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Episode details

World Service,08 Sep 2014,10 mins

Israel and Mexico: Matters of Life and Death

From Our Own Correspondent

Available for over a year

In Israel, it is illegal to disconnect a ventilator - even if the patient has been in a coma for months - or even years. On wards for adult and child coma patients in a hospital near Jerusalem, Claudia Hammond hears tales of love, loss and faith. What are the consequences of this approach for the families of those in a coma - and the medical staff who tend to them? And, while the US/Mexico border is often seen as a danger zone, beset by cartel crime, people-smuggling and terrifying violence, Luis Fajardo recently sensed a more complex reality while filming there. Local people expressed to him a mix of paranoia and patriotism, denial and defiance, which reminded him strongly of his youth in Colombia, where there was similar sensitivity about how the place was perceived and portrayed abroad. (Photo: A man is treated at the Ziv hospital on August 28, 2013 in the northern town of Safed, Israel. Credit: Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)

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