‘It was a precautionary measure, you understand. To come straight to the point, I believe that what you’re suggesting for this man, this young man, would place him in real danger.’ He hesitated, before adding: ‘I don’t believe I’m exaggerating when I say it could even amount to a death sentence.’ Outside the room, very much in the distance, they could hear flight information being announced over the public-address system. A taxi went past the window.
‘I disagree, Doctor.’ Adrian’s features twitched with the effort to remain calm.
‘It’s possible you’re playing with a man’s life here, Mr Burles.’
‘If we were – and I don’t believe that is the case – then we’re risking one man’s life in order to save the lives of many others.’
‘You’re surely not saying the end justifies the means?’
Adrian held up his hands as if startled by such a suggestion. ‘Not at all. I’m not that callous.’
‘What if he should die? What if he can’t do all that you want him to do?’
‘I’m quite confident he can do what’s required of him.’
‘To the best of my knowledge, you’re not a medical man, Mr Burles, so how can you be so sure?’
‘We know that over the past few days, before he reached Anne Chaffey’s clinic, this young man had walked over a hundred miles. He walked over a hundred miles to find food. We’re not asking him to do anything nearly as exhausting as that. We’re also giving him food and taking care of him while he’s with us.’
‘He walked that distance in order to survive. Now he’s not obliged to do anything in order to survive.’
‘But he is. He needs to raise money for himself, his family and his tribe so that they can all survive. He chose to come here of his own free will in order to help them. Leaving your own family, that’s a hard choice for anyone to have to make.’
‘He doesn’t need to do anything to raise that money.’
‘You’re wrong, Dr Kadwell. Africa Assist has been in this business long enough to know that the general public doesn’t give a damn about the hundreds of thousands of Africans dying of starvation, but they do give a damn about an individual. That’s the way it’s always been. It’ll never change.’
He spoke passionately, earnestly, waving his arms around, keen for his audience to understand his point of view. ‘And when people see this one skeletal figure, when he’s standing there right in front of them, people will care. The ordinary man in the street can’t imagine someone like him – he’s beyond their comprehension – but if they can see him, then they’ll understand. That’s why I’ve brought him to London, so that people will comprehend the scale of the Ethiopian disaster.’
There was a long silence at the end of this speech. The two men looked at Dr Kadwell, waiting for his response. Finally, he spoke: ‘That’s very altruistic, very noble – I mean that sincerely. But it doesn’t get away from the fact your organization is placing this man’s life in danger, and I can’t condone that. Live Aid raised a great deal of money without bringing starving Ethiopians into the country.’
‘And that’s what was missing from their campaign – the human touch. They had to rely on film.’
‘They were very successful, despite – as you put it – relying on film.’
‘Geldof did well, I’m not denying it, but I’m building on what he achieved. I’m making famine personal, that’s the difference.’
The doctor seemed to waver. The two men stared at each other in silence. Dave still sat in a chair in the corner of the room, watching, almost looking as if he didn’t care who won the argument. This time it was Adrian who eventually spoke. ‘Is he ill, Doctor? Is that what you’re saying?’
‘It depends on what you mean by ill. So far as I can tell, he doesn’t have any of the diseases one might expect him to have: TB, leprosy, typhus, typhoid or trachoma. And he isn’t HIV positive.’
‘There you are.’ Adrian held his hands out wide, as if to say, well then, that’s the end of our discussion, everything’s fine. ‘Wonderful!’ He attempted to hide from the doctor just how relieved he was to hear this news.
‘But the danger to Mujtabaa isn’t what he can give us, it’s what we can give him. He’s so weak, a dose of common-or-garden flu could be fatal to him. That’s my concern.’
‘We’ll be careful. But the point is, he’s well – or, at least, he isn’t ill.’
‘That’s a little simplistic.’
There was a brief silence before Adrian said: ‘Thanks for checking him over, but I think we should get out of your hair now.’
Considering the doctor, despite his age, had only a fringe of fine hair around the base of his shiny cranium, this probably wasn’t the most appropriate expression to use. Apart from moving the files he was holding at his side to an almost protective position in front of his navel, one hand over the other, the doctor stood motionless. His veins were prominent on the back of his polished hands. ‘I’m suggesting most forcefully, Mr Burles, that this young man does not do anything apart from rest. What you’re suggesting is not only dangerous, it’s immoral.’
‘The morality or otherwise of our plans shouldn’t be part of this discussion.’
‘It’s hard to ignore.’
‘I say this with the greatest respect, Doctor. Your business is Mujtabaa’s health, that’s all. If he doesn’t have any health issues, then you have no grounds to detain him.’
It was a gamble to spell it out as clearly as that, but Adrian felt he was now getting the better of his young adversary. When the doctor didn’t reply, he added: ‘My feeling is, Mujtabaa’s no worse off here than he would be back in the desert. In fact, I’d say he’s probably better off with us because he’ll have medical support with him at all times.’
Dr Kadwell’s smile looked as if it was being squeezed out through a cake-decorating bag. ‘No offence intended, but if you’re referring to Ms Chaffey, she’s only a nurse.’
‘A highly qualified one. She’s been working with people like Mujtabaa for about 40 years. She runs a health clinic in his country, and deals with hundreds of refugees every day. She has cared for thousands of people in her time. There’s little she doesn’t know about the treatment of the malnourished.’
Then he added, very much as an afterthought: ‘I’ve also arranged for our family doctor to keep an eye on him – on a regular basis.’
‘That reassures me a little.’
‘It will be additional insurance.’
There was a long silence. It was eventually broken by the young nurse wheeling Mujtabaa back into the room, the wheels making a slight sticking sound on the linoleum. She was followed by Anne Chaffey.
Adrian looked at them, then turned back to the doctor. ‘We must be on our way.’
‘You’re surely not planning to commence anything this evening?’
‘Tomorrow morning.’
‘Then might I suggest the young man spends the night in our Medical Centre? At least he’ll have a qualified doctor with him on his first night in the country. We can keep him under observation.’
‘Thank you, but I think we’ll take him with us.’
‘Where are you planning to stay?’
‘We’ve booked a hotel.’
The doctor nodded. ‘If he stayed with us, Mr Burles, he’d be in good hands – in the event of an emergency, you understand. We’d be able to take care