Mission 9 to Pakistan

Bob and Barbara Sutton from New Zealand are on their third visit to Rarotonga.
While they are on holiday, Bob, a Ham Radio enthusiast, is helping local Ham Radio operator Victor Rivera of Nikao to set up some equipment.
On their last visit, with another couple, Bob had aerials set up at their Muri holiday stay and was communicating with other Ham Radio operators around the world by bouncing the radio signals off the Moon. The Herald also covered that story.
Both Bob and Barbara have worked extensively with the International Red Cross in various countries. Bob, a computer expert has worked in Sri Lanka, the Sudan, to mention a few places while Barbara has worked Thailand, Sri Lanka and other places.
Bob’s computer expertise sees him posted mainly to a local headquarters while Barbara who has a background in Nursing finds herself out in the field.
This story is about Barbara’s service in Pakistan helping the Pakistan Red Cross and Society and the International Committee of the Red Cross (Geneva). The posting to Pakistan was her 9th contract with Red Cross. Barbara has served under the Red Cross for 30 years. Her first contract was in 1979 in Thailand when Cambodians were fleeing. It was during a Red Cross term in Sri Lanka that Barbara, a Canadian from South West Ontario, met Bob a New Zealander. Most contracts through the Canadian Red Cross are for a year or 9 months however she did spend two and a half years in Angola with the Federation of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent.
Barbara’s contract for Pakistan was a short one, just three months from 1 July to the end of September 2009. Once in Pakistan she reported to the Red Cross in the capital Islamabad. From there she drove to Peshawar where she was to be accommodated. Her posting was as a Health Delegate to a large displaced persons camp mid way between Islamabad and Peshawar. It was a one and a half hour drive to the camp about 170 kilometres away.
The camp was managed by Red Cross and was in two sections accommodating about 20,000 people who had fled fighting in the Swat Valley. They had been evacuated in May when the Army moved in. The camp had four doctors, two in each camp, one male doctor to attend the men and 1 female doctor to attend the women. The Red Cross provided basic medicines. During July it was very hot during the day with the temperature rising over 45 degrees centigrade. It was a dry heat. There was no air movement and fans were provided. The people from the Swat Valley were not used to such high temperatures as the Valley was a cooler place. Also the women had to remain in their tents. Barbara had to dress as the local women did but found the local dress quite cool except for the head scarf which she had to wear to cover her head. The rains came at the end of July.
The camp was closed at the end of July as the government had organized for people to be transported home or moved on to a new camp.
Barbara was then posted to a smaller camp of about 2,000 people made up of around 200 families. These people were from the Bajaur region near the Afghanistan border. This camp was smaller because people were moving back to their homes. Everyone seemed to have cell phones to communicate with those at home who had decided to stay put. Bajaur was like a resort area. It was cooler there.
Barbara said the people she encountered were very hospitable. They were very family oriented and there were two separate societies, one for men and one for women. Neither mixed socially.
People ate using their right hand and their main meals seemed to consist of rice, chicken with a type of curry or sauce, beans, chick peas, salads with cucumbers and tomatoes and fruits such as peaches, pears, plums and apricots. Local markets were full of vegetables and fruit and there were plenty of shops selling electronic goods. People drank two types of tea. There was a green tea or Pakistan tea which was black with lots of sugar and milk.
In Pakistan Barbara worked alongside New Zealanders, Australians, Swiss, a person from the Cameroon, people from Afghanistan and doctors from Italy and Belgium.
During her time at the camps and in Peshawar she did not come face to face with conflict or danger but had to be very security conscious and could not go out walking after 8pm.
Despite their three trips to Rarotonga, Bob and Barbara still had not paid a visit to the local Red Cross however they will endeavour to do so before they leave on Thursday.

Herald Issue 463 10 June
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