Pictures
do not do justice to the extent of the destruction that the
earthquake on 26 December 2003 caused in the Iranian city of
Bam. Four weeks later as the earthquake survivors prepare for
the winter, much assistance reaching the population of Bam has
been channelled through the Iranian Red Crescent from close
neighbours such as Saudi Arabia.
As the tragedy unfolded and the numbers in need grew by the
hour in Bam, the Saudi Red Crescent (SRC) started an airlift
to bring assistance directly to the devastated city. Within
ten days, 25 C-130 flights had landed in Kerman and Bam carrying
thousands of family tents, blankets, food parcels and medicines
valued at over Saudi Riyal 10 million (around US$ 2.7 million).
During the first days of the air lift, the Saudi Red Crescent
also deployed a C-130 flying hospital which was used to evacuate
at least 400 critically wounded people from the disaster area
to hospitals in Tehran, Kerman, Shiraz and other cities. The
flying hospital is equipped with 46 beds and an intensive care
unit that can handle four people at once, according to Dr. Muwaffaq
Al-Bayyouk, in-charge of the SRC emergency hospital.
A Saudi emergency hospital was established at the foot of the
hill crowned by the world’s largest mud fortress on 1
January 2004, after the SRC finished its medical evacuation
missions in Kerman and Bam. About 2,000 patients visited the
hospital before it closed last week.
A 200-bed Red Cross Red Crescent referral hospital is now up
and running in Bam with the support of ECHO and the Finnish
and Norwegian Red Cross.
Comprising of an outpatient clinic, a two-bed operating theatre,
an X-ray laboratory, an anaesthesia room, an intensive care
unit, a surgical unit and a pharmacy, the Saudi emergency hospital-
run by 93 specialized medical personnel including doctors, nurses
and technical staff- offers a wide range of services to earthquake
victims and other patients.
“Most of our patients come to the outpatient clinic suffering
from a wide variety of illnesses,” said Dr. Abdullah Saud
Al-Hudayb, the medical director of the hospital. “But
we have treated a lot of people with broken bones, operated
on several people and vaccinated a lot of people against tetanus.”
“The hospital is self-sufficient and has over 120 types
of medicines,” said Abdullah Al-Ruwaily, the SRC director
of external relations and information. “We received 24
metric tones of medicine on 8 January as the hospital ran out
of various drugs within days.”
Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Sweilem, president of the Saudi Red Crescent
visited the hospital at Bam and participated in the International
Federation’s launch of an emergency appeal for Bam victims
worth US$ 42 million.
“The devastation is overwhelming and the suffering is
immense,” said Al-Sweilem. “The response of the
international community has been tremendous and we are here
to visit the hospital and see what more is needed. It was also
a good opportunity to participate in the launch of the Federation’s
appeal.”
Most national Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in the region
have provided support to the Iranian Red Crescent relief operation.
The National Societies in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt,
Syria, Libya, Iraq, Palestine, Yemen, Turkey and Kuwait donated
hundreds of tons tents, blankets, food parcels, mattresses,
clothing, pillows, heaters, electricity generators, water purification
tablets and medicines.
The Qatari Red Crescent sent a team to assess the situation
headed by the head of disaster management, Dr. Khalid Diab to
procure more assistance from the local market. The manager of
communications and campaigns, Farooq Burney was a member of
the International Federation’s Field Assessment and Coordination
Team as information officer and photographer.
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| More
than 2000 patients visited the hospital before it closed
last week (p11109)
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| The
hospital comprised of an outpatient clinic, a two-bed
operations theatre, an X-ray laboratory, an anaesthesia
room, an intensive care unit, a surgical unit and a pharmacy
(p11113) |
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| The
intensive care unit can handle four people at once (p11110) |
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| Fatameh
Jorjandi is 10-years-old and lost her entire family during
the earthquake. She is now being looked after by an aunt
(p11115) |
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