Turf wars and disaster tourists: a refugee field clinics struggle

Published: March 29, 2022, 8:10 a.m.

Medical workers from across Canada have volunteered and even paid their own way to provide aid to refugees at the Ukrainian border, taking a mission with disaster relief group Canadian Medical Assistance Teams (CMAT).\n\nThe journey to set up a field clinic, however, has met unexpected obstacles from thieves, \u201cdisaster tourists\u201d and organizational turf wars.\n\nFreelance journalist and former CBC reporter Margo McDiarmid spent five days with the team from CMAT as they persevered to deliver aid and grappled with the decision to enter a country at war. Today, she brings us the stories of the CMAT volunteers and refugees entering Poland.