Tanzania should send a 50 strong team to Haiti

[Ogah]

Mkuu Mwanakijiji,

Wapo Watanzania kule....ingawaje walienda kwa njia tofauti kwenye zoezi zima la kuhudumia janga hili.......

 

[Nyani Ngabu]

Mkuu Mwanakijiji,

Wapo Watanzania kule....ingawaje walienda kwa njia tofauti kwenye zoezi zima la kuhudumia janga hili.......

Hebu fafanua zaidi. Wapo kule kama nani? Wafanya kazi wa umoja wa mataifa? msalaba mwekundu? wfp?

Halafu vipi kuhusu Watanzania huko Haiti? Ina maana kulikuwa hakuna hata mbongo mmoja? Hatuna mahusiano ya kibalozi na Haiti?

 

[Hofstede]

Miji iliyo kwenye hatari kwa Tanzania sio Mbeya tu, miji yote ambako bonde la ufa linapita kuna hatari kubwa ya kutokea janga kwani "plate tectonics" inaendelea na bara linaendelea kumegeka ili kupisha bahari hivyo tutegemee mengi katika mchakato huo asilia.

Mkuu una scientific proof ya hii unayosema.

Mimi nianungana kabisa na Mzee MM kuwa kuna faida kubwa sana ya kupeleka nguvukazi Haiti. Mfano mdogo tumeshauona kwenye majanga madogomadogo tu ya moto kuwa hatupo tayari kwa catasrophic desaster. Mwaka 1996 MV Bukoba ilibinuka kulikuwa na chance naweza sema 98% ya kuokoa maisha karibu ya 80% ya waliokufa. Meli ilipinduka ikawa inaelea kilichotakiwa ni kuivutia kwenye maji mafupi na kuitoboa kwa technolojia ya wakati huo, Ila kila mtu alikuwa na mawazo yake matokeo wakatoboa meli kwenye kina kirefu kutoa mtu mmoja na meli kuzama, walisahau kuwa kilichokuwa kinaifanya ielee ni traped air inside.

Sasa tukiwa na watu wenye uzoefu katika uokoaji baada ya kwenda kujifunza kwa kujionea vifaa na mbinu zitumikazo huko kweli tunaweza kuwa na initial responders wazuri.

 

[Nyani Ngabu]

Mwaka 1996 MV Bukoba ilibinuka kulikuwa na chance naweza sema 98% ya kuokoa maisha karibu ya 80% ya waliokufa. Meli ilipinduka ikawa inaelea kilichotakiwa ni kuivutia kwenye maji mafupi na kuitoboa kwa technolojia ya wakati huo, Ila kila mtu alikuwa na mawazo yake matokeo wakatoboa meli kwenye kina kirefu kutoa mtu mmoja na meli kuzama, walisahau kuwa kilichokuwa kinaifanya ielee ni traped air inside.

Tulikuwa na zana gani za uokoaji zilizotumika katika zoezi zima la uokoaji?

Sasa tukiwa na watu wenye uzoefu katika uokoaji baada ya kwenda kujifunza kwa kujionea vifaa na mbinu zitumikazo huko kweli tunaweza kuwa na initial responders wazuri.

Uzoefu bila zana ni useless. Na bila mipango madhubuti tutakuwa hatujafanya lolote la maana kwa kupeleka watu tu. Marekani hata watoto wa elementary school huwaga wanafanya fire na disaster drills. Sikumbuki mimi pale shuleni kwetu Isamilo kama tulikuwa na drills za aina yeyote ile.

 

[Mzee Mwanakijiji]

Omega.. tulikuwa na zana za kutosha kuweza kuokoa wetu; kama vile tulivyokuwa na zana za kuokoa maisha ya wale watoto pale Tabora, au kuokoa wale watoto pale Iringa waliokuwa kwa moto bwenini. Tatizo letu wala siyo zana.

Kama tunaweza kuingiza LCD za kisasa within days zinapotoka, kama tunaweza kuingiza Ma-Hummer na ma Rav4 na ma BMW I'm 100 percent sure tunaweza kuingiza kifaa chochote kinachotumika duniani kuokoa.

guess what is the hurdle.. ?

 

[Nyani Ngabu]

guess what is the hurdle.. ?

Priorities and leadership (or lack thereof)...

 

[_ BABA _]

Mzee Mwanakijiji hili wazo ni zuri sana tena ni kwa manufaa ya jamii na taifa kwa ujumla but kwa Tanzania hii ni kama kumpigia mbuzi gita ........maana hili wazo halina 10% so no one will ever take this..

 

[masawila]

Mwanakijiji, I hear you. BUT, hivi majanga mangapi ya kuzuilika yametokea hapa lakini viongozi wetu wanaishia kusema ni "kazi ya mungu"?, mkulu imemchukua wiki ngapi kwenda kuwatakia hali wahanga wa mafuriko kilosa? The list goes on and on.
Lakini ukiangalia the common denomenator ya matukio yetu yote na reaction ya viongozi wetu just draws one and unmistakable conclusion ni kwamba, viongozi wetu do not give a damn about sisi wananchi.
Kwa hiyo, wazo la kupeleka team ya wataalam I`m sure hata haijacross minds zao, god forbid if a disaster of any sort strike us, mungu wangu.....

 

[Tom]

Sisi hatufai kupeleka mtu yeyote huko Haiti, ni mpaka pale tutakapokua na uwezo wa kujiongoza ama kuendesha mambo yetu. Janga likitokea Tanzania tutakufa wengi zaidi si kwa kukosa watalaam wa majanga ila kwa kua hamna uongozi wa kudhibiti watu ktk hali ya janga na ktk maisha ya kila siku. Wataalam hawawezi kua na ufanisi ktk mazingira ya kitanzania. Ni nchi hamna uongozi imara.

Mtaani angalia mwizi anavyobondwa mpaka kufa, utafikiri hatuna Polisi.

 

[Ogah]

Hebu fafanua zaidi. Wapo kule kama nani? Wafanya kazi wa umoja wa mataifa? msalaba mwekundu? wfp?

Halafu vipi kuhusu Watanzania huko Haiti? Ina maana kulikuwa hakuna hata mbongo mmoja? Hatuna mahusiano ya kibalozi na Haiti?

Thats was just a hint.........Mkuu........lile janga ni kubwa kuliko tunavyofikiri wengi wetu.........wakakti mwingine mtu unaweza kufuru kuhusu huyu Mungu......dah!

 

[saidhorizons]

For a while I have been thinking of using an opportunity brought by a natural disaster somewhere else in the world as a learning tool to prepare ourselves by training our own people for disaster preparation and management. It'll help us understanding practically the whole concept of search and rescue, search and recovery and disaster management, operations and rebuilding.

Mkjj,
If we are serious about sending a rescue team to Haiti it better be a top-notch team staffed with experienced emergency rescue professionals who are world class and at the top of their game. Most important of all, the team must be virtually self-sufficient in every way imaginable: for example, they should have their own transport plane and crew (a Jumbo Jet would be nice) capable of transporting personnel as well as tons of medical supplies and food including water. Alternatively, the may carry specialized distillation equipment that can produce fresh drinking water from sea water.

We should completely dispel the potentially damaging notion that other rescuers such as the British, Israelis or Americans will come to our rescue if we need transportation or technical help, or God forbid, run out of food!

Let’s look at one example: I personally not sure what we are really good at but if our “highly-trained” earthquake recovery team that you are proposing we should send to Haiti is comprised of medical personnel such as doctors, nurses and paramedics, then we better make sure that they are accompanied by an equally large team of support specialists that can be used to setup a field hospital with an emergency operating and intensive care unit. They should also carry surgical and radiology equipment and supplies which presumably they are trained to operate in the field. These are the types of basic emergency medical needs that would overwhelm the local authorities in the early days of a catastrophic earthquake such as Haiti.

Also worth noting is that the team should be capable of contributing to the disaster rescue effort independently because they are professionals at what they do as rescuers and that should be the primary goal, not to learn from others. Obviously, by participating they will no doubt gain some experience and acquire some “new tricks of the trade” but that is not and should not be considered their primary goal. Learning should be done back home as part of their overall training and preparations for such disasters so when they get to Haiti they do not become a burden to the local authorities or other rescuers expecting be told what to do.

In a chaotic life and death situation after an earthquake, there is no time to babysit each other; time is too precious to be wasted on helping or training others; the focus is to rescue the victims of the earthquake before the window of opportunity slams shut as victims die of dehydration or starvation.

Mwanakijiji you made the bold proposal for our government to send a 50-member rescue team to Haiti, but what is less obvious to me and probably others is what exactly are are going to be doing when they get there besides learning from others? Do you have any clue? What is their primary mission, which presumably they are highly trained for? But more crucially, can Tanzania provide the necessary logistical support to conduct an operation so far away without aid from donor countries? Obviously, we don’t want them to show up in Haiti cap-in-hand begging for help (tembeza bakuli) from other rescue teams because they are ill-prepared for the mission.

One may argue, as many of us do, that we should use the recent devastating floods in Kilosa (for which we are seeking international aid) to equip and train our rescue team (if we have any) so we can get our own house in order first and use the experience to hone our emergency rescue skills before we venture into the international arena. What do you think? No offense intended but you seem more confident in the technological capabilities and resources than the rest of us.

 

[TheUchungu]

It is a good idea for the nation on the ground of foreign policies....its not about whether we have the capability or not in terms of financing, but doing something to help the Haitian at this very difficult times by sending a team would mean somthing and give credits to Country....i hope JK takes the idea with a positive look...

 

[WildCard]

Nilikuwa naangalia taarifa ya habari sikumbuki kama ni C10 au ITV jamaa wa zimamoto wakawa wanalalamikia matumizi mabaya ya simu yao ya kutolea taarifa za majanga inavyotumiwa na baadhi ya Watanzania kupiga na kuongea ujinga. Nikabaki kushangaa. Kisa simu ile ukipiga hukatwi pesa!
Pamoja kufikiria kupeleka wataalam wetu Haiti tufikirie pia kuwapeleka vijana wetu kwenye vyuo walivyojifunza wenzetu wa Marekani, Uingereza,.... kisha tuwanunulie vitendea kazi. Vinginevyo ni kuwapeleka Haiti kutalii tu na kuangalia kama sinema.

 

[Che Guevara]

I know.. but this one will be different.. the Americans would do something that the French never tried to do. They will rebuild Haiti from bottom up..

The Americans will help Haiti as long as the Haitian leadership do as the Americans want.
Once you put your own country's interests/priorities first, they deal with you:
the Jean Bertrand Aristide way (they send you into exile),
or the Lumumba/Salvador Allende way (assasinated),
or the Kwame Nkrumah or Manuel Zelaya (Honduras) way (overthrown).

 

[Regia Mtema]

Mwanakijiji
Do we have enough money to do so? may tell us the sources to facilitate your idea.

 

[Ndahani]

Unless team inayotegemewa kwenda isiwe na per diem kabisa, then watu waliopendekezwa kwenda watakuwemo kwenye list. Vinginevyo, wala sitegemei kutatoka team itakayokwenda kujifunza lolote maana watakaokuwemo kwenye hiyo teeam ni watu waliokwenda kwa ajiri ya per diem tu. Mnisahihishe kama nakosea maana trip za nje ya nchi huwa wanakwenda watu huko, wengine sio kufanya lolote bali kujiongezea kipato tu wao binafsi.

 

[bona]

Well.. you must think it is a bad idea; you might think, we have our own problems why should we? you might even ridicule the idea as "overly ambitious" and "unnecessary". Others might even consider the thought of sending a team to Haiti in some kind of a relief mission to incredibly wasteful and not a welcome idea.

For a while I have been thinking of using an opportunity brought by a natural disaster somewhere else in the world as a learning tool to prepare ourselves by training our own people for disaster preparation and management. It'll help us understanding practically the whole concept of search and rescue, search and recovery and disaster management, operations and rebuilding.

I believe this is one of those moments. Remember that in late December last year an earthquake hit around the faulty lines of Lake Nyasa and its tremors felt up to Mbeya Town (over 80 miles away).. imagine if it had hit in Mwanjelwa or Mbeya town center! would we have been prepared!? (somebody might say.. unatuchuria, this will never happen to Tanzania because we have peace, harmony and unity!)!

The team should consists of:

a: Medical Doctors
b. Military Engineers
c. Nurses and Medical Assistants
d. Security Officers - Police and Military
e. Translators (French).

Why?

a. To give our own people much needed experience, knowledge and understanding of operating a major relief effort that will help us when the "hour of our need" comes.

b. When the group returns to Tanzania, it should brief the national leadership about its experience and how as a nation can prepare for a major natural or man made disaster. From the group we should be able to constitute emergency preparedness program. Call me nut but I like preparation better and suprises!

c. We will show the world that from our own poverty and national challenges we can still help. People should bear in mind that US is helping in Haiti while international its fighting two unpopular wars, the economy is in recession and internally there are more Americans in desperate conditions than at any other time in their recent history. Why does America in the midst of these challenges still raises to help a country that has no any major national interests to the US?

I believe we too in the midst of our own challenges and incredible realities can and indeed must help the Haitian in this our of darkness!

Who should finance?
I know the most quick reaction to this proposal will be "we don't have money, unless the UN or the US should reimburse us, we will not be able to do this".

I believe we have the means to carry this mission of Help from the Tanzanian People. Something like TZAID. I believe if the President and the Cabinet would sit down and ask the question "how we can help" you'll be amazed at how much resources we have to be able to accomplish this.

Intellectually, i know it is a good idea and if I was somehow in power I would carry it on. Somebody else might think it is a very bad idea.

Tell me why this is a very bad idea.

no matter how you make it look good, its not mr! the reason to that is very simple, its not and shouldnt be our concern!
we have millions of problems in our country we simply cant be helping others with such costly mission, secondly we did not cause all that changes in weather, if you can realise that part of region is constanly under hurricanes, earht quakes, tornados, floods, strong winds etc and if you can do little thinking all these bad weather is caused by industrial pollution, now who else apart from america is responsible with what is happening at that part of the world?
as a country needless to mention a poor one like tanzania we should have priorities and i dont see helping people in north america is a good idea, to bulid a team for disaster management is a good idea but we can both agree you dont need to go to haiti to learn how to manage disasters!

 

[leseiyo]

Yes Mzee MMKJJ heshima juu.Senegal rais wao Abdoulaye Wade kafeel sana janga hilo la Haiti.Sisi naona tuko kimya kama vile hatuhusiki.Rais huyo wa Senegal ametoa ardhi yake bure kwa ajili ya wahanga wanaotaka kuishi Senegal amesema kuwa, Wahaiti walikuwa waafrika na baadhi yao walitokea kwenye mipaka ya nchi yake enzi hizo.So amekubari warudi nyumbani na atawapa uraia wale wote wanaohitaji.

 

[Kubwajinga]

Wazo la kupeleka waokoaji kwa sasa naona litakuwa limepitwa na wakati, watakuwa wameshachelewa. Kuanzia kesho waokoaji wengi watakuwa wanafanya kazi ya kuibua maiti.

Kwa sasa ma-Injinia, Town Planners, Doctors, Nurses n.k. naona ndio watakaohitajika.

Kwa hiyo nafasi ya kujifunza itakuwa imetupita kwa vile hatuna viongozi wanaofikiria haraka au labda viongozi wetu hawafikirii kabisa.

 

[Masaki]

Wazo la kupeleka waokoaji kwa sasa naona litakuwa limepitwa na wakati, watakuwa wameshachelewa. Kuanzia kesho waokoaji wengi watakuwa wanafanya kazi ya kuibua maiti.

Kwa sasa ma-Injinia, Town Planners, Doctors, Nurses n.k. naona ndio watakaohitajika.

Kwa hiyo nafasi ya kujifunza itakuwa imetupita kwa vile hatuna viongozi wanaofikiria haraka au labda viongozi wetu hawafikirii kabisa.

Kwa bahati mbaya sana, viongozi wetu hawafikirii kabisa! Ni wavivu wa kufikiri!