First Dispatch

  One Bombing, Two Hospitals

         When an unsolicited non-cash donation is made, the goods donated often aren't really the ones needed.   Recipients are bound to be polite, so it can be hard for the one donating to know if it will truly help.   If the donation is medical equipment, and the country is Iraq, it doesn't take long to find out.

         I arrived at Showrsh Hospital in Kirkuk, armed with a bin of emergency medical supplies. I had been told that it was the only free hospital in the city, that all the doctors worked pro-bono, and that it was the hospital most in need of assistance.

         I was received warmly and enthusiastically, and less than five minutes later, two people were rushed into the emergency room.  

A car bomb had been set off in front of a gas station.   These days, this is an effective place to set off an explosion, because gas stations are very crowded.   Fuel shortages and inflated prices have caused lines to go on for several hours on the sweltering streets of Kirkuk, even though directly beneath them is what is often thought to be Iraq's largest supply of oil.  

         Though the bandages, syringes, intravenous bags and other various supplies hadn't even been put on shelves, some were being picked up and immediately applied to patients.   Most of the victims were brought to another hospital, and an ambulance that was headed there gave me a ride.        

         The first thing I saw as I approached the chaotic emergency room entrance was a stretcher with a woolen blanket fully draped over a body, surrounded by sobbing family members.   The second thing I saw was a small boy carrying in a blood soaked bundle of rags, containing what appeared to be part of an arm or a leg.    

         Lately, there have been many bombs set off in the once fairly-stable Kirkuk (including five in one day, a few weeks earlier), though the city's name rarely is mentioned in the news.   This one had killed three people, and wounded at least twenty one.   The police couldn't tell from the wreckage whether or not there was a suicide bomber in the car when it went off.

         I was later driven to the site of the bombing, and the powerful impact of the blast was obvious.   Torn wreckage that used to be cars lay in front of the gas station, and the area was deserted.   

         Yes, the medical supplies were the right kind, but I don't feel like patting anyone on the back.   A whole lot more are needed, and the violence only seems to amplify each week in today's Iraq.