The Rebel Surgeon

In Erik Gandini’s recent documentary "The Swedish Theory of Love" (2015) there is a character who stands out, the surgeon Erik Erichsen. This film is an intimate portrait of him and his wife Sennait.

After serving 30 years in a Swedish hospital Dr Erichsen was fed up with all the bureaucracy and administration. He decided to move someplace where he could make a difference and do what he loves the most - to operate.

In Ethiopia, where there are only 3 doctors on every 100,000 inhabitants, Dr Erichsen and his wife Sennait work at a small field hospital in Aira. Resources are extremely limited so he is forced to operate using what is at hand, like a cheap power drill from the local supermarket, hose clamps, bicykle spokes and fishing line instead of suture thread.

When Erik and Sennait think about Sweden they don’t always feel things are better at home:

- The mental misery in Sweden is bigger than the material misery in Ethiopia. We can learn a lot from this culture, says Erik Erichsen.