7/30/2019 This is Local London
1/2
hfields doctor speaks of horror in Haiti (From This Is Local
London)
//www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/whereilive/southlondon/wandsworthnews/4997174.print/[25/12/2012
18:09:28]
h t tp : / /www. th i s i s l oca l l ondon . co .uk
Southfields doctor speaks of horror in Haiti7:00 am W ednesday
10th February 2010
By Cra ig Burn e t t
A surgeon has described working alongside the sound of gunfire
and the stench of dead bodies in earthquake-hit Haiti.
Dr Asif Hamid recently spent a fortnight providing emergency
medical aid to disaster victims as a volunteer with Morden
charit
Humanity First.
Dr Hamid said the scale of the crisis became clear when he
entered the country from the neighbouring Dominican Republic.
He
said: The moment we crossed the border we could see the sharp
contrast between the areas the poverty and desperation. The
stench of bodies was quite strong.
The Southfields doctor helped at the charitys emergency medical
clinics and triage centres, providing treatment for some victim
and directing others to hospital.
The clinics opened at 7am every day, and would close 12 hours
later when failing light meant it became too dangerous to
continu
operating. The relief effort was helped by local nurses, unable
to report to their normal clinics and hospitals as they had
been
destroyed in the disaster.
He said there was still great need in the country, and described
how the sight of relief arriving had prompted some disaster
victims to burst into tears.
The 32-year-old said although his camp was close to one
protected by United Nations soldiers, the atmosphere in the country
co
still be frightening. He said: There wasnt a single night we
didnt hear gun shots.
Dr Hamid and his eight colleagues, who travelled to Haiti on
January 25, were relieved by another group of volunteers and
returned to Britain last Thursday.
The doctor, who lives in Gressenhall Road, is an oral surgeon at
Imperial College Hospital in Charing Cross. The trip to Haiti
wa
his first overseas deployment with the Deer Park Road based
charity, and he has not ruled out returning to the country in the
ne
few months.
To donate to the organisation visit humanityfirst.org.uk.
Back
Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
