November 12, 2005

Arrival in Islamabad

We have arrived in Islamabad. The flight attendants and crew were very hospitable and very attentive when they found out that we were a Canadian relief team coming to volunteer our time. I felt a real sense of genuine thankfulness; sometimes this occasionally lacks in our day-to-day interactions at home.

The past 2 days have been spent in a fog of jetlag and a spree of buying supplies for the field. We need to ensure that we do indeed have our winter tents and supplies for our primitive cooking and living conditions. The suggestion of a shower every few days is questionable at best, so we must ensure, at least, that we keep our hands clean.

The concern I am hearing is that many people have been suffering terrible physical pain from their injuries and that the use of pain medications is not the same as it is in Canada. Aid workers try to alleviate their pain the best way that they can.

We had a tour of Islamabad and took photos where a large luxury building fell and killed at least 200 people.

Arrival to the final destination

We have just had a very winding 5-hour drive up to our final destination. What a long day. I feel shaky, so much so that I thought what I was sensing was an earthquake, but it was just hypoglycemia, I think.

Driving into the city reminded me of the areas of Banda Aceh that were affected by the earthquake. Buildings down in rubble. Tent compounds scattered all over the city and countryside. Different non-governmental and international organizations everywhere.

We had a quick tour of the public hospital. It was very dusty. It was under construction when the earthquake hit. My first impression was that it was dirty, had virtually no supplies and even less nurses and doctors to staff it except the dedicated humanitarian workers there who were trying their best to work under these conditions.

Then we arrived at our compound. The helicopters soar in and out close by delivering aid and transferring patients to referral hospitals. It was very dusty, I imagine like some described the situation of Bagh after the earthquake there. We set up our 5 tents, then set up our portable potty. As the weather quickly cools down, I realize that it will be a very cold night in the tents. We heard about a large bus accident from last night. Few survivors, many dead. Perhaps more people could have been saved if it wasn't in such a resource-poor area.

Now we need to debrief around the campfire and find out where we will be tomorrow…..