“The situation in Maliis dire, and it’s not going to be improved overnight”
![No Peace To Keep](https://magarticles.magzter.com/articles/13875/350813/5cfe9f6295fa5/No-Peace-To-Keep.jpg)
IN LATE NOVEMBER, I was hustled onto a CH-147F Chinook sitting in a dusty airfield in northeastern Mali. The helicopter, provided by Canada’s military and carrying a Canadian medical-evacuation team of fifteen people, waited on the tarmac as its rotors spun for ten minutes, building from a steady roar to a wall of sound. We lifted off at a stately pace, tracking the runway, then banked sharply into the desert.
Flying alongside were two CH-146 Griffons, smaller gunships armed with .70- and .50-caliber machine guns, the latter of which can fire over 1,000 rounds a minute. Our Chinook — a double-rotor chopper that resembled a vast armour-plated dachshund — was retrofitted to serve as an airborne ambulance, its floor covered with plastic sheeting designed to slough off the gore of the wounded. On board, the medical crew immediately began unpacking equipment and stringing up bags of blood in preparation for the patients to be picked up, while the gunners shot at targets in the scrubland, spitting shells into the cabin.
As everyone scrabbled on knee pads, their activity increasing the closer we came to the site, it was easy to forget that what I was watching was, in fact, a training exercise concerning the rescue of three pretend casualties. The professional warriors, pilots, and medics on the Chinook had accumulated thousands of hours of expertise in their respective fields; these drills were meant to keep them battle ready. When we hit the ground in a cyclone of sand, the team exited quickly, jogging over a dry creek bed into a clearing. The Griffons circled while a team of German soldiers formed an armed perimeter. Two of their number were already on gurneys, faking an array of injuries, alongside a waterbottle doll pretzelled into a configuration of pain. They were rushed back on board, where the medical procedures began in earnest.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der July/August 2019-Ausgabe von The Walrus.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der July/August 2019-Ausgabe von The Walrus.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
![MY GUILTY PLEASURE](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1721021/ZjBpzYG4o1719492279999/MY-GUILTY-PLEASURE.jpg)
MY GUILTY PLEASURE
I WAS AS SURPRISED as anyone when I became obsessed with comics again last year, at the advanced age of forty-five. As a kid, I loved reading G.I. Joe and The Amazing Spider-Man.
![The Upside-Down Book](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1721021/69rONulnf1719492018954/THE-UPSIDEDOWN-BOOK.jpg)
The Upside-Down Book
In her new novel, Rachel Cusk makes the case for becoming a stranger to yourself
![Pick a Colour](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1721021/gfjRqDBPR1719491028118/PICK-A-COLOUR.jpg)
Pick a Colour
BACK HERE, I can hear a group of women trickle in. Filling the floor with giggles and voices.
![Quebec's Crushing Immigration Policy](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1721021/Va0q3epMo1719490712561/QUEBECS-CRUSHING-IMMIGRATION-POLICY.jpg)
Quebec's Crushing Immigration Policy
Familial separation can have devastating consequences on mental health and productivity
![The Briefcase](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1721021/F9k8iWEzU1719490185232/THE-BRIEFCASE.jpg)
The Briefcase
What I learned about being a writer from trying to finish a dead man's book
![In the Footsteps of Migrants Who Never Made It](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1721021/mgurf-_Dv1719487984600/IN-THE-FOOTSTEPS-OF-MIGRANTS-WHO-NEVER-MADE-IT.jpg)
In the Footsteps of Migrants Who Never Made It
Thousands have died trying to cross into the US from Mexico. Each year, activists follow their harrowing trek
![Blood Language](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1721021/XYrsQ_vA81719486997059/BLOOD-LANGUAGE.jpg)
Blood Language
Menstruation ties us to the land in ways we've all but forgotten
![Dream Machines](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1721021/mpkA9pAuF1719486535433/DREAM-MACHINES.jpg)
Dream Machines
The real threat with artificial intelligence is that we'll fall prey to its hype
![Invisible Lives](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1514951/2Hy-_fagA1707905048505/crp_INVISIBLE-LIVES.jpg)
Invisible Lives
Without immigration status, Canada's undocumented youth stay in the shadows
![My Guilty Pleasure](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1514951/290c5p7DA1707905886467/crp_MY-GUILTY-PLEASURE.jpg)
My Guilty Pleasure
"The late nights are mine alone, and I'll spend them however I damn well please"