Jordan Times
Thursday, January 8, 2004
Queen calls for providing long-term assistance to survivors of Bam earthquake
AMMAN (JT) — Her Majesty Queen Rania visited the Iranian city of Bam on Wednesday taking a firsthand look at the devastation of the ancient city which was nearly flattened as a result of the Dec. 26 earthquake, claiming the lives of at least 30,000 people and leaving over 35,000 injured.
A C-130 Jordanian military plane accompanied the Queen, carrying further relief including medical supplies, tents, blankets and heaters for thousands of people left homeless in the freezing temperatures.
Queen Rania, who was accompanied by HRH Prince Rashid, president of the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation, told the reporters as she was touring the Jordan Armed Forces field hospital in Bam: “This human crisis does not recognise politics or boundaries. There has been great devastation, and when I talk to people I hear of how they have lost a great number of their relatives.”
The Queen inspected services of the field hospital, deployed under the directives of His Majesty King Abdullah to provide round-the-clock medical care to the injured with two operation rooms, anaesthesiologists, a laboratory, a blood bank, an X-ray section, an intensive care unit, a generator and water distillation units.
Hospital Director Mohammad Tarawneh said in the past week the hospital conducted all kinds of surgeries, and provided orthopaedic and paediatric services to over 4,000 residents, treating 800 cases daily.
It was the fifth planeload of relief supplies from Jordan, which was among the first group of countries that rushed to aid the quake-stricken area, setting up a military hospital in the devastated ancient city. “We try to help our brothers in Iran as much as we can,” said Queen Rania. But, she added, “there should be a long-term presence to rebuild the lives and homes of these people.” “Inshallah (God willing), there should be a long-term presence of NGOs.”
The Queen's visit comes amid Jordan and the international community's efforts to help victims of the earthquake, measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale which devastated 75 per cent of the ancient city including most of the ancient 2,000-year-old citadel of Arg-e-Bam — one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites.
Queen Rania visited the camps of the Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Hospital and spent time with patients receiving treatment, including the 97-year old Shahr-Banou Mazandarani, who was rescued after eight days beneath the rubble.
The Queen also visited the ancient citadel and talked to survivors of the predawn earthquake that levelled houses of the mud-brick city historically dating back to the Sassanian period (224-637 AD) that prospered as a commercial and trading centre on the famous Silk Road.
Since the earthquake struck nearly 12 days ago, Jordan has sent four planeloads of essential humanitarian supplies such as tents, blankets, medicine and basic food items dispatched by the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation. A rescue team from the Civil Defence Department also joined thousands searching for survivors in the rubble of the Iranian town devastated by the earthquake, which killed at least 10,000 children.
The Iranian government and the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) have appealed to the international community for immediate assistance to help the thousands of families affected by the natural disaster.
A barrage of emergency responses came from global communities and humanitarian organisations following the disaster, including a $12 million appeal by the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
IFRC have already dispatched 20,000 family tents, 200,000 blankets, 40,000 kitchen sets, 400,000 water purification tablets, 30 generators, 20,000 heaters and 100,000 litres of kerosene. Additional supplies are to be determined by the needs-assessment coordinating mission in Tehran and the IrcS.
The International Committee of the Red Cross also dispatched a plane with 38 tonnes of aid from Amman as well as over 30 truckloads of heaters, blankets, tents and food parcels.