively sweating and had
frogs in my room and uh ants andwhatnot.
But so at first, yes, I was abit taken aback and going, oh my
(05:55):
God, this isn't the standard Iwould expect.
But actually now, after a fewyears of experience, actually,
when I look back and that thatcenter of rehabilitation of the
paralyzed in Bangladesh, it wasphenomenal actually that they
were set up.
I would argue they mightactually do better in terms that
you have your whateverthree-month stay there with
spinal cord injuries, and theyhave a little village built on
(06:17):
the ground as well, so that whenit comes closer discharge, you
and your family can have apractice run of uh living
independently of the hospital.
But during the day you can feedback saying, Oh, we really
struggled with toileting or withwith getting into and out of
bed, and then they do practicesessions to help them adapt and
then get them out.
Whereas I I think in many waysyou're just kind of one bam,
(06:37):
sorry, send you home, quickadaptation.
SPEAKER_05 (06:40):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (06:41):
So and they had a lot more adaptation.
It was amazing actually therehab they could provide in that
environment.
SPEAKER_05 (06:47):
And so you you joined the ICRC, you had a stint
in North Korea.
I don't know that many peoplewho've been to North Korea.
Tell me about that.
What did you what did you do?
What was it like?
SPEAKER_04 (06:56):
Oh, that that one took me by surprise.
That was my first mission.
So I had just I was told I Icould be waiting months before I
get my first mission deployment.
So I kind of came back toIreland and signed up for some
locum work.
And I got this email of wouldyou be willing to go to DPRK in
two weeks' time?
I didn't know what DPRK was.
So yes, North Korea.
(07:17):
And I went, of course, yes.
I'm very curious about thislife.
It was quite a fascinatingmission.
I was there for one year.
Most of the work with the ICRCfor a physiotherapist is working
with prosthetics northsubtitles.
So we have many centers acrossthe globe, really, that
obviously do the pre-prostheticrehabilitation.
And once we fit people with thedevices that we help them walk
(07:41):
with them and that's so thatthey're ready for discharge.
So that's essentially what wewere doing in North Korea.
We had two centers, one that waswithin Pyongyang and one that
was outside.
And the one outside is more forcivilians, per se.
The one in Pyongyang with moremilitary in their family.
Very interesting.
I mean, mostly amputees forsure.
They were quite vague about howthey got their amputations.
(08:04):
They were a little bit evasive,but but more often than not, it
was just fractures gone gonewrong, it was infections.
One person lost his leg from ashark.
Frostbite was a big one becauseit gets down to minus 30
degrees.
I had a pair of twins who hadlost both their legs because
they got lost uh during thewinter and they weren't found
for a month.
So it's a miracle they survived.
(08:24):
But I would say the the NorthKoreans for sure, very hardy
people do not complain.
They were just like, Yeah, we'reready to go.
Yeah, the device is good.
Like, you're bleeding, we needto adjust this.
Like you're getting wounds.
No, no, no, I'm good to go, I'mgood to go.
Um, not demanding at all.
And and lovely, actually,something really nice.
And one one lady was a carer forher granddaughter who'd lost her
(08:46):
leg in a burn, and uh, she wouldthen cook us treats, and then I
would return the favor by bakingthem a cake, and then she would
return the favor by baking formy whole office.
And it just became this littlecompetition, who could give
more?
They were just really, reallygenerous, really nice.
Yeah, I I was very surprised bywhat I found there.
SPEAKER_05 (09:04):
Maybe uh because it's such an unknown land, we
have too many preconceptionsabout what it might be.
SPEAKER_04 (09:09):
It is a little bit like the Truman show.
I mean, everything is very oftenthey for show.
They like things to be look bigand grand and they're a bit
elusive about any negativethings in their in their country
for sure.
But you know, it was veryinteresting.
They have a Burger Kim.
SPEAKER_05 (09:26):
Not Burger King, Burger Kim.
SPEAKER_04 (09:28):
Burger Kim.
Kim fried chicken.
Uh there's all these littlethings that are slight
variations of what you would seein Europe.
It was quite a privilege to havegone for a foreigner.
I was surprised by how muchfreedoms I had because I was
allowed to walk around the city.
In fact, I drove.
I I have a I I have a NorthKorean driver's license.
It expired after two years, butI had to do the test with the
(09:48):
military, which was veryinteresting in itself, because
they drive for me on the wrongside of the road.
And they they failed me on thefirst attempt because they said
I slowed down for pedestrians onthe road, which I thought was a
bit funny.
So it was it was in many regardsquite an entertaining mission in
terms of what you could see thatnobody else could see.
But also I really loved my mycolleagues, my Korean colleagues
(10:10):
were really nice and fun to workwith.
The patients were really lovely,and that's a side that doesn't
really get shown, I think, inthe media often enough.
Because again, journalists can'treally go in and report.
But no.
Yeah, I I would I would go backfor sure.
SPEAKER_05 (10:24):
Let's move on to where you've been most recently
than another place foreignjournalists can't go in and
report, and that is Gaza.
You've done a number of stintsthere since October the 7th.
I'm just wondering again whatyour first impressions were
compared to perhaps what youwere expecting.
SPEAKER_04 (10:44):
Uh to be fair, I think what's shown on the media
really does prepare you.
I mean, it's I don't think it'sa secret.
I know there aren't journalists,but everyone's posting about it.
I mean, my feed is full of it.
So actually it just reallyaffirmed what I was seeing
online.
It's actually true.
It's just the fact that thingsare complete rubble.
The first time I went into Gaza,it was it was last year and it
(11:05):
was just a a few weeks after theRafa border had been shut.
So at that stage, Rafa was stillrelatively intact.
But I now it's now it'scompletely flat, it's complete
rubble.
Uh I was working in Han Unit atthe time in European Gaza
Hospital, so I actually didn'tsee much outside of that life,
but it was a it was basically anIDP camp.
We had thousands of peopleliving on the ground of the
(11:28):
hospital because they thought itwas the safest place to be.
But that meant you had peoplecooking uh on the wards in the
corridors, you were steppingover their families or extended
families, trying to get to thepatients.
So that took me a little bitaback because I I I wasn't
realizing how much the IDP campwould affect actually work
inside the hospital.
Now, I did then return to thethe Rafa Field Hospital then in
(11:53):
March.
And again, it's I haveinteresting timing.
I came just two days after theceasefire ended rather abruptly.
So I've never really seen aceasefire in Gaz.
I've never really experiencedany sort of lull.
I only know it to a backdrop ofexplosions and gunfire, and
which is pretty much continuousthroughout your your days of
work.
I mean, more bombs than birdsong for sure.
SPEAKER_05 (12:14):
Tell me a bit about your patients, maybe one or two
that stand out to you, becauseyou are you are a
physiotherapist and you know,here in a peaceful country like
Ireland or or Switzerland,physio we think of as, you know,
maybe if you've got a bad backor you've you've had a a broken
arm or leg, or these areprobably not the kind of
injuries you're dealing with.
SPEAKER_04 (12:35):
No.
If you if you're working in atrauma ortho ward in the UK, for
example, you might have someonein a in a traffic accident or
someone who's fallen from aheight and they might have a
fractured arm, maybe a fracturedleg with it.
But in a conflict zone, thewounds are very, very different.
They're mostly open wounds, andby that I mean penetrative
injuries.
So you're looking at shrapnel oryou're looking at a bullet
(12:58):
wound.
So just through that, youalready have a different injury.
You've got the fracture, whichis much more severe because it's
a very high velocity objectwhich has caused it and has
splintered the bone.
You might also have bone loss,which means you might end up
getting your limb shortened.
There's actually a higher riskthat your limb needs to be
amputated because of the openwounds.
That means your your vascularsystem is compromised.
(13:19):
If you don't need any of thosesevere shortenings or removal of
your limb, you've got also theissue of infection.
So there's just a lot moredifficulties surrounding the
injury that you have.
More often than not, it's notjust one limb either.
I had one man, Ahmed.
I mean, he was a miracle reallythat he's managed to survive,
and he was a phenomenal youngman.
(13:39):
He was 19.
Shrapnel injuries, he hadfracture in his left hand, he
needed wires put in and a cast.
He had fractures under his rightforearm, he had such a severe
open wound in his right leg,bone loss, his leg had to be
shortened by 10 centimeters.
He has a external fixator on,his head was fine, and his left
(14:00):
leg was fine.
Uh, his abdomen had beenshredded as well.
He's a stoma bag in it, youknow, like a 19-year-old who was
hoping to be an engineeringstudent, Kyrgyzstan.
That was his that was hisambitions.
But yeah, just trying to get ontop of his rehab medical care
and then his rehabilitation carewhen you've only got one leg to
work with.
You've got maybe fourwheelchairs in the whole
(14:20):
hospital so that you canencourage his brother to get him
out in the wheelchair so he getsoff the bed.
He can't really use any of yourwalking aids because crutches
require hands and both of hisarms are fractured, his
forearms.
We would have these devices inthe UK that he could use.
There'd be like a large framethat you can rest your elbows
on.
We don't have that.
We've we've got three basicwalkers in the whole hospital
(14:41):
for at that time 60 beds, andand now we've 120 patients, so
even harder to share any walkingaids.
SPEAKER_05 (14:47):
So was the ICRC asking to get more of these
mobility aids in?
SPEAKER_04 (14:52):
We had an order.
Unfortunately, we used to keep alot of our stock in European
Gaza Hospital, but it wasevacuated last year, so a lot of
our stock was was was looted,wheelchairs and and walking
frames.
We did have an order in sinceNovember 2023, but it never
came.
It was it was kept in Jordan, tomy knowledge.
We don't get much information ofwhy it can't come in or if
(15:12):
there's a particular item in thelorry that they don't like.
You're just not told, you'rejust told no.
And you just know it's sittingthere waiting.
So we had clutches waiting, wehad frames waiting, wheelchairs
waiting, but we didn't havethem.
I mean, we've got shortageseverywhere of like medications
and surgical implements,everything.
But just imagine also whatyou're discharging them home to.
So at least in the UK, you know,you're unlikely to have lost
(15:36):
your home, really.
You you have a house, you know,you have a bed, you have a
bathroom.
Maybe you need some adjustmentsto those items, and you can get
occupational therapy, we'll putin bed rails and a special toy.
So you know, give you a commode.
What we're discharging people tonow is tents.
They're sleeping on the ground.
It's very, very complicated forsomeone with a spinal injury to
get off the ground andmobilizing with a walking frame
(15:59):
if they had one.
But you don't have a walkingframe, you don't have a
wheelchair, and you don't have araised bed.
So you're in a tent and youmight be sharing it with 20
relatives.
You might still have wounds thatyou need follow-up care for.
Good luck trying to keep themclean.
Like we've got really highinfection rates because people
can't wash themselves.
Soap is very hard to find.
So it's just all aroundcompounding issues.
(16:20):
It makes it really difficult foranyone to fully heal from any of
their injuries.
SPEAKER_05 (16:24):
You also you gave an interview actually to the ICRC
online website about voices ofICRC workers, where you said you
went knowing what what you mightexpect in Gaza, but you hadn't
expected to be working incasualty with people immediately
wounded.
SPEAKER_04 (16:41):
I think what you were referring to to is the fact
that I was stopping bleedingrather than rehabilitating.
And that was largely because wehad such an influx of mass
casualties that we just couldn'tcope with the staffing we had.
So my initial six weeks, it wasfine.
We were 60 bed at hospital.
We did have mass casualtyincidents, but they were usually
(17:01):
about 40 people coming in in ashort period of time, and and we
could absorb that, we were fine.
When I came back for the secondround of six weeks, this was
just as the food distributioncenters opened in Rafa.
And I can't come to us to who'sresponsible for all the gunfire,
however, people were being shotgoing to or at or leaving these
(17:21):
food distribution centers, andthat was sending waves and waves
of casualties our way.
But like in numbers we neverwould have anticipated.
So we were looking at 180 oneday, 60 the next day, 174, 244
was the highest we had.
And you just couldn't recoverfrom that.
So imagine how you've got thestaffing, usual staffing for a
(17:42):
60-bedded field hospital.
Imagine now also it's the nightshift.
So you've got reduced staffing,and obviously there's no
surgical team because we at thattime we weren't doing surgeries
overnight.
So the mass casualties in thebeginning were because the food
distribution centers would openat approximately 7 a.m., the
mass casualty incidents wouldusually start around 4:30, 5.30.
(18:04):
So it was right in the middle ofthe night shift.
So honestly, when you've got ahundred people in a very short
period of time coming in, youdon't have enough staff, and it
is really a ha all hands ondeck.
And that's how I found myselfpatching up more bleeding than I
would have expected and helpingout with tourniquets.
SPEAKER_05 (18:20):
Do you ever get depressed or angry?
I mean, you seem so cheerful andand motivated, but when you see
that, you're talking abouthundreds of people shot coming
in in waves.
Do you ever get depressed or oreven angry?
SPEAKER_04 (18:32):
I don't think depressed and angry would be the
right word for it.
I um I guess I got my work haton, so I know I can do something
about it.
Do you ever have thathelplessness when you see
someone injured and you don'tknow what to do?
I always admired when there wassomebody on the scene who, like
a paramedic who knew exactlywhat to do and knew how to
react, knew how to respond, givethe best care.
But like over the years, I havebecome that person in terms of
(18:55):
physiotherapy, and I've alsodone a lot of trauma first aid
through my work.
So I know what to do, and Isuppose I'm happy that I I can
do something of help.
Because you really just want tohelp all your nursing and doctor
colleagues at this stage and allyour physio colleagues.
You want to be an extra pair ofhands, so you don't really have
time to be depressed and upset.
I had moments, of course, when Iwould have to take a breather
(19:17):
and go in my tent, have to takea deep breath, and then go back
at it because what I found veryoverwhelming was the screaming
and the bleeding.
It was it's not just theinjured, it's all the families
that come with them and it'slike chaos.
People are lying on the ground,I mean, they see you and they
think you're a doctor andthey're trying to pull you over,
they're weeping.
You go and check on the on on aperson lying on the ground, you
(19:39):
realize they're no longer alive.
Then you just try and go andtreat someone that you you know
what you can do with, you know,you've got some chest wounds or
you've got some leg wounds.
I'm like, okay, I can patch thatup.
I can help apply a tourniquetfor sure.
I can try and stabilize thisfracture.
That's actually the main roleI'm supposed to have in the ED
department.
It's to stabilize fractures.
(19:59):
So yeah, I think you don'treally have much time to process
what is happening other than, ohGod, let's just get through this
wave and hope it calms down andwe can catch our breath and
really really try and deliverthe best care.
SPEAKER_05 (20:13):
And what about when you get home and you've got more
time to think about it?
SPEAKER_04 (20:17):
Uh I'm I'm okay.
I I think I'm my my frustrationat home is that I'm not there
helping, I think.
I I know it continues after Ileave.
I think that's what I findhardest.
It's not reliving the masscasually in a sense, it's it's
getting through the border andleaving people behind and I and
I'm still in touch with them andI can see the news and I and I
(20:38):
then I worry, of course, thatthings are worse and that I'm
not there helping and then Ifeel guilty.
That's what I I wrestle with themost, I think.
It's it's not being there.
So you'll go back, I guess.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
I the organization is aware thatI'm I'm I'm ready to go back and
when I'm ready to go back, sofor sure.
unknown (20:56):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (21:00):
It it always is, and unfortunately it's always worse.
I mean, March was worse thanwhen I was uh there last year in
May.
June was by far the worst.
I had experience with daily masscasualties.
Things were a bit safer.
I'd say less stray bullets inthe hospital now when I was
there just last week.
But the situation in Gaza hasgotten worse now with the
(21:22):
evacuation of Gaza City.
So that's of course sending moreand more people south to
Almawassi and and towardsKanunas, really.
And that also isn't safe.
I mean, people are alreadystruggling for housing there and
for clean water and for food.
I think now there's anadditional 350,000 people who've
now evacuated there.
It's like where where are theygoing to stay?
SPEAKER_05 (21:42):
But somebody like like your patients, the the
young man you've got whose armshave been fractured, his leg has
been shortened, and there aremany people with these kinds of
injuries.
How can they even move to a newplace like that?
SPEAKER_04 (21:55):
They rely wholly on their family members to carry
them.
And that's the grim reality ofit.
We don't have wheelchairs tooffer.
And the few wheelchairs that wedo have or did have, I know they
were very much reserved forpeople with complete spinal cord
injuries or bilateral lower limbamputations.
So yeah, they are fullydependent for a time.
I mean, this this fella Ahmed, II did meet him actually two
(22:17):
weeks ago.
I was the first time I'd seenhim in in months.
And yeah, he's walking, he's gothis crutches, the crutches that
we made out of pallets, ofcourse, or wooden crutches.
You can see him limping becausehe's got the leg length
shortening.
He got his uh c colonosityreversed, so now he's got his
abdomen closed finally.
What I was really happy to seewas his brother, Mohammed,
actually.
Mohammed was his care in the inthe hospital for many months,
(22:39):
and he was also one of thevictims in the mass casualties.
So the last time I had seen him,he was lying on the floor and
he'd been shot in the neck andin the left shoulder.
So I didn't know if he'dsurvived or not.
So to see him walking alongsidehis brother, the two walking
wounded, was uh quite a relief,actually.
But yeah, they are verydependent on friends, family, if
(23:00):
they have any left, of course.
SPEAKER_05 (23:02):
One final question then, Rika.
You told us how happy you wereto see that patient, Ahmed, and
that his brother also up on hisfeet again.
Is that the moment moments likethat think yeah, I've I've
definitely chosen the right job.
SPEAKER_04 (23:17):
Yeah, for sure.
For sure.
Yeah.
And and there's many storieslike that where you know you've
put them on the path to beingindependent and being more
capable of surviving this.
But I mean, I don't want toagain, I'm going back on a
downer, but you're you're alsosending them back out and you're
hoping they survive the war.
So I don't know.
I many, many patients uh thatleave our hospital that I say,
(23:39):
we did a good job, we've donethe best we can.
I I don't know if they are stillalive, if they're still walking,
but we do what we can.
And and I will say this for thestaff in the Rafflefield
Hospital, and I'm not justtalking about the international
staff, I'm talking about thePalestinians.
They are incredible.
They are really talented,really, really good carers, very
passionate.
Obviously, it affects themdeeply.
(24:00):
It's their neighbors, it's theirfriends and the families, and
they just do a phenomenal job.
And I honestly I don't know howthey have the capacity to do it,
because I I do my six weeks andI know I'm gonna leave and I can
relax a little bit and sleep.
I don't need to worry about myfamilies while I'm working, but
they they have their families tobe worried about, they are all
living in tents, and yet dayafter day they come into work
(24:21):
and they still do an incrediblejob and they're really
motivated.
They're just such lovely peopleto work with and playful and
generous.
The little food that they havethey're sharing with you, and
they banter with you.
And I'm impressed that they canstill have a sense of humor
despite everything that goes on.
They really are astounding towork with.
It's a real privilege.
SPEAKER_05 (24:46):
And that brings us to the end of this edition of
Inside Geneva.
Huge thanks to Rika Hayes forsharing her experiences and her
precious free time with us.
We hope you enjoyed listening toher.
Next time, we're going to hearfrom fresh writers and
journalists, a form of humanrights council about the growth
(25:13):
council freedom of expression.
(26:30):
We refer to your podcast.
Or about the impact of the womenand girls, of the cats, and
humanitarian funding.
Don't forget to subscribe to usand review us.
(26:52):
We're always pleased to hearyour views.
Thanks again for listening.
This is Inside Geneva.
I'm your host, Imogen Folkes,and this is a production from
SwissInfo, the internationalpublic media company of
Switzerland.
In today's programme.
SPEAKER_04 (00:21):
When I first went to Bangladesh, first of all I was
weeping because I'd gone fromScottish climate to 30 degrees,
Bangladesh, 100% humidity, and Ijust remember crying under the
shower at 3 a.m.
because I couldn't sleep.
And I had frogs in my room.
And I got this email of wouldyou be willing to go to DPRK in
two weeks' time?
(00:42):
I didn't know what DPRK was.
So yes, North Korea.
And I went, of course, yes.
I'm very curious about thislife.
The first time I went into Gazawas last year, and it was just a
few weeks after the Rafa borderhad been shut.
So at that stage, Rafa was stillrelatively intact, but now it's
completely flat, it's completerubble.
(01:05):
We've got three basic walkers inthe whole hospital for at that
time 60 beds, and now we've 120patients, so even harder to
share any walking aids.
So it's very, very complicatedfor someone with a spinal injury
to get off the ground andmobilizing with a walking frame
if they had one.
But you don't have a walkingframe, you don't have a
(01:25):
wheelchair, and you don't have araised bed.
You're in a tent and you mightbe sharing it with 20 relatives.
SPEAKER_05 (01:41):
And in today's programme, I know summer is
really well and truly over formost of us.
But we are going to tweak to afinal summer profile.
Our guest today has been verybusy doing a very challenging
job over the summer months.
But I really wanted to get heron our podcast.
So I caught up with her at lastand joined a well-earned break
(02:05):
at this week.
SPEAKER_04 (02:06):
My name is Rika Hayes.
I'm from Ireland, and I'm aphysiotherapist.
I've been working for six yearsnow with the International
Committee of the Red Cross.
SPEAKER_05 (02:14):
So you're a physiotherapist.
I always ask people this, andit's a bit it's sometimes it's a
bit formulaic, but when you weregrowing up, is that always what
you wanted to be?
No, I wanted to be an astronautfirst.
SPEAKER_04 (02:27):
Um I got to in Ireland we've got six years in
secondary school, and the fourthyear isn't compulsory.
So it's a year when the focus ison more non-academic skills.
And during that time I did workexperience in a centre for young
adults with learning andphysical disabilities, and I was
very surprised that I enjoyedit.
(02:49):
I purely had gone there becausea friend at a range had had an
ant connection.
So and I found I was justworking as a care assistant more
or less.
Um, but I found the conditionsreally interesting.
I'd learned about spina bifida,the staff they would let me read
about it, and I could see it andI could see the symptoms of it,
and then working alongside theclients as well and just helping
them with day-to-day care.
(03:10):
And I was just surprised howmuch I enjoyed working with
people.
SPEAKER_05 (03:15):
And so did you work in in the health service in
Ireland first, or did youimmediately think I want to take
these skills abroad?
SPEAKER_04 (03:22):
Or uh no, I started off I did a I did a degree in in
physiology, actually, and then Idid the conversion course
masters in Scotland.
I think I went intophysiothinking, the classic, I
would have a little clinic, dooutpatients, you know, back
pain, neck pain.
Turns out I really, really didnot enjoy that setting at all
(03:42):
once I was in it, and againsurprised myself by finding that
I was very geared towardsintensive care, trauma
orthopedics, and from there on Ikind of geared my career towards
the humanitarian sector.
Because I thought it was onlyvolunteering at first.
I didn't know I could get acareer in it.
So I did the training for the UKemergency medical team.
(04:02):
It was a training specificallyfor occupation therapists and
physiotherapists, so that wecould be part of a medical team
that gets deployed uh by thegovernment in response to, say,
an earthquake.
So, of course, we had a lot ofspeakers who were specialists in
burns, in trauma orthopedics,and amputations.
And that's the first time Itwigged that you could have a
full-time career as ahumanitarian physiotherapist.
(04:25):
So that was when, after aboutfive, six years in the NHS, I
just handed in my notice and uhdecided to go to Bangladesh for
six months, uh, working atSpinal Cords Rehab Center and do
I helped out in university withteaching, but I I also got some
clinical work experience, evenat the Red Cross.
That's how I got my CV in.
And I also worked in Nepal forthree months again with spinal
(04:47):
cord injuries.
So it's a good way to explorewhether you would like that
work.
It's a good kind of testinground because if if it doesn't
work out, you can just go backhome, essentially, you know,
pick up your job again in theNHS and and continue on and go,
okay, that was nice.
But no, I I loved it.
SPEAKER_05 (05:04):
You've worked in a a number of places, and I know
you've worked in North Korea,which I want to ask you about
for a moment.
But I'm always curious.
I mean, lots of people who havemedical training think, uh, I'd
like to take this abroad.
But a lot of them, excellenthealth professionals, but a lot
of them have told me that whenthey first arrive in a place
(05:26):
which is not Western high-techmedicine, there's a lot of
make-do and mend work that theyhadn't quite expected.
SPEAKER_04 (05:33):
Well, I think when I first went to Bangladesh, first
of all, I was weeping becauseI'd gone from Scottish climate
to 30 degrees, Bangladesh, 100%humidity, and I just remember
frying under the shower at 3a.m.
because I couldn't sleep becauseI was actively sweating and had
frogs in my room and uh ants andwhatnot.
But so at first, yes, I was abit taken aback and going, oh my
(05:55):
God, this isn't the standard Iwould expect.
But actually now, after a fewyears of experience, actually,
when I look back and that thatcenter of rehabilitation of the
paralyzed in Bangladesh, it wasphenomenal actually that they
were set up.
I would argue they mightactually do better in terms that
you have your whateverthree-month stay there with
spinal cord injuries, and theyhave a little village built on
(06:17):
the ground as well, so that whenit comes closer discharge, you
and your family can have apractice run of uh living
independently of the hospital.
But during the day you can feedback saying, Oh, we really
struggled with toileting or withwith getting into and out of
bed, and then they do practicesessions to help them adapt and
then get them out.
Whereas I I think in many waysyou're just kind of one bam,
(06:37):
sorry, send you home, quickadaptation.
SPEAKER_05 (06:40):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (06:41):
So and they had a lot more adaptation.
It was amazing actually therehab they could provide in that
environment.
SPEAKER_05 (06:47):
And so you you joined the ICRC, you had a stint
in North Korea.
I don't know that many peoplewho've been to North Korea.
Tell me about that.
What did you what did you do?
What was it like?
SPEAKER_04 (06:56):
Oh, that that one took me by surprise.
That was my first mission.
So I had just I was told I Icould be waiting months before I
get my first mission deployment.
So I kind of came back toIreland and signed up for some
locum work.
And I got this email of wouldyou be willing to go to DPRK in
two weeks' time?
I didn't know what DPRK was.
So yes, North Korea.
(07:17):
And I went, of course, yes.
I'm very curious about thislife.
It was quite a fascinatingmission.
I was there for one year.
Most of the work with the ICRCfor a physiotherapist is working
with prosthetics northsubtitles.
So we have many centers acrossthe globe, really, that
obviously do the pre-prostheticrehabilitation.
And once we fit people with thedevices that we help them walk
(07:41):
with them and that's so thatthey're ready for discharge.
So that's essentially what wewere doing in North Korea.
We had two centers, one that waswithin Pyongyang and one that
was outside.
And the one outside is more forcivilians, per se.
The one in Pyongyang with moremilitary in their family.
Very interesting.
I mean, mostly amputees forsure.
They were quite vague about howthey got their amputations.
(08:04):
They were a little bit evasive,but but more often than not, it
was just fractures gone gonewrong, it was infections.
One person lost his leg from ashark.
Frostbite was a big one becauseit gets down to minus 30
degrees.
I had a pair of twins who hadlost both their legs because
they got lost uh during thewinter and they weren't found
for a month.
So it's a miracle they survived.
(08:24):
But I would say the the NorthKoreans for sure, very hardy
people do not complain.
They were just like, Yeah, we'reready to go.
Yeah, the device is good.
Like, you're bleeding, we needto adjust this.
Like you're getting wounds.
No, no, no, I'm good to go, I'mgood to go.
Um, not demanding at all.
And and lovely, actually,something really nice.
And one one lady was a carer forher granddaughter who'd lost her
(08:46):
leg in a burn, and uh, she wouldthen cook us treats, and then I
would return the favor by bakingthem a cake, and then she would
return the favor by baking formy whole office.
And it just became this littlecompetition, who could give
more?
They were just really, reallygenerous, really nice.
Yeah, I I was very surprised bywhat I found there.
SPEAKER_05 (09:04):
Maybe uh because it's such an unknown land, we
have too many preconceptionsabout what it might be.
SPEAKER_04 (09:09):
It is a little bit like the Truman show.
I mean, everything is very oftenthey for show.
They like things to be look bigand grand and they're a bit
elusive about any negativethings in their in their country
for sure.
But you know, it was veryinteresting.
They have a Burger Kim.
SPEAKER_05 (09:26):
Not Burger King, Burger Kim.
SPEAKER_04 (09:28):
Burger Kim.
Kim fried chicken.
Uh there's all these littlethings that are slight
variations of what you would seein Europe.
It was quite a privilege to havegone for a foreigner.
I was surprised by how muchfreedoms I had because I was
allowed to walk around the city.
In fact, I drove.
I I have a I I have a NorthKorean driver's license.
It expired after two years, butI had to do the test with the
(09:48):
military, which was veryinteresting in itself, because
they drive for me on the wrongside of the road.
And they they failed me on thefirst attempt because they said
I slowed down for pedestrians onthe road, which I thought was a
bit funny.
So it was it was in many regardsquite an entertaining mission in
terms of what you could see thatnobody else could see.
But also I really loved my mycolleagues, my Korean colleagues
(10:10):
were really nice and fun to workwith.
The patients were really lovely,and that's a side that doesn't
really get shown, I think, inthe media often enough.
Because again, journalists can'treally go in and report.
But no.
Yeah, I I would I would go backfor sure.
SPEAKER_05 (10:24):
Let's move on to where you've been most recently
than another place foreignjournalists can't go in and
report, and that is Gaza.
You've done a number of stintsthere since October the 7th.
I'm just wondering again whatyour first impressions were
compared to perhaps what youwere expecting.
SPEAKER_04 (10:44):
Uh to be fair, I think what's shown on the media
really does prepare you.
I mean, it's I don't think it'sa secret.
I know there aren't journalists,but everyone's posting about it.
I mean, my feed is full of it.
So actually it just reallyaffirmed what I was seeing
online.
It's actually true.
It's just the fact that thingsare complete rubble.
The first time I went into Gaza,it was it was last year and it
(11:05):
was just a a few weeks after theRafa border had been shut.
So at that stage, Rafa was stillrelatively intact.
But I now it's now it'scompletely flat, it's complete
rubble.
Uh I was working in Han Unit atthe time in European Gaza
Hospital, so I actually didn'tsee much outside of that life,
but it was a it was basically anIDP camp.
We had thousands of peopleliving on the ground of the
(11:28):
hospital because they thought itwas the safest place to be.
But that meant you had peoplecooking uh on the wards in the
corridors, you were steppingover their families or extended
families, trying to get to thepatients.
So that took me a little bitaback because I I I wasn't
realizing how much the IDP campwould affect actually work
inside the hospital.
Now, I did then return to thethe Rafa Field Hospital then in
(11:53):
March.
And again, it's I haveinteresting timing.
I came just two days after theceasefire ended rather abruptly.
So I've never really seen aceasefire in Gaz.
I've never really experiencedany sort of lull.
I only know it to a backdrop ofexplosions and gunfire, and
which is pretty much continuousthroughout your your days of
work.
I mean, more bombs than birdsong for sure.
SPEAKER_05 (12:14):
Tell me a bit about your patients, maybe one or two
that stand out to you, becauseyou are you are a
physiotherapist and you know,here in a peaceful country like
Ireland or or Switzerland,physio we think of as, you know,
maybe if you've got a bad backor you've you've had a a broken
arm or leg, or these areprobably not the kind of
injuries you're dealing with.
SPEAKER_04 (12:35):
No.
If you if you're working in atrauma ortho ward in the UK, for
example, you might have someonein a in a traffic accident or
someone who's fallen from aheight and they might have a
fractured arm, maybe a fracturedleg with it.
But in a conflict zone, thewounds are very, very different.
They're mostly open wounds, andby that I mean penetrative
injuries.
So you're looking at shrapnel oryou're looking at a bullet
(12:58):
wound.
So just through that, youalready have a different injury.
You've got the fracture, whichis much more severe because it's
a very high velocity objectwhich has caused it and has
splintered the bone.
You might also have bone loss,which means you might end up
getting your limb shortened.
There's actually a higher riskthat your limb needs to be
amputated because of the openwounds.
That means your your vascularsystem is compromised.
(13:19):
If you don't need any of thosesevere shortenings or removal of
your limb, you've got also theissue of infection.
So there's just a lot moredifficulties surrounding the
injury that you have.
More often than not, it's notjust one limb either.
I had one man, Ahmed.
I mean, he was a miracle reallythat he's managed to survive,
and he was a phenomenal youngman.
(13:39):
He was 19.
Shrapnel injuries, he hadfracture in his left hand, he
needed wires put in and a cast.
He had fractures under his rightforearm, he had such a severe
open wound in his right leg,bone loss, his leg had to be
shortened by 10 centimeters.
He has a external fixator on,his head was fine, and his left
(14:00):
leg was fine.
Uh, his abdomen had beenshredded as well.
He's a stoma bag in it, youknow, like a 19-year-old who was
hoping to be an engineeringstudent, Kyrgyzstan.
That was his that was hisambitions.
But yeah, just trying to get ontop of his rehab medical care
and then his rehabilitation carewhen you've only got one leg to
work with.
You've got maybe fourwheelchairs in the whole
(14:20):
hospital so that you canencourage his brother to get him
out in the wheelchair so he getsoff the bed.
He can't really use any of yourwalking aids because crutches
require hands and both of hisarms are fractured, his
forearms.
We would have these devices inthe UK that he could use.
There'd be like a large framethat you can rest your elbows
on.
We don't have that.
We've we've got three basicwalkers in the whole hospital
(14:41):
for at that time 60 beds, andand now we've 120 patients, so
even harder to share any walkingaids.
SPEAKER_05 (14:47):
So was the ICRC asking to get more of these
mobility aids in?
SPEAKER_04 (14:52):
We had an order.
Unfortunately, we used to keep alot of our stock in European
Gaza Hospital, but it wasevacuated last year, so a lot of
our stock was was was looted,wheelchairs and and walking
frames.
We did have an order in sinceNovember 2023, but it never
came.
It was it was kept in Jordan, tomy knowledge.
We don't get much information ofwhy it can't come in or if
(15:12):
there's a particular item in thelorry that they don't like.
You're just not told, you'rejust told no.
And you just know it's sittingthere waiting.
So we had clutches waiting, wehad frames waiting, wheelchairs
waiting, but we didn't havethem.
I mean, we've got shortageseverywhere of like medications
and surgical implements,everything.
But just imagine also whatyou're discharging them home to.
So at least in the UK, you know,you're unlikely to have lost
(15:36):
your home, really.
You you have a house, you know,you have a bed, you have a
bathroom.
Maybe you need some adjustmentsto those items, and you can get
occupational therapy, we'll putin bed rails and a special toy.
So you know, give you a commode.
What we're discharging people tonow is tents.
They're sleeping on the ground.
It's very, very complicated forsomeone with a spinal injury to
get off the ground andmobilizing with a walking frame
(15:59):
if they had one.
But you don't have a walkingframe, you don't have a
wheelchair, and you don't have araised bed.
So you're in a tent and youmight be sharing it with 20
relatives.
You might still have wounds thatyou need follow-up care for.
Good luck trying to keep themclean.
Like we've got really highinfection rates because people
can't wash themselves.
Soap is very hard to find.
So it's just all aroundcompounding issues.
(16:20):
It makes it really difficult foranyone to fully heal from any of
their injuries.
SPEAKER_05 (16:24):
You also you gave an interview actually to the ICRC
online website about voices ofICRC workers, where you said you
went knowing what what you mightexpect in Gaza, but you hadn't
expected to be working incasualty with people immediately
wounded.
SPEAKER_04 (16:41):
I think what you were referring to to is the fact
that I was stopping bleedingrather than rehabilitating.
And that was largely because wehad such an influx of mass
casualties that we just couldn'tcope with the staffing we had.
So my initial six weeks, it wasfine.
We were 60 bed at hospital.
We did have mass casualtyincidents, but they were usually
(17:01):
about 40 people coming in in ashort period of time, and and we
could absorb that, we were fine.
When I came back for the secondround of six weeks, this was
just as the food distributioncenters opened in Rafa.
And I can't come to us to who'sresponsible for all the gunfire,
however, people were being shotgoing to or at or leaving these
(17:21):
food distribution centers, andthat was sending waves and waves
of casualties our way.
But like in numbers we neverwould have anticipated.
So we were looking at 180 oneday, 60 the next day, 174, 244
was the highest we had.
And you just couldn't recoverfrom that.
So imagine how you've got thestaffing, usual staffing for a
(17:42):
60-bedded field hospital.
Imagine now also it's the nightshift.
So you've got reduced staffing,and obviously there's no
surgical team because we at thattime we weren't doing surgeries
overnight.
So the mass casualties in thebeginning were because the food
distribution centers would openat approximately 7 a.m., the
mass casualty incidents wouldusually start around 4:30, 5.30.
(18:04):
So it was right in the middle ofthe night shift.
So honestly, when you've got ahundred people in a very short
period of time coming in, youdon't have enough staff, and it
is really a ha all hands ondeck.
And that's how I found myselfpatching up more bleeding than I
would have expected and helpingout with tourniquets.
SPEAKER_05 (18:20):
Do you ever get depressed or angry?
I mean, you seem so cheerful andand motivated, but when you see
that, you're talking abouthundreds of people shot coming
in in waves.
Do you ever get depressed or oreven angry?
SPEAKER_04 (18:32):
I don't think depressed and angry would be the
right word for it.
I um I guess I got my work haton, so I know I can do something
about it.
Do you ever have thathelplessness when you see
someone injured and you don'tknow what to do?
I always admired when there wassomebody on the scene who, like
a paramedic who knew exactlywhat to do and knew how to
react, knew how to respond, givethe best care.
But like over the years, I havebecome that person in terms of
(18:55):
physiotherapy, and I've alsodone a lot of trauma first aid
through my work.
So I know what to do, and Isuppose I'm happy that I I can
do something of help.
Because you really just want tohelp all your nursing and doctor
colleagues at this stage and allyour physio colleagues.
You want to be an extra pair ofhands, so you don't really have
time to be depressed and upset.
I had moments, of course, when Iwould have to take a breather
(19:17):
and go in my tent, have to takea deep breath, and then go back
at it because what I found veryoverwhelming was the screaming
and the bleeding.
It was it's not just theinjured, it's all the families
that come with them and it'slike chaos.
People are lying on the ground,I mean, they see you and they
think you're a doctor andthey're trying to pull you over,
they're weeping.
You go and check on the on on aperson lying on the ground, you
(19:39):
realize they're no longer alive.
Then you just try and go andtreat someone that you you know
what you can do with, you know,you've got some chest wounds or
you've got some leg wounds.
I'm like, okay, I can patch thatup.
I can help apply a tourniquetfor sure.
I can try and stabilize thisfracture.
That's actually the main roleI'm supposed to have in the ED
department.
It's to stabilize fractures.
(19:59):
So yeah, I think you don'treally have much time to process
what is happening other than, ohGod, let's just get through this
wave and hope it calms down andwe can catch our breath and
really really try and deliverthe best care.
SPEAKER_05 (20:13):
And what about when you get home and you've got more
time to think about it?
SPEAKER_04 (20:17):
Uh I'm I'm okay.
I I think I'm my my frustrationat home is that I'm not there
helping, I think.
I I know it continues after Ileave.
I think that's what I findhardest.
It's not reliving the masscasually in a sense, it's it's
getting through the border andleaving people behind and I and
I'm still in touch with them andI can see the news and I and I
(20:38):
then I worry, of course, thatthings are worse and that I'm
not there helping and then Ifeel guilty.
That's what I I wrestle with themost, I think.
It's it's not being there.
So you'll go back, I guess.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
I the organization is aware thatI'm I'm I'm ready to go back and
when I'm ready to go back, sofor sure.
unknown (20:56):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (21:00):
It it always is, and unfortunately it's always worse.
I mean, March was worse thanwhen I was uh there last year in
May.
June was by far the worst.
I had experience with daily masscasualties.
Things were a bit safer.
I'd say less stray bullets inthe hospital now when I was
there just last week.
But the situation in Gaza hasgotten worse now with the
(21:22):
evacuation of Gaza City.
So that's of course sending moreand more people south to
Almawassi and and towardsKanunas, really.
And that also isn't safe.
I mean, people are alreadystruggling for housing there and
for clean water and for food.
I think now there's anadditional 350,000 people who've
now evacuated there.
It's like where where are theygoing to stay?
SPEAKER_05 (21:42):
But somebody like like your patients, the the
young man you've got whose armshave been fractured, his leg has
been shortened, and there aremany people with these kinds of
injuries.
How can they even move to a newplace like that?
SPEAKER_04 (21:55):
They rely wholly on their family members to carry
them.
And that's the grim reality ofit.
We don't have wheelchairs tooffer.
And the few wheelchairs that wedo have or did have, I know they
were very much reserved forpeople with complete spinal cord
injuries or bilateral lower limbamputations.
So yeah, they are fullydependent for a time.
I mean, this this fella Ahmed, II did meet him actually two
(22:17):
weeks ago.
I was the first time I'd seenhim in in months.
And yeah, he's walking, he's gothis crutches, the crutches that
we made out of pallets, ofcourse, or wooden crutches.
You can see him limping becausehe's got the leg length
shortening.
He got his uh c colonosityreversed, so now he's got his
abdomen closed finally.
What I was really happy to seewas his brother, Mohammed,
actually.
Mohammed was his care in the inthe hospital for many months,
(22:39):
and he was also one of thevictims in the mass casualties.
So the last time I had seen him,he was lying on the floor and
he'd been shot in the neck andin the left shoulder.
So I didn't know if he'dsurvived or not.
So to see him walking alongsidehis brother, the two walking
wounded, was uh quite a relief,actually.
But yeah, they are verydependent on friends, family, if
(23:00):
they have any left, of course.
SPEAKER_05 (23:02):
One final question then, Rika.
You told us how happy you wereto see that patient, Ahmed, and
that his brother also up on hisfeet again.
Is that the moment moments likethat think yeah, I've I've
definitely chosen the right job.
SPEAKER_04 (23:17):
Yeah, for sure.
For sure.
Yeah.
And and there's many storieslike that where you know you've
put them on the path to beingindependent and being more
capable of surviving this.
But I mean, I don't want toagain, I'm going back on a
downer, but you're you're alsosending them back out and you're
hoping they survive the war.
So I don't know.
I many, many patients uh thatleave our hospital that I say,
(23:39):
we did a good job, we've donethe best we can.
I I don't know if they are stillalive, if they're still walking,
but we do what we can.
And and I will say this for thestaff in the Rafflefield
Hospital, and I'm not justtalking about the international
staff, I'm talking about thePalestinians.
They are incredible.
They are really talented,really, really good carers, very
passionate.
Obviously, it affects themdeeply.
(24:00):
It's their neighbors, it's theirfriends and the families, and
they just do a phenomenal job.
And I honestly I don't know howthey have the capacity to do it,
because I I do my six weeks andI know I'm gonna leave and I can
relax a little bit and sleep.
I don't need to worry about myfamilies while I'm working, but
they they have their families tobe worried about, they are all
living in tents, and yet dayafter day they come into work
(24:21):
and they still do an incrediblejob and they're really
motivated.
They're just such lovely peopleto work with and playful and
generous.
The little food that they havethey're sharing with you, and
they banter with you.
And I'm impressed that they canstill have a sense of humor
despite everything that goes on.
They really are astounding towork with.
It's a real privilege.
SPEAKER_05 (24:46):
And that brings us to the end of this edition of
Inside Geneva.
Huge thanks to Rika Hayes forsharing her experiences and her
precious free time with us.
We hope you enjoyed listening toher.
Next time, we're going to hearfrom fresh writers and
journalists, a form of humanrights council about the growth
(25:13):
council freedom of expression.
(26:30):
We refer to your podcast.
Or about the impact of the womenand girls, of the cats, and
humanitarian funding.
Don't forget to subscribe to usand review us.
(26:52):
We're always pleased to hearyour views.
Thanks again for listening.
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