Chronicles of Kosovo Mission

Chronicles of Kosovo Mission

Krishna Kumar Tamang

It is all agreed fact that health is wealth and still on top of that if ever one is asked to opt to say being specific which organ of body that needs maximum care probably for most of us the answer would be the eyes. Doctors and literatures suggest the eyes are the most sensitive and excellent absorbers. Generally, medicines administered orally or intra vascular take more time to yield effects than the eyes do. They give fast results as being linked with numerous tiny cells made of direct to the brain.
Here I would like to share my experience with officers regardless of their genre likely to be some sort of useful tips in serving United Nations field missions pertaining to health care. It was the year 2001 in UNMIK (United Nations Interim Mission in Kosovo) as an instructor at the United Nations Induction Police Training Centre in Pristina. Back home I was Deputy Superintendent at Regional Police Training Center, Nepalgunj and fresh return of Company Commander Course from Border Security Force Academy, Takenpur India that proved asset for me to get assignment at UNIPTC. My subjects were Safety of UN Properties, Radio Communication Procedure, Mines & UXO Awareness, Security Briefing, Map Reading, and testing of mission incoming police officers’ English proficiency in reading, writing and listening, driving test of UN standard and shooting. Of course for all that purpose I was trained in conducting orientation in Mines & UXO Awareness by the NATO force of British Army Engineering Company and Swedish Army and Snow Driving by Kosovo Police School run by US officials. I used to take classes and deliver lectures to international police officers, UN delegates, UN Volunteers, OSCE representatives, UN civilian electoral officials and visit to UN Special Police Units (SPU later renamed to FPU Formed Police Unit) to the mission. More often I got my eyes engaged for hours at the bright screen of my computer causing to soar in pursuit of mission theatre developments. The first few days I took no notice of them but later realized they needed intervals for care. The next what I could do my best was to rush to a doctor.
             It was because a war torn mission country in the Balkan where not every available doctor could communicate in English other than Deutsch/German or Yugoslav sister languages. A UN run hospital manned by Russians was the nearest approach to my best availability to which fortunately the doctor could understand my English however, I could not his Russian.
            Upon the doctor’s prescription, the liquid medicine I used to my eyes even worsened it. To my dismay, I could not read my watch though tried hard rubbing and getting them washed in running water. Lo, what would you call my tolerability to endure it for two days without optical clear visibility like that? First, I took it for granted assuming the medicine usage initial effect that increasingly blurred my vision day by day causing worry. My colleagues advised not to panic rather see the same doctor or some other specialist with the paper and medication used. The remnant liquid shown shocked the doctor for the reason it was different against his prescription that aggravated the case. Without losing any time, the pharmacy was reached only to discover that the lady had run out of the exact prescribed medicine then and she used her deadly common sense to substitute it instead. She also was good at her language but not a bit in English and I could only wish and thank in local Albanian and Serbian languages. I am not sure if she tried to tell me or I could not figure out her gesture of giving other than the prescribed medicine. Despite neither any formal education in that discipline nor training in the profession, she was running the pharmacy for last few months. Later it revealed there were several quacks practicing illegally to which UN police in conjunction with the local police KPS (Kosovo Police Service) had operational raids resulting some to shut down their pharmacies and some behind bars.
            Discontinuance of the medicine was the best resort to avert further ill effects without any other antidotes that helped me regain my normal sight in next two weeks. Practical lessons learnt were not viewing for long bright monitor like object, should it deem, do with intervals and greenery seeing to soothe the eyes and not to rely on medical practitioner unless convinced of two-way language understandability. One more important aspect of vice versa is should you happen in service providing position of any kind better get clear yourself than speculating or else your guesswork could be fatal to others and counterproductive to you, too.

24 December 2014
Kathmandu

Published in:
Special Publication Bulletin 2015
Armed Police Force Training College, Lamapatan, Pokhara