UAE | General

Dubai Women sign up as angels of mercy

Mona Othman, a mother of three children, said her husband's death in a road accident was a turning point in her life - it prompted her to become a paramedic.

  • By Alia Al TheebStaff Reporter
  • Published: 00:28 April 18, 2008
  • Gulf News

  • Dubai Ambulance personnel administer first aid to a hit-and-run victim at the intersection of Salahuddin Road and Abu Bakr Al Siddique Road.
  • Image Credit: Hadrian Hernandez/Gulf News
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Dubai: Mona Othman, a mother of three children, said her husband's death in a road accident was a turning point in her life - it prompted her to become a paramedic.

"At that time, ambulance services were not that good. After his death, my uncle, who works at Dubai Police told me about the opportunity to study and become a paramedic. That was it for me. I wanted to make a difference to people's lives," Mona said.

She and 13 other Emirati paramedics have joined the Dubai Ambulance Services Centre to prove they are up to the challenge and they are out there for a noble purpose.

Mona, 30, told Gulf News the first incident she attended to was a traffic accident. There was blood - the victim's skull was cracked and his brain was protruding.

"I was stunned because I was not used to such a sight. I gained composure and carried out my job," she said.

Mona, the spider woman, as her colleagues like to call her, said she got the nickname after she had to sit in a basket and be hauled up a crane at a construction site.

"There was a man who had passed out in the crane and there was no way to reach him except in that basket. So I went up there and administered first aid to the man. Everyone kept asking me how I got there and since then, they call me spider woman," she laughed as she narrated the story.

Saeeda Butti, a 27-year-old housewife and mother of two, said her father and brothers were totally against the idea of her becoming a paramedic because she would have to mix with a lot of men. "But when they saw me succeed and because I was enthusiastic about it, they encouraged me," she said.

Tough journey

Saeeda said she will never forget the day when a nine-year-old child was brought to hospital with his hand completely cut off.

"He just did not realise that and was talking to me and asking me questions," she said. Saeeda said the journey has not been easy.

"At the beginning, I faced a lot of criticism from my family and neighbours, especially on the uniforms of paramedics. They started thinking of me as a free-minded person who had violated traditions of society," she said.

Saeeda said now the same people realise how important it is for an Emirati woman to be in this field, as women prefer to have women paramedics attending to them. Victims feel more relaxed to share what they exactly feel.

"I get a lot of moral support from my two children who are very excited at what I do. And when they see me at home, they ask why I have not gone to work," she said. The fact that there were no Emiratis in this field, encouraged her to pursue a career in it.

Another 26-year-old paramedic, Abdullah Ebrahim, whose mobile phone's ringtone resembles an ambulance siren, said he eats, drinks and sleeps paramedics.

"I was very excited when I attended the first accident. I could not tell whether the victim was really hurt or just acting," he said.

Ebrahim said the para-medic accompanying him told him that the man was acting because his vital indicators such as blood pressure was normal.

"The best part of our job is when someone thanks us for helping them and prays for us. Sometimes, they even want to get to know us more. It is a satisfying feeling," he said.

Salem Obaid, a 24-year-old paramedic, said his mother was against his decision to become a paramedic.

"My mother was very concerned about how I would handle this job. She also thought that I might get psychologically disturbed after seeing accidents and blood. My uncles on the other hand encouraged me because it is a new field," he said.

Obaid said he wishes to thank the country for supporting them since the first year of study. "This field requires Emiratis because it is a national duty to serve my country through what I am doing," he said.

Graduation day: Baptism by fire

Fourteen Emirati paramedics graduated from the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) in June 2007. They completed the Advanced Life Support Paramedics Programme and they are the country's first US qualified paramedics. The day they graduated fire ravaged 83 warehouses in Al Quoz.

The 14 paramedics, seven males and seven females, graduated in a ceremony attended by Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and Chancellor of HCT. He said in an address at the ceremony that the graduation of the first UAE national paramedic students is a source of pride and optimism for the country.

The HCT's Advanced Life Support Paramedic Programme started four years ago in partnership with the Dubai Police, Harrisburg Area Community College in Pennsylvania, the United States, and the Dubai Ambulance Service. It aims at Emiratisation as well as improving the existing basic ambulance service to an advanced and internationally recognised service in the future.

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