"Is There a Stretcher?"

Last week the UNMOS were en route to a place called Ezo for a long range patrol. At approximately 90 kilometres from Yambio, the lead vehicle in the patrol struck a motorcycle. The male driving the motorcycle suffered a broken leg. The UNMO patrol team was in the middle of nowhere and there was no one to help the injured man. No hospitals, no doctors, no nothing. The UNMOS did there best first aid, loaded the man into one of there vehicles, and headed back to Yambio. As UN employees we have immunity and are protected from any liability as long as we were in the course of our duties. We just have to follow the proper steps.

I received notice of the accident late in the afternoon back at the Yambio Team Site. We have a Security Section that handles these situations, however, they asked if the UNPOL team could help as we have good relations with the local SSPS and the UNMO team would have to report the accident to the SSPS. The Security Officer and I attended the SSPS County Headquarters to advise them that the UNMOS would be coming to report the accident. It was dark and there was limited lighting due to the fact that they have no electricity in Yambio and they can not afford fuel for their generator. We were welcomed by an SSPS officer yelling in arabic with his AK-47 pointed at us. For a few seconds, I was a little worried. When he saw who we were, he lowered his weapon. The SSPS officer had clearly been drinking and you could smell the odour of liquor emanating from him. He was not the only one. There were quite a few officers that were visibly drunk. We located the traffic officer and explained what had happened and that the victim was being taken to the hospital and the UNMO driver would be coming to report the incident. He immediately demanded that the victim come to the police station first to provide a statement. I tried to explain that the driver of the motorcycle was seriously injured and could not attend the police station. After about 20 minutes of arguing the issue the SSPS traffic officer
finally agreed.

The Security Officer and I then attended the hospital. The UNMOS had just arrived with the victim as well and were looking for a nurse or someone to assist the victim. There was nobody to help. A few of us gloved up and moved the man out of the vehicle to lay him on a bed or stretcher. The TSL (Team Site Leader) of the UNMOS asked, “Eez thayre a stratcher…eez thayre a stratcher o not?“ There was no bed or stretcher. We laid him down on an old wooden bench. Someone finally came to look at the victim after about 15 minutes. I am not a doctor, but something did not look right and it appeared as if they did not know what they were doing. The UNMOS TSL is from Kenya and has a military medical background. He finally had to take over despite all the potential legal implications of this. After the UNMOS TSL was done doing his initial assessment on the victim, we were ready to take him to the operating room.

We then all grabbed the corners and sides of this bench and carried the man to the main hospital area where we moved him to a bed. This was the operating room which was not really an operating room, but a large room where all the patients were being kept. One of the “nurses”, I think he was a nurse, then phoned the doctor. The doctor showed up shortly afterward and was able to repair the victim’s leg with the UNMOS TSL assisting. The doctor actually did a very good job in resetting the leg. I have to say though that hospital was very …. what‘s the word I am looking for…rustic. I do not think that I would want to be injured in any way in Yambio.

It was 0:30 by the time we were done at the hospital. We then went back to the Yambio County Police Headquarters to report the accident. It was again very obvious that several of the SSPS on night duty were drunk. While we were making the report, there was a female detainee asleep on the floor with her baby. I snuck a photo, but felt a little guilty afterwards and it did not feel right to post it on my blog. I never asked the SSPS officer in charge that night what she was being detained for. I found out the following day that it was because she had been accused of adultery by her husband and was being held in custody until she could appear before a judge. This is Southern Sudan.

Cheers,

Rory.

(Photos from top to bottom: 1) Nigussie TWEGAW (Ethiopian UNPOL) at the Yambio Market Police Post, 2) SSPS Investigator at the Masia Police Post, 3) Yambio County SSPS Headquarters, 4) Me at the Yambio County Traffic Post with Cpt. John FAUSTINO)