This is heartbreaking to hear. I know there is an entire industry ready to answer the call for security needs, and we will. It’s just the flood gates need to be opened, much like they were opened during Katrina, to get the ball going. Eventually, NGOs and the like will figure it out that they actually need folks like us in order to accomplish their mission. And as the Belgian doctors are figuring out, you can’t depend on others for security, you have to insure your operation has it, and that takes planning and initiative. It also takes putting away your ego and your misconceptions about folks like us, and rationally figuring out how to use us for your operation. And from the sounds of it, at least the media had private security with them. (bravo to the team that is protecting Dr. Sanja Gupta and his crew)
And now that the U.S. Military has committed to this disaster with a heavy duty response, I wonder about our current strategic needs to protect the homeland or staff our other ‘projects’? Two wars, and now this major disaster that will require a long term military presence, will certainly put the military in a less flexible stance. How could it not?
So with that said, one would have to expect that security contractors, as well as other contractor types, will more than likely make up the difference. We will keep our eye on this, and this industry will certainly answer the call, like we always do.
I just hope that those that are reading this, and just entering this game called security contracting, understand that Jundism will be vital for you and your contract, in order to make our contribution to the war and these disasters, honorable and essential. –Matt
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Security concerns cause doctors to leave hospital, quake victims
January 16, 2010
Port-au-Prince, Haiti (CNN) — Earthquake victims, writhing in pain and grasping at life, watched doctors and nurses walk away from a field hospital Friday night after a Belgian medical team evacuated the area, saying it was concerned about security.
The decision left CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Sanjay Gupta as the only doctor at the hospital to get the patients through the night.
CNN initially reported, based on conversations with some of the doctors, that the United Nations ordered the Belgian First Aid and Support Team to evacuate. However, Belgian Chief Coordinator Geert Gijs, a doctor who was at the hospital with 60 Belgian medical personnel, said it was his decision to pull the team out for the night. Gijs said he requested U.N. security personnel to staff the hospital overnight, but was told that peacekeepers would only be able to evacuate the team.
