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Observation of the daily routine in a medical centre for uninsured people in Amsterdam portrays people in the margins of society and those who offer a helping hand.
'We believe in God, so God will reward you', an African patient tells a doctor of the (first) aid centre Kruispost in downtown Amsterdam. The medical centre is available for assistance to people without health insurance - illegal refugees, homeless and addicts - and is run by some eighty volunteers, including students and retired staff members. This documentary observes the daily routine in the centre. A drifter has his feet taken care of, a junk vainly cries for his mother, an illegal black woman is pregnant unwanted. Some refugees want to obtain a medical certificate to improve their state of residency, but a runny nose is not the best means. An obese Eastern European woman, selectively understanding the Dutch language, is insulted by the advice to lose some weight. There are also patients who try to shirk the minimum individual contribution. The practice makes grateful use of instruments of the Academic Medical Centre, which would otherwise be shipped to developing countries. 'Foreign aid from home', a staff member calls her job.

Credits

Set geluid
Geluidsnabewerking
TV company
NCRV TV
Distributor NL
NPO Sales

Title: Kruispost
Year: 2007
Duration : 1 hour, 27 minutes
Category: Long Documentary
Edition: NFF 2008

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