Relief camp-Johar Town Lahore |
Volunteers from Intech
loading the truck with medicines |
Working together at relief camp-Lahore |
Once
Upon a Time House
It
was Sunday October 23, 2005, when once again we were busy loading our
trucks with tents, sheets, medicines, hospital setup, quilts, milk, flour,
warm clothes, water etc. and our 24 seat van with team equipment, i.e.
personal tents, personal food, rescue equipment, generators, etc.
Our journey took not more than 12 hours to reach, as we had to meet Army
official Brig. Aziz at Junior Leaders Academy at Shinkiari Valley, which
is close to Manshera. Here we saw the chaos and confusion among people
standing on roads waiting for their turn to be handed over “just”
LIFE.
Brigadier Aziz explained the current scenario and showed us the affected
areas on the maps. After finding out that we had a proper setup of field
hospital, a team of doctors, hikers, paramedics, energetic volunteers and
shelter for almost 300 families, he suggested us to immediately move to
the remote mountainous villages of Chanar kot and Davli , which were badly
struck by the earthquake.
We were escorted to Nawazabad Army Camp by Capt. Hassan on a rough 4x4
jeep track. Again same eyes, no expression, no hope just one question………how
long we (in thousands) will survive on the food and supplies you brought…?
From Nawazabad we were given another security army jeep to be taken to
Chanar kot (The central &
border line area between Manshera and Batgram district) where 95% of the
houses were destroyed and even after 15 days no proper medical team had
reached there. The area was struck by Cholera, Pneumonia and gangrenous
wounds after the earthquake.
We were received by Capt. Imran and his team of dedicated soldiers at
Chanar Kot. While we were unloading our trucks we saw a jeep surrounded by
the villagers, a woman taking her last breaths was lying in the lap of her
husband along with her badly injured daughter. A French and Iranian doctor
were trying their best to save her life. We were told that in the
afternoon the UN helicopter even after landing in the village refused to
air lift them. They were rushed to the Manshera hospital immediately
through the same rough track.
By the time we unpacked, it was almost dark in the middle of a huge
mountain range. We managed to fix a quick dressing room, dispensary,
storage room and our personal tents before nightfall.
That night we had few patients and a lot more earth quakes / after shocks
than we had heard off. Patients were suffering from acute gastroenteritis
managed by our doctors by the fire side on the “Charpai”and our
volunteers keeping the saline drips high up for hours and holding branulas
(iv lines) in torch and lamp light. At midnight, brother of the injured
woman’s came to our camp and asked for a stretcher…she could not
survive. They wanted to take her dead body back to their village. We all
were sad and Captain Imran was angry but no body could find out why UN
helicopter refused to air lift her..?
The next morning we had installed a proper make shift Field Hospital
inside a weather proof Chinese tent, where Akbar, and Shani (recently
trained paramedics in first mission in Kashmir to
more than perfect wound debridement and dressings of injured) showed their
miracles to doctors. Eddie the “second in command” was efficiently
taking care of all the issues and made us a camp hospital, an out door
setup and proper lighting system with the help of generators. The Out Door
setup was outdoor in the literal meaning of the word, the doctors and
patients were under open sky, managing together around 1000 patients in
four days time, rather day/night time. Having a female doctor with us was
a huge advantage for us and a benefit to the community. The patients turn
over was huge, mostly women and children who suffered the most. By and
large it was a medical camp with four skilled doctors and medicines but
not as big as the requirement was considering the magnitude of
devastation.
Captain Imran’s team had visited every house in their 10 allotted
villages. Signed coupons were issued to affectees according to their
requirements. The villagers used to come down to our camp in the daytime
to collect their supplies after showing their coupons. We still had tents,
sheets, quilts, blankets, water and food supplies which seemed a lot for
those who had particularly nothing to eat or drink. The fresh spring water
of these mountains was contaminated by the dead cattle, which fell from
the mountains.
Our mission would not have been accomplished to the fulfillment of
our souls if we had not approached the patients living on top of the
mountains, so we divided our doctors into two teams, each having one
Guard, a guide and two trained hikers. The first team led by Dr. Maqsood
along with Dr. Hammad, Shani , guard and a guide went to the northern mountain’s top where different settlements were located.
I took the other team along with Dr. Khurram, Dr.Samana, Shani butt, guard
and guide to the top villages of eastern mountains i.e Davli, Phalela and
Jhanairi. While climbing the mountains we were making continuous
announcement on our handy mega phone speaker to drink boiled water because
of Cholera, and bury the dead bodies immediately, and also requested them
to come half way down to us for treatment.
Our team tried our best despite fasting, weather conditions, absolute zero
hiking skills (most of them), continuous earth quakes, rumors of volcanic
eruption in Alai and we being closest to it, despite bruised toe nails, sunken eyes and the helplessness while saying “mauf
karna is takleef ki dawai hamary pass nahin hay” on coming across a
disease totally unpredictable for which our drug reserve was silent.
We stayed in that area for three days. Every member of the team gave more
than100%.
Almost 1000 patients were treated, shelter, food and other
relief goods were handed over to hundreds of deserving families but truly
speaking in such a big catastrophe our efforts seemed just like a drop in
the ocean.
It was a journey like mothering that is experienced with senses,
souls emotions and minds. Every eye on the way back was mustering the
dream of mapping the future of the “THE ONCE UPON A TIME CHANAAR KOT”
Here we are,….alive and with strength in our limbs and the mental
capacity to think, working to a full agenda to sell hope and buy smiles in
return.
What
ever we have done so far we haven’t experienced failure at any point.
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