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By Suzanne Charest
The busiest streets in downtown Bam look like construction zones. What used to be houses are now piles of shattered brick and rubble. Among the dust-covered palm trees in a small park, the Japanese Red Cross has set up a clinic to treat the victims of the earthquake.
The clinic-staffed by a Japanese Red Cross team of 14 that includes four doctors, four nurses, an electrician and administrator and other support staff-opened on December 31. In the first day and a half of operation, nearly 100 people received medical treatment. About 60 per cent of the patients suffered from earthquake-related injuries and the rest were treated for chronic diseases.
"Many of our patients had already received initial treatment for their earthquake injuries," said Mihoko Goto, a Liaison Delegate with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, who traveled from Afghanistan to manage the clinic.
"They simply needed follow up treatment and were happy they could come here."
Although the clinic has not been advertised, news traveled quickly through the quake-stricken community. "In addition to providing medical care, we have given out information on general disease prevention and pediatrics," added Goto. Patients with serious conditions are referred to the mobile hospital at the airport.
A mother, father and their 10 month-old daughter are driven in on pick-up truck. The mother, who had been trapped under the rubble with her daughter for several hours, has a broken hand and is given medication. She struggles to walk out of the clinic. A friend brings out her daughter, who has a severely scratched face. Another man who had been trapped under the rubble for a day receives treatment for his injured hands.
More people stream up to the entrance of the clinic and register at a steel drum converted into a makeshift reception desk. Vital primary health care will be needed more and more in the coming weeks.
The Japanese can empathize with the thousands of victims of Bam's quake. "As we are from an earthquake-prone country, we understand with compassion the devastation created by this type of disaster," said Goto.
The Japanese clinic has also provided care following major earthquakes in Gujarat, India in 2001 and Nahrin, Afghanistan in 2002.