Independent British television producer Tim Tait has created a 20-minute documentary called “The Lost Children of Chechnya” which focuses on Dr. Baiev’s work during the summer of 2008. The documentary was commissioned for al-Jazeera’s English language service. Supporters of the ICCC who view the film may be especially interested to see the operating room in Grozny's Children's Hospital, for which the ICCC purchased two air conditioning units, and to see footage of Dr. Baiev making use of surgical glasses also purchased with money donated to the ICCC.
Letter from Dr. Khassan Baiev
2009-01-20 14:35:42
Spring 2009
The year 2008 saw many changes both in my work and in the life of my country. At long last people in Chechnya were able to start rebuilding their lives, and I was able to work in Chechnya where for so many years I was a persona non grata. While Chechnya's children no longer face daily violence, far too many of them continue to suffer the consequences of a decade of bitter war. I will continue to dedicate my time and efforts to repairing the damage. I hope that all of you who have supported these efforts in the past will continue to support ICCC in the coming year. Thanks to your donations, the ICCC has made a difference in the lives of many Chechen children. Using your donations, for instance, the ICCC provided two large air conditioning units to cool the operating room at the Children’s Hospital in Grozny.
These air conditioning units, as well as the heating units purchased by ICCC the year before, are of course greatly appreciated by the permanent staff of doctors and nurses at the Children's Hospital, who face many shortages and material challenges daily. The units also contributed greatly to the success of a mission to Grozny from Operation Smile, the international organization which dispatches surgeons around the world to repair cleft palates and hare lips. This was the second Operation Smile to Grozny which I have organized in as many years. This time, our team of 26 medical personnel operated on more than one hundred children. I continued to monitor the children after the end of the mission, and all are doing well. The mission was such a success that I hope to organize another for the fall of 2009.
In addition to the surgeries that were a part of Operation Smile, I also used my time in Grozny last summer to operate pro bono on 40 other children with various birth defects and burns. Again, the ICCC used your contributions to support and make possible the work that I did - thank you. It is a time of great hope in Chechnya, and you have helped make these hopes possible.
Dr. Khassan Baiev
Chairman, International Committee for the Children of Chechnya
The year 2008 saw many changes both in my work and in the life of my country. At long last people in Chechnya were able to start rebuilding their lives, and I was able to work in Chechnya where for so many years I was a persona non grata. While Chechnya's children no longer face daily violence, far too many of them continue to suffer the consequences of a decade of bitter war. I will continue to dedicate my time and efforts to repairing the damage. I hope that all of you who have supported these efforts in the past will continue to support ICCC in the coming year. Thanks to your donations, the ICCC has made a difference in the lives of many Chechen children. Using your donations, for instance, the ICCC provided two large air conditioning units to cool the operating room at the Children’s Hospital in Grozny.
These air conditioning units, as well as the heating units purchased by ICCC the year before, are of course greatly appreciated by the permanent staff of doctors and nurses at the Children's Hospital, who face many shortages and material challenges daily. The units also contributed greatly to the success of a mission to Grozny from Operation Smile, the international organization which dispatches surgeons around the world to repair cleft palates and hare lips. This was the second Operation Smile to Grozny which I have organized in as many years. This time, our team of 26 medical personnel operated on more than one hundred children. I continued to monitor the children after the end of the mission, and all are doing well. The mission was such a success that I hope to organize another for the fall of 2009.
In addition to the surgeries that were a part of Operation Smile, I also used my time in Grozny last summer to operate pro bono on 40 other children with various birth defects and burns. Again, the ICCC used your contributions to support and make possible the work that I did - thank you. It is a time of great hope in Chechnya, and you have helped make these hopes possible.
Dr. Khassan Baiev
Chairman, International Committee for the Children of Chechnya
Who We Are
The ICCC was founded by three American women in 1996 to work on behalf of child victims of the war in Chechnya. After gaining political asylum in the United States, Dr. Khassan Baiev became the ICCC's chairman in 2003. Since then, Dr. Baiev, who wrote about his wartime experiences in "The Oath: A Surgeon Under Fire," has become an outspoken advocate for human rights and has been honored by Human Rights Watch, Physicians for Human Rights, and Amnesty International.
The ICCC's mission is to support the efforts of physicians, relief workers, teachers, parents, and all others who work for the children whose lives have been devastated by war in the North Caucasus.
The ICCC's mission is to support the efforts of physicians, relief workers, teachers, parents, and all others who work for the children whose lives have been devastated by war in the North Caucasus.
