By the time Orbinski found himself at that Red Cross hospital, hundreds of thousands of Tutsi had been killed. The UN was stalling, not wanting to admit that a genocide was in progress, and had provided almost no support. Only a handful of non-profit workers remained in the country. Later in his life, Orbinski would become the president of Médecins Sans Frontières and accept the Nobel Peace Prize on its behalf, but at this time his role was simply to provide care for those who needed it, and with so many casualties, what could he do? He later recalled:
