Tuesday, December 30
Bam is a city in ruins. A city where survivors have a blank look in their
eyes, hit by the harsh reality where all that remains are outlines of a few buildings,
houses… And, at their feet the few family members who survived this collective
nightmare. We are traveling through the city: the same sight continues for kilometres.
In front of the tents installed in gardens, we see sad people who do not want
to leave their home that has now become a family grave.
It will take a few days to understand who does what amongst all the NGOs, in
order to create relevant operational guidelines: primary health care, hygiene
kit distribution, mobile or fixed strategies, psychological support programme…
Each tent contains many personal dramas and faces marked by grief.
Dr. Jean Paul Delain, Medical Coordinator in Bam
Wednesday, December 31
I work with MSF in Mashad as a nurse. Since 1998, I have had the opportunity
to work with Afghan refugees who we assist in Mashad. But this is the first time
I am helping my own fellow citizens. When I arrived in Bam, I had this strange
feeling that I am being sucked into an unimaginable nightmare. How can one lose
everything one has in a few seconds? It was terrible.
With Eric, the MSF doctor from Zahedan, we first went through the city and
its surroundings. We stopped at each tent to talk to people, treating injuries
- some more and some less serious. They needed and still need our support and
I am proud to be able to provide them with a little relief. I am happy about this
mobilisation, all the NGOs that came here to help and the journalists who have
shown the world what is going on here.
Azadeh Namdar Mofrad, Iranian nurse from Mashad (north east
of Iran)
Monday, January 6
“Ten days after the earthquake, new questions arise. The official
death toll is 40,000 people; the number of survivors in Bam and its surroundings
is estimated at 40,000 people, 23,000 for the city of Bam alone. After having
fled the disaster area, the survivors are now coming back.
The authorities have created camps for the displaced in Bam in order to channel
the movements of the population and to clean the city for future reconstruction.
While some families want to return to their homes, others are ready to stay in
the camps. So, the authorities have provided about 15,000 more tents to meet the
needs of the survivors. Six out of the 12 field hospitals mounted in the beginning
are still operational. The authorities have asked us to take over the medical
programmes in the camps.
We are clarifying our long term objectives: improve access to basic health
care, respond to psychological trauma and improve the living conditions of the
survivors.”
Dr. Jean-François Corty, MSF Head of Mission in Iran
» Read previous diary entries
» Read the latest Iran Emergency news
Aiding earthquake survivors and refugees
Since the fall of the Taliban regime in November 2001, millions of Afghan refugees in Iran have faced pressure to leave Iran and return home despite the continuing insecurity and difficult living conditions in Afghanistan. MSF assists refugees in the city of Mashhad, in the northeastern border province of Khorasan, and in the city of Zahedan, in the southeastern province of Sistan-va-Baluchestan. The latter is Iran's least-developed region and the main entry point for refugees. MSF provides medical consultations and nursing care at both locations through standing facilities and mobile clinics. At present, there are seven mobile clinic sites in Mashhad and four in Zahedan. In addition, the Mashhad project offers prenatal care and midwifery services, and the project in Zahedan treats malnutrition. Teams in both cities each carry out approximately 4,000 consultations every month. The teams also provide food aid and other basic necessities to the most vulnerable families. MSF has also provided assistance after devastaing earthquakes - most recently after the Bam earthquake on 26 December 2003... » More
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Islamic Republic of Iran
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