Volunteer medic team keeps student demonstrators fit<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): For Rismanto and fellow volunteer medics, the
\n\"most serious\" illness ever tackled by his temporary medical post
\nat the House of Representatives so far was a girl got fainted.<\/p>\n
\"It was on Wednesday, when the day was so hot since morning.
\nBut a heavy downpour in the afternoon later really got many
\nstudents sick,\" said the 26-year-old medical school fresh
\ngraduate.<\/p>\n
The female students of the Gunadarma University in Jakarta was
\nthen provided with some antibiotics and vitamins.<\/p>\n
Headaches, stomachs, stomach cramps, fever and coughs were the
\nmost reported sicknesses during the day, said Rismanto from his
\npost in the foyer of the House Thursday.<\/p>\n
He believed it was the \"too long standing, too much shouting\"
\nthat caused many students to fall sick that day.<\/p>\n
\"A sudden change of a heated day to a rainy day worsened their
\ncondition,\" said the graduate of the Medan-based Sumatra Utara
\nUniversity.<\/p>\n
His post, located near the press room, is one of many medical
\norganized voluntarily by different groups in the house to provide
\nvitamins, aspirins, antibiotics and other forms of first-aid
\ntreatment for ailing students.<\/p>\n
Thousands of students from various universities have occupied
\nthe House since Tuesday as part of their total reform movement.
\nSome of them have claimed for having losing their stamina after
\ndays of noisy protests asking Soeharto to quit.<\/p>\n
Outside, dozens of ambulances from various institutions park
\nat the compound, ready to rush students for serious injuries.<\/p>\n
Rismanto said he was volunteering himself with Tim Relawan
\nhumanitarian group led by Catholic Father Sandyawan Sumardi, who
\nalso chairs the Jakarta Social Institute, an NGO advocating for
\nstreet children and vagabonds.<\/p>\n
According to him, the group runs three separate posts with
\nfive doctors under the company of dozens of volunteers.<\/p>\n
\"We're 24 hour ready to serve, standing by like the students
\nwho seemed to never sleep at all,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"Basically, we just put the medicines on the table because
\nwe've learned the students are clever enough to read which
\nmedicines or vitamins are the best for themselves, except when
\nthey came with serious illness,\" said Rismanto.<\/p>\n
He gave no figures about students that have been treated or
\nserved by his team.<\/p>\n
Drug supplier<\/p>\n
Rismanto explained that their main drug supplier for the
\nvoluntarily works was St. Carolus hospital.<\/p>\n
\"Here we have over 2,000 vitamins tablets plus some 400
\nheadache medicines,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"We also have medicines for slight injuries and some
\nequipments to conduct minor surgeries... but thanks God that no
\nserious injuries happened so far,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Another medical post, sponsored by different party, was
\nlocated just 50 meters away from Rismanto's.<\/p>\n
Unlike Rismanto's, the post -- organized by the Institute of
\nResearch, Education, Economic and Social Information (LP3ES) --
\nsecured the medicines from pharmacists.<\/p>\n
\"But they sold them to us with reform prices,\" doctor Syarhan
\nHanafi, 29, said, referring to the discount prices they got from
\nthe pharmacists.<\/p>\n
The Posko Medis LP3ES was among the new posts erected at the
\nHouse, which has now been dubbed by some students as Kampus
\nTercinta (My Dear Campus).<\/p>\n
In only half an hour after been opened on Thursday morning,
\nthe list of patients had already reached nine.<\/p>\n
Syarhan said he came along the way from Bekasi, a town just
\noutside Jakarta, leaving his job for a moment at the Cempaka
\nclinic in Bekasi.<\/p>\n
\"All my colleagues in the clinic are now ready to come over to
\nshift work with me here,\" the physician said.<\/p>\n
His colleague, Zaenal Abidin, 32, added: \"It's since a long
\ntime ago that I joined student movement... so when the LP3ES
\ncalled me to join them with the post, I took it with no single
\ndoubt.\"<\/p>\n
According to Rismanto, his motive to join the voluntarily
\nworks was to play a role in the students movement for reforms.<\/p>\n
\"Although it's just a small role... because a momentum like
\nthis has never been imagined before,\" said the Chinese
\nindigenous.<\/p>\n
It was the very same reason that encourage other fellow
\ndoctors to participate in the students movement. (aan)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/volunteer-medic-team-keeps-student-demonstrators-fit-1447893297",
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