Haiti Report

The International Radio Emergency Support Coalition (IRESC) website carries a report from amateur radio operator Mark Jensen KAØWTX, who has just returned from Haiti.

Promise for Haiti is the group I have been associated with for the past 7 years. We have a Fargo surgical team consisting of: OB/GYN, Plastics, and myself, a general surgeon. We were in Pignon, Haiti for our annual mission trip to the hospital that we support.

Last Tuesday, I was in recovery with one of my patients and we felt the earthquake. I have never been in such a situation and neither had any of our team nor the Haitian staff. It took a few minutes to realize what had happened and to mobilize to evacuate patients from the ORs and the hospital to the open courtyard.

Phone service and communications were cut off. One person in town had an Iridium satellite phone and learned of the gravity of the situation.

I have not been able to obtain a reciprocal license through the approved administrative channels. Even including "green stamps" hasn't helped. In previous years I had seen a Kenwood 500 series radio on the premises. Neither the hospital staff nor I could locate the radio. Imagine the level of frustration!

Some of the Haitian staff had family in Port au Prince and left to collect them. Upon their arrival on Wednesday, we learned of the magnitude of the disaster. We were able to continue our caseload Wednesday, but the first trauma patients began to arrive that evening.

Wednesday night we had a team meeting and organized into a mass casualty response team remaining at the Pignon hospital. Travel is very difficult during the day and nearly impossible at night so we received no further patients that night. Thursday patients and refugees began to show up. We were able to deal with that influx.

Thursday night the hospital staff asked us to leave. We volunteered to stay, but they were concerned for our safety. We began to egress north through the mountains 4am Friday morning and arrived back in Fargo Sunday afternoon, very tired but safe.

Here is my concern. Security cannot be assured. If a volunteer ham operator, surgeon, or other medical staff member is kidnapped, hurt, or killed by the roving bands of troublemakers we saw there, the volunteerism and support will quickly stop. Having been in hostile situations myself in the military, I see security as the primary issue now.
I understand that the prison in Port broke open and the prisoners who survived are now out and free to cause problems.

Thank you for your efforts to help care for the people in Haiti who are in such terrible need. Please insist on security for the volunteers. I am deeply concerned that one bad incident caused by lack of security will be seized on by the media and lead to rapid withdrawal of volunteers and support for people who need it so badly.

Our group is working on plans for a return once security is established and rotation schedules worked out. I have my Buddipole, Buddipole Li batteries and charger, IC-706, and have ordered the MFJ emcomm pack for the 706, and a Pelican case for it all. The hospital has 120V where I can plug in during the day when the generator is running.

Mark O. Jensen KAØWTX
former: 119th Fighter Wing, NDANG, Flt Surg

International Radio Emergency Support Coalition (IRESC)
http://www.iresc.org/

Promise for Haiti
http://promiseforhaiti.org/

Blog:
http://promiseforhaiti.blogspot.com/

From http://www.iresc.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=77&Itemid=113