Citation

Burkle FM, Chan JT, Yeung RD. Prehosp. Disaster Med. 2013; 28(6): 625-629.

Affiliation

1 Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, Cambridge University Press)

DOI

10.1017/S1049023X1300887X

PMID

24007924

Abstract

The treatment of hunger strikers is always contentious, chaotic and complex. The management is particularly difficult for health professionals as it raises unprecedented clinical, ethical, moral, humanitarian, and legal questions. There are never any easy answers. The current situation of prisoners from the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars currently at the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center in Cuba demands unprecedented transparency, accountability and multilevel coordination to ensure that the rights of the strikers are properly met. There are scant references available in the scientific literature on the emergency management of these tragedies. This historical perspective documents the complex issues faced by emergency physicians in Hong Kong surrounding refugee camp asylum seekers from Vietnam in 1994 and is offered as a useful adjunct in understanding the complex issues faced by emergency health providers and managers. Burkle FM Jr. , Chan JTS , Yeung RSD . Hunger strikers: historical perspectives from the emergency management of refugee camp asylum seekers. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2013:28(6);1-5 .

Language: en