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