Towards an Eco-Friendly Culture...

For many, environment protection is an affair of only those activists and organizations involved in this. This is a wrong attitude. Being environment friendly is a life style and culture that one needs to build in the mind. Below mentioned are a few examples from Kerala of ordinary people who teach us this very lesson.

Ithappi, an illiterate labourer at Kottayam, learned from his employer, that growing trees are important for the environment. He started planting saplings on the road side of Kottayam and started nurturing them and ensured that it grew as trees that provided shade and comfort for every one. Most of the trees on the road side of Kottayam are Ithappis contribution. Five years ago Ithappi left this world leaving a message to the world that environment protection has to be every body’s concern.

Abdul Kareem of Kasargod purchased a few acres of barren and dry land in his place. His dream was to create a forest in this land that was almost desert like.As years passed, he could make his dream a reality.His forests brought in chirping birds and coolness to the locality.Amazingly the trees helped to tone up the water table of the area.The wells that went dry in summers are now blessed with water.The neighbors who thought Kareem was crazy now realizes the value of his love for the nature.

A group of ordinary women around Periyar Tiger Reserve, the Vasanta Sena is now engaged in an voluntary work to keep vigil against illegal deforestation.They know how much these green lungs mean to this world, to their children and for the future generations. As we look around Kerala, we see ordinary people here and there engaged in environment protection in their own way. They have no banners, and they do not hold press conferences or run behind awards and grants. Their friendship with nature is a way of life that they enjoy doing. They teach and inspire us that to be environment friendly in one’s own way.

Let us not do big things. Can we identify the eco hostile activities we casually engage in and decide that we will avoid doing this? When we decide not to throw our garbage in public places or the drainages, we are proclaiming our friendship with nature. The moment we disown the plastic carry bags and cups, we are part of the movement that sustains environment with all its vibrancy. And when we become foster parents for at least one tree in our life time, we are giving a small share of our effort to bring in breathing air for future generations. As the people of a society become eco friendly in their day to day life, that breeds a culture. The safety of our environment is assured only in such a culture.

Actvists and environment movements are helpless without this culture. Can we jointly work to usher in an eco friendly culture? Let us begin in a small way, well before our mother earth gets polluted beyond repair.

- Dr.C.J.John*

*Consultant Psychiatrist, Medical Trust Hospital, Cochin. Also the Hon Secretary of Environment Monitoring Forum, Cochin and the Founder Director of Maithri, a suicide prevention centre at Cochin.

Road Accident First Aid, Chapter 002...

Shifting the Injured to the Hospital

1. Ensure that he is not hurt more.
2. The patient should be carried on firm board of stretcher so spine remains stable.
3. While shifting, the patient's back, neck and airway need to be protected from further injury. So always take help of another person.
4. If the patient is unconscious, gently place a large folded cloth or towel under the neck so that the neck doesn't sag against the ground.
5. The vehicle used to carry the patient to the hospital should have enough space to keep the patient's back straight and the person accompanying should be able to care for and resuscitate the patients if necessary.
6. During transportation keep a watch on whether the patient's airway is clear, whether the patient is breathing and whether you can feel the pulse in the patient.
7. If there is only one limb injury the patient can be safely taken to hospital on a chair in a sitting position. Take care to splint or protect limb injuries or bleeding.

Courtsey: http://www.delhitrafficpolice.nic.in/first-aid.htm

Road Accident First Aid, Chapter 001...

In case of Wound

The job of first-aider is to remove or reduce the problems that hamper healing such as dirt, infection, movement, etc. Leave the wound undisturbed. Clean the wound by washing them with running water. If there are splinters, thorns and pieces of glass inside the wound remove them with a pair of tweezers so as to avoid infection.

In case of Profuse Bleeding

The easiest way to stop bleeding is to apply direct pressure on the wound. This can be done with any clean folded cloth. Lean on the wound with the heel of the hand instead of your fingers.

In case of a Fracture

In case of a fracture do not apply direct pressure; instead use a splint, combined with as gentle pressure bandage. It is safer not to give the patient anything to eat and drink. This is to protect the patient from vomiting in case he needs anesthesia and surgery, or has a head injury.
If the wound on the arm or the leg is bleeding profusely, it can be raised. This reduces the blood flow to the wounded area.

In case of Chest or Abdomen injury

In abdominal wounds the intestines may come out. The only thing you can do as first-aider is to cover the wound with a very wet clean cloth and get the patient quickly to a hospital. The wet cloth will keep the intestine from drying out, and will stick to the intestine.
Open wounds of the chest could be sucking in the air, making it hard for the patient to breathe. Covering of the wound with a piece of polythene and putting a bandage on the top of this may help to reduce air being sucked into the chest. Get the patient quickly to hospital.

In case part of a Limb is cut off

If a part of the limb has been cut off it may be possible to reattach it to the body. Put it inside a clean polythene bag and place this bag in another bag with cold water. If you can easily get ice put some in the water to keep it cool. Make sure that the limb does not get soaked in water. If nothing else is available, carry the amputated part in a clean cloth quickly to hospital.

In large crush injuries or in amputation avoid washing the wounds, as it will lead to more blood loss. Just cover the wound with clean cloth and tie a pressure bandage quickly. If possible keep the limb raised. Avoid using raw cotton wool to cover a wound as it gets stuck to the wound, and is difficult to remove and delay healing.

In case of an Eye Wound

Do not attempt any cleaning or washing of an open eye injury. Cover the eye with a clean soft cloth; place a stiff covering on top to prevent any pressure coming on the eye. This is important because the contents can be squeezed out even through a very small wound.

In case of Bleeding from Ear

Bleeding from ears mean either injury to the ear alone, or serious head injury. Avoid putting anything in the ears to stop bleeding as this could further damage the eardrum. Get the patient to lie down with the injured ear facing down.

In case Bleeding from Nose

Bleeding from nose could also mean a head injury. If the patient is conscious and can sit up, ask him to pinch his nose and breathe through his mouth. If he can lean forward, then that could prevent blood from going to his wind pipe choking him. If the patient is unconscious he should lie with the face to one side, for the blood to come out easily, so that there is no choking.

In case of Injuries to Muscles, Bones and Joints

When muscle joints or bones get injured, blood collects over the area, and a swelling appears. You can reduce the swelling by bringing down the bleeding. Apply cold water or ice packs if available. It reduces local blood flow and this brings down the internal bleeding and swelling. But remember not to keep ice packs on more than ten minutes at a stretch as this will lead to something like frostbite, and not to place ice directly on skin. Always wrap it in a cloth first. A muscle injury can be made less painful by putting a splint on the injured limb.

In case of Broken Bones and Dislocated Joints

A fracture or dislocation can be confirmed if there is obvious deformity, abnormal mobility, if the limb cannot be moved at all and if a grating feeling is there. First aid for all fractures and dislocations must aim to reduce movement, which will give relief from pain. Splinting should be done with caution.

Courtsey : http://www.delhitrafficpolice.nic.in/first-aid.htm

If Indifference were to fear a face!

"Indifference elicits no response. Indifference is not a response. Indifference is not a beginning; it is an end. And, therefore, indifference is always the friend of the enemy, for it benefits the aggressor -- never his victim, whose pain is magnified when he or she feels forgotten. The political prisoner in his cell, the hungry children, the homeless refugees -- not to respond to their plight, not to relieve their solitude by offering them a spark of hope is to exile them from human memory. And in denying their humanity, we betray our own.
Indifference, then, is not only a sin, it is a punishment."

-Elie Wiesel-
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/ewieselperilsofindifference.html


Elie Wiesel is one of the most noted voices to speak out against indifference. Number A-7713, that was who he was. Another Number among the German concentration camps. It shaped who he became... Another hope in this new world in which indifference strips us of our humanity!

"Fifty-four years ago to the day, a young Jewish boy from a small town in the Carpathian Mountains woke up, not far from Goethe's beloved Weimar, in a place of eternal infamy called Buchenwald. He was finally free, but there was no joy in his heart. He thought there never would be again. Liberated a day earlier by American soldiers, he remembers their rage at what they saw. And even if he lives to be a very old man, he will always be grateful to them for that rage, and also for their compassion. Though he did not understand their language, their eyes told him what he needed to know -- that they, too, would remember, and bear witness."

-Excerpts from his Speech 'The Perils of Indifference'-

For 10 years after the war, Wiesel refused to write about or discuss his experiences during the Holocaust. Like many survivors, Wiesel could not find the words to describe his experiences. However, a meeting with François Mauriac, the 1952 Nobel Laurate in Literature, who eventually became Wiesel's close friend, persuaded him to write about his experiences of the Holocaust.

Wiesel first wrote the 900-page tome Un di velt hot geshvign (And the World Remained Silent), in Yiddish. Later translated to many languages.

"I was the accuser, God the accused. My eyes were open and I was alone – terribly alone in a world without God and without man." Elie Wiesel

In 1955, Wiesel moved to New York City, having become a U.S. citizen. Wiesel wrote over 40 books, both fiction and non-fiction, and won many literary prizes. Wiesel's writing is considered among the most important in Holocaust literature. Some historians credit Wiesel with giving the term 'Holocaust' its present meaning, but he does not feel that the word adequately describes the event and wishes it were used less frequently to describe significant occurrences as everyday tragedies.

He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986 for speaking out against violence, repression, and racism. He has received many other prizes and honors for his work, including the Congressional Gold Medal in 1985.

Wiesel and his wife, Marion, started the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity. He served as chairman for the Presidential Commission on the Holocaust (later renamed U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council) from 1978 to 1986, spearheading the building of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC.

- Joseph John