In photos: First aid training for journalists

By Ronnie Lovler

In Colombia, 44 journalists have been killed since 1992, making it one of the deadliest countries in the world to practice journalism. To enable journalists to stay safe while working, Colombian Red Cross offered a two-day first aid training session in June 2013, similar to IMS trainings for journalists working in the country’s volatile northern border areas

First aid in the field, a simulated amputation, how to get an injured companion to safety when in a combat zone, and guidelines about what to do if you come across an unexploded land mine were among the highlights of a recent Red Cross training for journalists in Colombia.

The Red Cross offered the two-day session at their training center in Tabio, Colombia to more than a dozen members of the International Press Association of Colombia (APIC) who have covered conflict, been in hostile environments or potentially could find themselves in such a situation.

APIC was formed in mid 2012 after French journalist Romeo Langlois was held captive for a month by guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or FARC. Langlois had been covering a military operation in southern Colombia.

“A journalist should be conscious of where he is or and have the most tools available to him to know what to do,” said APIC member Thomas Wagner, a German journalist, now working with the German humanitarian organization, Diakonie Katastrophenhlife. “This is all very useful.”

Colombia Red Cross volunteer Angelica Nova Ariza began the training by taking everyone out on a walkway to teach the basics – how to approach someone who may be injured – whether conscious or unconscious.

She advised journalists to approach a wounded or injured person by calling out his or her name if known; if not with a generic greeting; then with a gentle tap on arm or leg; progressing to a loud clap near the ear if there is still no response.

Even if someone is unconscious, she said, body language can tell a lot. “If I find someone doubled over, they may be hurt in the arm they are holding or in the abdomen,” she said.

Next Nova took the group through an exercise to measure pulse points and pressure points of an injured person.

Nova says disposable plastic gloves are essential to keep things as sterile as possible in less than sterile situations and to keep infections from spreading.

She says she always carries around three pairs of gloves with her – just in case.  As she reminded attendees, you don’t have to be in a war zone or a conflict situation to find yourself suddenly needing to administer first aid.

First aid for soft tissue injuries, including bullet and gunfire wounds, bleeding, shock and even amputation were also on the agenda.

Nova came equipped with a kit that simulates all kinds of injuries, including showing what an amputated limb might look like, and journalist Alessandro Rampietti gamely volunteered for that assignment, twisting and turning in a way that made it all look quite real.

He signed up for the workshop because he often covers stories in conflict zones.

“I found myself in the crossfire more than once with my cameraman,” he said. “We didn’t know what to do in a full hostile environment. I don’t think that improvising is the best route in those situations.”

Attendees were also given a briefing on what do to help someone who may have suffered a skeletal injury like a sprain, dislocation or even a broken bone.  Nova said it is critical to try and keep the injured area as immobile as possible – something not easy to do when what’s needed is not necessarily available.

Freelance photographer Lizza Torres Salazar of the Basque Country would have been carried to safety on this simple stretcher, after she had been bandaged and her leg made as immobile as possible in her simulated injury.

But what if a stretcher is not available?  It’s possible to improvise a way out with nothing more than a blanket and enough willing hands to help. Here Colombian journalist Constanza Vieira of IPS volunteers to demonstrate what it would be like to be carried out to safety on a blanket, when no stretcher is available.

Other workshops were held to acquaint journalists with ways to detect landmines and other improvised explosive devices in the field and disaster psychology, or suggestions about best practices to keep emotions under control during an emergency situation.

Taking action to protect the media

IMS aims to enable local journalists and media outlets under threat to better protect themselves, report more professionally and, thus, continue with their work.

Over the years we have carried out safety trainings for journalists covering Afghanistan’s armed conflict; for journalists impacted by PTSD or post traumatic stress disorder after covering violence in Kenya; in Haiti, where journalists are still covering the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake and in the Philippines, where civil disturbances often leave journalists at risk.

Read more about our safety work here and in our latest Annual Report.