**As soon as the simple distractions of daily Australian life momentarily pause, my mind immediately wanders back to Kunduz, Afghanistan. I am engulfed in a gaping dark pit, which holds me captivated while I try to excavate its contents.** Its not the horrific scenes from that early morning of the attack that I can make out; its not the deafening sound of the relentless airstrikes, its not the sights of partially amputated limbs, or the permeating smell of blood. It is a feeling of incomprehensible loss and grief that extends down into that bottomless pit.

**_Dr Kathleen Thomas_** _is an intensive care doctor from Australia who was on her first mission in_ _Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders' \(MSF\)_ _Kunduz Trauma Centre in Afghanistan from May 2015 until the US airstrikes on 3 October._ _Here she describes a typical day in the hospital and the events that unfolded during the week of intense fighting leading up to the attack._

A typical day

**7:35 am outside our MSF house: a dozen international staff from all over the world pile into our two MSF Land Cruisers one for the men, one for the women.** Katrina jumps into the van, late as usual, urgently adjusting her head scarf just in time as the car pulls out of the gates heading to the hospital. I look across at Sally, the general surgeon who has dark circles under her eyes and ask You get some sleep? She shrugs, I helped Dr Hakeem with laparotomy at 2 am. We smile at each other knowingly. Its hard work but this is what we are here to do, so no complaints.

We peer through the car windows covered in anti\-blast film, for our only glimpse at the hustle and bustle of Kunduz city. I see Mujeeb, the administration officer walking, and Najib, the data entry officer riding his bike, both heading to the hospital to start their days work. We wave politely to several of our hospital guards who greet our vehicles. I note the line\-up of people waiting to be checked by security to ensure they are abiding by our No Weapons policy before entering the hospital; many men, some with crutches, one pushing a wheelchair which holds a boy with both legs amputated, and several women covered in blue burkas, all holding young children.

As we walk from the Land Cruiser to the morning meeting room, we pass a gardener tending to the beautiful roses that fill the hospital compound. As I slip off my shoes outside the morning meeting room, I am met by the sound of about 30 people chatting away the heads of every department in the hospital.

I enter the room and we all sit together on the floor as the meeting begins. I remember how much it surprised me when I first arrived that we would sit together on the floor for a meeting now it is just normal. For a moment, the electricity cuts out and the room goes pitch black. My attention is drawn to the heavy metal windows as one of the staff opens them, flooding the room with light. Ah yes, I think to myself this is the safe room that we are supposed to retreat to in an emergency. I cant even imagine what sort of emergency would lead me to ever use this room for its real purpose.

How was I to know that on 3 October it would be where we sheltered from the aerial attack on our hospital, followed by our makeshift Emergency Department and Operating Theatre \(OT\) for injured staff many of whom were present in the meeting that very morning.

Everyone departs to their respective departments to start the day. The smell of chicken greets my nose as I pass the kitchen where lunch production is already underway. I stop at the laundry to pick up my freshly cleaned uniform, then over to the womens dressing room, greeting Suraya, one of our translators, and Sorab, a mental health worker, on the way. I head to the Emergency Room \(ER\) where the doctors and nurses are working through the line\-up of over 100 patients that will come through our doors that day, all victims of accidental and violent trauma. I pop my head into the resuscitation room. Mohibulla and Lal Mohammed, two skilled efficient ER nurses, are assisting Dr Amin to insert a drain into a young mans chest who has been shot.

The monitor above his head beeps reassuringly and two bags of blood hang next to the bedside. I quickly look at the patient and his radiology. All under control Dr Amin? I ask, knowing the answer. Of course, he replies without looking up. After four years in existence, the hospital has trained many skilled medical staff Dr Amin, Mohibulla and Lal Mohammed being three of them. Dr Amin regularly impressed me, nothing seemed to faze him. He was competent and confident and worked at an extremely fast pace.

> "I realise that he is a bilateral amputee and has two prosthetic legs... I see he is the father of a young boy who had stepped on a landmine, also losing his legs. I feel a sense of hopelessness."

I leave the ER and am greeted by the smiling faces of two of our cleaners, Najibulla and Nasir, who are wiping the floors diligently in the hallway. Neither speaks much English, and I speak little Dari, so we have limited verbal communication, but I greet them with my hand over my heart as a sign of respect. I note their positive work ethic and good attitude. I enter the Intensive Care Unit \(ICU\) just behind a caretaker \(a family member of a patient who stays with the patient 24/7, providing some of the basic nursing duties\). I notice he is walking with a limp and uses crutches. As I follow him in I realise that he is a bilateral amputee and has two prosthetic legs. I wonder when and how his injury had occurred caught in a cross fire, a stray missile, a random roadside explosion? As he heads over to bed 4, I see he is the father of a young boy who had stepped on a landmine, also losing his legs. I feel a sense of hopelessness at this demonstration of trans\-generational violence and suffering, resulting from over 30 years of war.

I gather the ICU doctors to commence our ward round. Out of the corner of my eye I note Naseer and Zia, two of the hardworking, bright young nurses helping a patient from his wheelchair back into bed. He is a large man who had become extremely weak after a prolonged stay in ICU following a bomb blast. Zia had taken him outside to get some much\-needed fresh air. Before I can stop him, Naseer cradles the large man in his arms, then with one big heave, lifts him up from the wheelchair onto the bed. Rushing over to make sure Naseer hasnt hurt himself, I tell him to please get help next time. He just smiles his big childish grin, laughs and waves me away. Strongman Naseer, I call him from that moment on.

By 10 am the hospital is its usual flurry of activity. I leave the ICU to review a patient on the ward. I pass a lab technician bent over a microscope in pathology, walk through the ER and past the Operating Theatres. A patient from the wards is being pushed through the OT doors by a stretcher\-bearer and greeted by Abdul Salam, a gentle, skilled OT nurse. The patient is about to undergo specialised trauma surgery by a team of expert international and national surgeons. This is the only facility to offer this type of surgery in all of northern Afghanistan.

Beyond the OT, I pass the X\-ray and Outpatient Departments that are overflowing. Nurses are busy removing casts and applying new ones, dressing wounds, fitting crutches. I recognise a patient, nine\-year\-old Esmatulla, who walks in front of me being assessed by a physiotherapist. His limp looks better than the last time I saw him. Esmatulla had spent many days in intensive care after a serious car accident left him with a shattered pelvis, damaged lung and completely sheared off the soft tissue on his back. His uncommon back injury required numerous operations, and we had called on guidance from experts from across the world to help with his case. It was a long hard road for Esmatulla, but he looks great and is almost back to his normal childhood life.I move on past the mental health, physiotherapy and medical records departments prior to exiting the main building, and finally arrive in ward 4, a small building lined with about 20 hospital beds.

I see a physiotherapist instructing a middle\-aged man on exercises for his newly amputated leg. I find the bed of my recently discharged ICU patient, Roshan, who I am here to review, but the bed is empty. The nurse explains that Roshan is out walking and goes in search of the patient. This is music to my ears Roshan is walking! Roshan had spent a lot of time in ICU after he was stabbed in the heart. Remarkably, the surgeons were able to repair the two centimetre tear in his left ventricle but there was very little hope for his recovery. Yet here he is, slowly but surely walking back into the ward. I make some minor adjustments to his medications and advise Roshan that he will be going home tomorrow. He plays a tune on his hand flute to express his excitement.

For the rest of the day, the hospital melodiously hums as all the staff work together, each in their different roles, looking after the patients staying in and visiting the hospital that day. When we return home at the end of a long day, I remove my headscarf and walk out to the balcony with a few of the other international staff to enjoy the remaining daylight. The sky is filled with multi\-coloured kites darting around, controlled by young children on top of the neighbouring rooftops. As the sun goes down, the mountains surrounding Kunduz are lit up by pink haze. The Imam in a distant mosque starts his call to prayer, closely followed by the more local Imams joining in, until there is a symphony of sound filling the sky. It's a lovely moment in my day.

The final week

**It was about two in the morning when I was awoken by the sounds of intense fighting. Having been in Kunduz for five months of the 'fighting season' I had grown accustomed to the sounds of war but this was different.** It was close, heavy, and coming from all directions. So, as had also become a habit when fighting became audible, I waited for the phone call from the ER announcing the onslaught of patients and the request for help. It took many hours for that phone call to arrive the fighting was too heavy for anyone injured to actually get to the hospital but then, as the sun rose on Monday, 28 September, the fighting slowed momentarily, the phone call came, and began what would be the longest week of my life. The first day was chaos over 130 patients poured through our doors in only a few hours. Despite the heroic efforts of all the staff, we were completely overwhelmed. Most patients were civilians, but some were wounded combatants from both sides of the conflict.

When I reflect on that day now, what I remember is the smell of blood that permeated through the Emergency Room, the touch of desperate people pulling at my clothes to get my attention begging me to help their injured loved ones, the wailing, despair and anguish of parents of yet another child lethally injured by a stray bullet whom we could not save, my own sense of panic as another and another and another patient was carried in and laid on the floor of the already packed emergency department, and all the while in the background the tut\-tut\-tut\-tut of machine guns and the occasional large boom from explosions that sounded way too close for comfort. Finally, at about 10 pm that night, the hospital slowed enough for me to sit down with some of the senior staff to consider the implications of what was shaping up to be quite a bit more than the usual 'fighting season' conflict. We realised that it was not safe to move in or out of the hospital. This meant that no new staff could relieve the exhausted doctors, nurses, cleaners, stretcher\-bearers, lab technicians, guards etc., many of whom had already worked for over 24 hours straight. So we began what would become the twice\-daily ritual of organising a roster of sleeping shifts, reluctantly accepting that this was likely to be a marathon, not just a quick sprint. The hospital swelled far beyond our capacity that week. On the wards, all the beds were pushed close together to place additional mattress on the floor. The OT ran all day and night to accommodate the ever\-expanding list of injured patients. The demand for intensive care treatment was constant. We did our best with our limited resources, but helplessly watched numerous patients die who, in normal circumstances, would have survived. Some needed certain rare blood types but no one could get to the hospital to donate that particular blood group; some needed life support from a ventilator, but we had only four machines \- not enough to go around; some had been stuck in their homes unable to come to hospital for several days, and by the time they arrived their wounds and bodies were overrun by infection which couldnt be saved with surgery or our strongest antibiotics.

Dr Osmani was my right hand man in ICU that week, a bright young open\-minded doctor full of infectious energy. He took great interest in his country and the rest of the world. A few weeks earlier he had mentioned the new Australian Prime Minister to me, before I had even heard the news of the changeover. He was treasured by all ICU staff, past and present, because of his skill, work ethic, dedication, and compassion. He had actually resigned from the hospital several months earlier to start ophthalmology training in Kabul, but had generously agreed to return to Kunduz every weekend to work in ICU, helping us to train the new doctors who were hired to replace him. He had told me MSF has given me so many opportunities and I have learnt so much, now I wish to give back to them. Dr Osmani was the senior doctor in the unit the night the fighting started and decided to stay with us, camping out in the hospital throughout the week. He had nothing with him except the clothes on his back, not even a toothbrush. His family were extremely worried for his welfare. He had a constant flow of phone calls checking on him, probably asking him to leave. When I expressed my concern about his lack of sleep and begged him to take rest, he just smiled his big broad smile and said to me, Dont worry Dr Kass, I am fine. When I am here, I am happy. We are like a family. Then laughing, he added and besides, I now have this... he pulled out an old, tattered short wooden stick whose end had been frayed. It appeared to have teeth marks all over the frayed end. I picked it up, looked at it inquisitively and asked what it was. This made him laugh even harder. It's an Afghani toothbrush. One of the patients gave it to me when he heard me mention I didnt have a toothbrush. Clearly, I couldnt refuse. We both laughed hysterically. It was precious moments like these that kept me going throughout the week and my heart now breaks when I realise just how precious they really were. These were perhaps the final moments of humour in Dr Osmanis life.

> The people are being reduced to blood and dust. They are in pieces, oh God, is there anybody who can hear their cries?

We all knew that at times, our hospital was in the middle of the rapidly changing frontline we could feel it. When the fighting was close \- the shooting and explosions vibrated the walls. I was scared we were all scared. When a loud BOOM would sound a bit closer to the hospital we would all drop to the floor away from the large windows that lined the ICU walls, looking around at each other with anxious expressions, half crying, half nervously laughing, finding a small amount of shared humour in the precarious situation that we had found ourselves in. We also tried to move the patients and large \(flammable\) oxygen bottles away all from the windows, but the layout of the ICU prohibited doing this effectively. I worried constantly about the exposure from those windows yet never thought to worry about the exposure from the roof where the attack would come from several days later. Halfway through the week, a life\-threatening injury to one of our ER nurses, Lal Mohammed, struck by a stray bullet after leaving the hospital, brought about an emergency hospital staff meeting. But he is one of us he cant be injured, is the deluded thought process I experienced while we worked on him in ER. After he was settled in the ICU, over 80 of us gathered together for the meeting. I noted a few fresh faces amongst the crowd that night.

 

Trucks preparing to leave Kabul for Kunduz. MSF has sent urgent medical supplies and medicines by road and air to Kunduz in order to guarantee continuity of care for patients in the hospital and to prepare for any further influx of wounded. MSF's hospital in Kunduz has been overwhelmed with wounded after heavy fighting engulfed Kunduz city on 28 September. MSFs medical teams have treated 171 wounded, including 46 children. Fifty patients arrived in critical condition. The majority of patients had sustained gunshot wounds, with surgeons treating severe abdominal, limb and head injuries. #MSF #Afghanistan #Kunduz #Kabul #Hospital

A photo posted by Mdecins Sans Frontires (MSF) (@doctorswithoutborders) on

Sep 30, 2015 at 3:25am PDT

By this point in the week, many of the staff who had been with us for the first few days, had found some periods of decreased fighting to escape to their homes and take their families to safer places. In exchange came other staff who had been unable to reach the hospital until that point. Some had been trapped in their houses as fighting criss\-crossed through their streets. Many staff were coming from other provinces, risking the dangerous roads to enter Kunduz. But in spite of all of this, they had turned up to work. In particular I noted Dr Satar, our deputy medical director, and Tahseel, our pharmacy supervisor, both of whom had made the treacherous journey from Kabul that day to help us run the hospital. Seeing everyone standing together was a powerful reminder of just how many of us there were, all doing our individual jobs, working together to make the hospital run. I felt a welling of pride and honour to be standing besides these brave men and women \- my colleagues, my friends during such a challenging time in both their lives, and our trauma centres history. The persistent fighting took its toll on all of us. By the end of the week we were physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted. There were moments when a sense of hopelessness overwhelmed us. Dr Osmani expressed these sentiments on the final day, following a tragic incident where a family trying to escape Kunduz was caught in crossfire, killing several children at the scene, then two more dying in our ER and OT. The remaining children were being treated with severe injuries, he stated: the people are being reduced to blood and dust. They are in pieces, oh God, is there anybody who can hear their cries?

 

Update from Kunduz, Afghanistan: this is the first photo from inside our hospital since fighting broke out in the city on Monday. Our medical teams have so far treated 252 wounded, including 53 children. Photo by MSF. #MSF #DoctorsWithoutBorders #Afghanistan #Kunduz

A photo posted by Mdecins Sans Frontires (MSF) (@doctorswithoutborders) on

Sep 30, 2015 at 10:31am PDT

I will never forget a few hours later I was passing through the ER when Dr Sohrab, the ER supervisor, called me over. He was holding a six\-month\-old baby. After five months working side\-by\-side, it was the first time I had ever seen him look distressed. He told me that he had just declared the babys mother dead. When a bomb exploded in the road she had thrown herself over the baby, taking her life but saving his. As we walked towards the female ward to leave this beautiful baby in the female nurses care, he confessed to me: "It's too much Kass, it's just too much. This was the first time I couldn't hold back my tears." We walked the rest of the way to the ward in silence as tears fell down both our cheeks. I felt hollow. I desperately wanted to hug him and tell him that everything would be ok but, firstly, it would not have been culturally appropriate and, secondly, I knew that my words would have been lies. No one could predict the future. When we returned to ER Dr Sohrab told me about the staffing situation. We were down to only four doctors. Many of the others had fled Kunduz by that point. My concern must have shown on my face because he then looked at me and said: But I am here, and I will stay. I will not leave the hospital or my people. What a remarkable, brave, young doctor. He also informed me that Dr Amin had returned after getting his family to safety earlier that day. I felt relieved knowing that two of our most skilled doctors, Dr Sohrab and Dr Amin were two of the four remaining.

> "It's too much Kass, it's just too much. This was the first time I couldn't hold back my tears."

Day five, the final day, was also one of unexpected optimism in the ICU. Most of our patients were recovering from their serious injuries and were on track for imminent departure from the ICU. Our long\-term patient in bed 1, a man who had been severely injured in a car accident over a month earlier, was making great progress. After a series of life threatening complications, he was finally strong enough to start the several\-day process of weaning him off the ventilator. That morning after I told him that he was ready to start breathing on his own, he looked at me with such excitement and offered his hand to shake \(a custom uncommon for Afghan men to a woman\) he was showing me his respect and appreciation. I had no doubt that he would get off the ventilator completely in a few days and he would go home soon after. Lal Mohammad, our injured ER nurse in bed 2, had done remarkably well over his two day admission. I was extremely relieved to find him showing reassuring signs of a good recovery and made the plan to wake him from his induced coma the following morning. Shaista, a three\-year\-old girl was in bed 7. She had her left leg and buttock blown apart by an explosion. She had lost almost her entire blood volume from the injury, and had undergone a series of operations and blood transfusions to save her life. She was recovering remarkably well. I was extremely happy with her progress and planned to send her to the ward the following morning. Her mother, a beautiful young woman with a welcoming smile, never left her side, and was visibly relieved when I told her that her daughter would go to the ward tomorrow.

Wahidullah in bed 8 was my miracle boy. He was a 12\-year\-old, the top of his class his father had proudly told me, who had suffered a traumatic brain injury about two weeks earlier from a car accident. Despite our best efforts, he had remained in a comatose state, with no signs of recovery. He had been moved to the ward prematurely due to the demand for ICU beds and the need to rationalise our limited resources to those who had the best chance of survival. Unfortunately, we didnt think he was one of those who would survive. That morning, Dr Osmani and I were called to the ward for a cardiac arrest. My heart sank when I saw that it was this child. Resuscitation had already commenced so we debated the futility of the situation. His father begged us to continue. To our surprise, he was quickly revived and somewhat reluctantly we agreed to take him back to the ICU for a limited, short period of treatment. That afternoon, the miracle happened. His father got his mother on the phone, put it to Wahidullahs ear and his mother spoke to him for some time. Immediately after that conversation, he woke up. He literally opened his eyes, started mouthing words, followed commands appropriately and shook my hand. Everyone from the ICU gathered round to watch this child, for whom we had pretty much given up hope for any meaningful recovery. It was a miracle. Flabbergasted, I told his father that we would remove his airway the following morning and he would then go to the ward. We smiled together, stunned but so happy. Tomorrow would be a good day. But tomorrow never came for most of those patients. Nor did it come for most of the ICU staff working that night.

3 October 2015

**When the US militarys aircraft attacked our hospital, its first strike was on the ICU.** With the exception of Shaista, all the patients in the unit died. The caretakers with the patients died. Dr Osmani died. The ICU nurses Zia and Strongman Naseer died. The ICU cleaner Nasir died. I hope with all my heart that the three sedated patients in ICU, including our ER nurse Lal Mohammad, were deep enough to be unaware of their deaths but this is unlikely. They were trapped in their beds, engulfed in flames.

The same horror that rocked the ICU rocked the rest of the main building as the plane hit with alarming precision. Our ER nurse Mohibulla died. Our ER cleaner Najibulla died. Dr Amin suffered major injuries but managed to escape the main building, only to then die an hour later in the arms of his colleagues as we desperately tried to save his life in the makeshift operating theatre set up in the kitchen next to the morning meeting room. The OT nurse, Abdul Salam died.

The strikes continued further down the building, tearing through the Outpatients Department, which had become a temporary sleeping area for staff. Dr Satar died. The medical records officer Abdul Maqsood died. Our pharmacist Tahseel was lethally injured. He also made it to safety in the morning meeting room, only to die soon after, having bled to death. Two of the hospital watchmen Zabib and Shafiq also died.

Our colleagues didnt die peacefully like in the movies. They died painfully, slowly, some of them screaming out for help that never came, alone and terrified, knowing the extent of their own injuries and aware of their impending death. Countless other staff and patients were injured; limbs blown off, shrapnel rocketed through their bodies, burns, pressure wave injuries of the lungs, eyes and ears. Many of these injures have left permanent disability. It was a scene of nightmarish horror that will be forever etched in my mind.

In memory

**Fourteen MSF colleagues lost their lives that tragic day. They will be tremendously missed and never forgotten.** As our colleague Zabiullah wrote in one of his poems: Time will fly, but its memory will remain, Wounds will heal, but its stain will remain.

> **Abdul Maqsood**

Abdul, 22, worked as a patient information focal point. He was known to be a very good cricket player which he played with great enthusiasm. He began his career in the hospital as a daily worker, and was very proud when only a few months later he was recruited as a permanent member of the team. Abdul showed dedication to his job and felt that working in the hospital was a great honour. His positive attitude and commitment to his work will be truly missed.

> Abdul Nasir

Twenty\-two\-year\-old Abdul Nasir was a hospital cleaner. He was born in Kunduz province where he had been working for MSF since July 2013 and was described by those who knew him as a good person and incredibly hard working. He was always ready to contribute and went above and beyond what his job demanded of him. He was very polite, and known to assist both patients and their caretakers. He was often sitting or standing close to the door of the intensive care unit; whenever someone entered he was faster than anyone else to help. He offered invaluable support to many people.

> **Abdul Salam**

Friendly and easy going, 29\-year\-old Abdul Salam was a nurse in the Operating Theatre. He was one of the most passionate workers amongst the Kunduz Trauma Centre staff, and enjoyed every second of his life. As well as being an experienced OT nurse, he also possessed a diploma in pharmacy. In his free\-time he liked playing cricket and Buzkashi \(Afghanistans national sport\). During the heavy fighting in the week leading up to the attack, he barely slept and worked long hours to help his people and colleagues as much as he could. He thrived under challenging circumstances. He was married and leaves behind two children, of which the youngest was only 40\-days\-old on the day Abdul Salam died.

> **Abdul Satar Zaheer**

Dr Abdul Satar Zaheer, 47, was the Deputy Medical Director at MSFs Kunduz Trauma Centre. He managed a large group of staff and was described by all who worked with him as conscientious, empathetic and respectful. He was often working until the middle of the night. If his son would ask him to work less, he would say that he was not working, but serving the Afghan people. He was always listening to suggestions made by others. He thought out of the box, and would not hesitate to change working methods where necessary, making the job of the medical teams smoother and more effective. He was known for his incredible patience and sense of humour. The night of the attack Dr Satar decided to stay close to his patients instead of taking a rest, and was sharing jokes with the other staff on duty to try to lift their spirits. He was the proud father of eight children, often sharing stories about how smart they are.

> Aminullah Bajawri

Aminullah Bajawri, 32, was a father and Emergency Room doctor. Like so many others, when the fighting broke out in Kunduz he decided not to leave the city in search of safety, but stayed to help his people, friends and colleagues. He worked the whole week before the attack, and felt personally responsible for any patients that might not recover as a result of him not being on duty. Admired for his clear, rational perception of medical problems and pragmatic approach to treating patients, Dr Amin was someone that could always be relied on in the ER, with extensive medical knowledge, a willingness to learn new things and a kind approach to his patients. It was his dream to become a neurosurgeon, at a time when the lack of neurosurgeons in Afghanistan means children are dying for lack of proper treatment. He was also a teacher at the Kunduz University and was highly respected by his students.

> Lal Mohammad

Born in Kunduz, Lal Mohammad was 28\-years\-old. He always had a smile on his face, and was like a mentor to the younger nurses. He was kind\-natured and always ready to help people in need. His dedication to his patients went beyond providing medical care; he would always try to give as much comfort and support to them as he could. We will always remember his smile, his eagerness to learn and his positive energy. He leaves a wife and three children behind.

> **Mohammad Ehsan Osmani**

At 32, Mohammad Ehsan Osmani was a young Intensive Care Unit doctor with extraordinary enthusiasm and dedication to his patients. With an everlasting smile, he would never say no to any extra work or to covering an extra shift; he would often volunteer to stay and work in his free time when the hospital was overloaded with patients. His energy and laughter was contagious. He was the kind of person who filled a room with his joy and compassion. Dr Osmani was always willing to help others and never turned down someone in need of help. On the night of the airstrike, instead of taking a rest in the bunker with his colleagues, he continued to work and look after his patients who were in critical condition.

> Mohibullah

Mohibullah, 38, was a dedicated father and an experienced emergency room nurse who joined the Kunduz Trauma Centre three years ago. He was the youngest of eight brothers, several of whom were also working in the medical field. He started working as a nurse in the Outpatient Department, but then decided to change to the emergency room. Mohibullah was a fast learner, and always displayed much patience with everyone. Whenever he had the time he would try to study or learn from books or from his colleagues. He would always stay late if needed. He learned from many people, and many people learned from him.

> Najibullah

Najibullah, 27, was a father and had been working for MSF since August 2011 as a cleaner in the emergency room. He was well liked by everyone as he was always talkative, happy and kind. To further his knowledge, he was studying in his free time. The ER was always clean and tidy when he was on shift. More than a cleaner, Najibullah was a caregiver to the patients in the ward.

> Naseer Ahmad

Naseer Ahmad, 23, was an Intensive Care Unit nurse who began working with MSF in June 2014. He was gentle, quiet, and very eager to learn. He wanted to start an English course as soon as possible to be able to read and learn more. Because of his calm attitude he was born to be a great ICU nurse. He loved to have many people around him, to share his happiness and thoughts with them. In the ICU, he often wanted to take responsibility for the critical patients by himself; it was a sign of his great commitment to his job and the care of his patients. He always wanted to help the patients who didnt have family to look after them.

> Shafiqullah

Shafiqullah, 39, had been working as a guard since February 2015. He was very quiet, but always had a big smile on his face. He treated everyone with kindness and was very committed to his job. Always friendly, he was much loved by his colleagues who miss him greatly. He leaves behind four children.

> Tahseel

Tahseel, 35, was a father and a much loved and valued member of the pharmacy team at the Kunduz Trauma Centre since the opening of the project. He was very hard\-working; the pharmacy was well organised and he was prepared for any emergency in the hospital. He had a great sense of humour, and always wore a big smile on his face. Proving how dedicated Tahseel was to helping others, he returned to the hospital in the last few days of his leave to assist the team when they needed him most. This commitment to others will always be remembered.

> Zabiullah

Zabiullah was 29\-years\-old and married. He had been working as a guard in the hospital since February 2015. He was a poet and was working on Pashto language translations of several books. He was also writing a book about the famous Khan Abdul Ghafar Khan. While he started working with MSF less than a year ago, he had already made lots of friends due to his friendly and kind manner. Here is one of his poems: Time will fly, but its memory will remain, Wounds will heal, but its stain will remain.

> Ziaurahman

Ziaurahman, 23, was an Intensive Care Unit nurse who had been working for MSF since December 2013. He was known to be a talented nurse with a sharp mind. He always joined the training sessions and showed an incredible eagerness to learn. He was very interested in everything and everybody and had a very caring nature. The patients he looked after were lucky to have him beside their bed. He was a good friend to all the staff and had a positive outlook on life.

Six months on

**The attack on our Kunduz Trauma Centre has had devastating consequences for the victims, their families, MSF teams and the entire community of Kunduz.** Six months later, the hospital remains closed until further notice, leaving thousands of people without vital medical services. Since 2011, the hospital had been providing free, high\-quality surgical care to victims of general trauma, such as traffic accidents, as well as patients with conflict\-related injuries. It was the only facility of its kind in the whole northeastern region of Afghanistan and offered services to the residents of Kunduz province as well as to people from neighbouring provinces.

MSF has not yet made a decision about re\-opening the trauma hospital in Kunduz. We first need to obtain clear reassurances from all parties to the conflict that our staff, patients and medical facilities will be safe from attack. We need to know that the work of our doctors, nurses and other staff will be fully respected in Kunduz and in all places where we work in Afghanistan. We require assurances that we can work according to our core principles and to international humanitarian law: namely, that we can safely treat all people in need, no matter who they are, or for which side they may fight. Our ability to operate hospitals on the frontline in Afghanistan and in conflict zones everywhere depends on the reaffirmation of these fundamental principles. _Note: Patient names have been changed in this article to protect anonymity._

[_Find out more about our work in Afghanistan_](https://www.msf-me.org/afghanistan)