Reference :
V-P-PK-E-01397
Date :
09/2016
Caption :
Karachi, Jinnah postgraduate medical center. Head nurse Daisy Nasreen was working when two bombs hit the hospital in 2010.
Confidentiality level :
public
Publication restrictions :
publication without restrictions
Description :
"It was 6 February 2010. I will never forget that date. I had never experienced anything like it, and nor had I ever imagined that someone would bomb an emergency ward at a major urban public hospital.
That day we were on high alert, coincidently. There were multiple religious congragations in the city. Incase of any security incident, we were ready to receive a large number of patients and every senior medical staff member had been called in. Soon news reached us that two bombs had ripped through the procession and that there were many casualties. We worked all day to care for the incoming victims. It was around 5 p.m. in the evening when suddenly we felt a huge blast rip through the ward. Most of us were dealing with paperwork by then, as most of the patients from the earlier attacks had been taken care off, or sent off to other departments. The first bomb had been placed directly outside the main entrance of the emergency ward and killed 18 people instantly. There was debris and dust everywhere and we were in complete shock from the sound and power of the blast. All of us were here on duty – all the senior doctors and nurses. There was immediate panic in the aftermath. People, including the patients and their families, were running in all different directions, screaming and calling for help. The ward had still been crowded with patients and visitors because of the earlier attack on the procession. For some time we could not tell who was where, and how many of us had been injured. We were unsure where to turn and whom to listen to. Eventually we closed the emergency ward and spent the next eighteen hours surveying the damage and trying to repair whatever we could. It was not something you get over easily or ever forget."
ICRC website, photo gallery “Unsung Heroes of Pakistan: Healthcare Workers Taking Risks to Save Lives”, 07 JULY 2017
“Violence against healthcare professionals working in conflict areas is a reality that thousands of healthcare workers have to confront on a daily basis. Often the impacts of this violence spill over to the patients, families, and coworkers as well. In Karachi, Pakistan, these are the true stories of healthcare workers who've encountered this violence while risking their own lives to save the lives of others.
ICRC's Healthcare in Danger (HCiD) project aims at encouraging different stakeholders to improve the security and delivery of healthcare in armed conflict and other emergency situations.”
Original material :
digital
Resolution :
4837x6050
Orientation :
portrait
Colour/B&W :
colour
