ENVELOPING THE WORLD WITH GREAT LOVE

Chechen, situated on the northern slopes of the Caucasus Mountains, is a former constituent of the Russian Federation. The independence movement in December 1994 was sup--pressed by heavy Russian troops. More than ten thousand people died in the bloody conflict and five hundred thousand became refugees.

In January 1995, Medecins du Monde (MDM), long-time partner organization of Tzu Chi, entered Chechen. Their staff discovered that many of the refugees were wounded and in need of treatment, and many women and children required long-term medication and counseling for psychological illnesses. MDM contacted Tzu Chi for support.

Tzu Chi responded within 48 hours and agreed to work with MDM. From October 1995, a five-month emergency medical assistance program was implemented, including medical treatment, psychological rehabilitation, and disease prevention.

The plan was carried out by sixty locals, including twenty-three doctors. In the Russian-occupied territory, the workers helped the refugees get to the protected campsite provided by the International Organization of Migration (IOM) and carried out medical assistance there. To deliver medicine and relief supplies to the area not controlled by Russian forces but hard to access due to steep landscape and ongoing combat, the workers traveled for more than a hundred miles from a neighboring country, carrying the supplies by themselves and on horseback. It was a mission completed through much hardship.

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