Bus crash at least 22 children killed today

Sorry,

I'm bowing out for the time being.

The Swiss bus crash involves a school class from my immediate area.

22 12 yr old children from our neighbour village wiped out in one fell swoop.

My thoughts are with everyone caught up in this dreadful accident.

http://web.orange.co.uk/article/news/swiss_bus_crash_pupils_home_town_mourns

And, what may be even worse in the long term, the dreadful injuries that will have been suffered by those who did survive.
The press always focus on the numbers of dead, in accidents, tsunamis, earthquakes, Iraq, Afghanistan or wherever.
The injured often suffer a fate which some might see as worse than immediate and merciful annihilation.
But for some reason the survivors are forgotten. We assume that monetary compensation is enough.
It is assumed that the various public services are able to deal effectively with their disabilities and their mental trauma.
We have reached a stage where garrotting a teddy bear on a lamppost, or leaving a bunch of flowers to rot in front of a gate is seen to be a "good thing to do" and somehow is deemed to be enough.
Once we have done it we can walk away, and never again need ask about those who "survived".

And is it not a strange paradox that as medical science becomes ever more advanced, the more horrific the injuries and disabilities are that people have to live with.

@PeterMac wrote:And, what may be even worse in the long term, the dreadful injuries that will have been suffered by those who did survive.
The press always focus on the numbers of dead, in accidents, tsunamis, earthquakes, Iraq, Afghanistan or wherever.
The injured often suffer a fate which some might see as worse than immediate and merciful annihilation.
But for some reason the survivors are forgotten. We assume that monetary compensation is enough.
It is assumed that the various public services are able to deal effectively with their disabilities and their mental trauma.
We have reached a stage where garrotting a teddy bear on a lamppost, or leaving a bunch of flowers to rot in front of a gate is seen to be a "good thing to do" and somehow is deemed to be enough.
Once we have done it we can walk away, and never again need ask about those who "survived".

And is it not a strange paradox that as medical science becomes ever more advanced, the more horrific the injuries and disabilities are that people have to live with.

PM you are so right. The Aberfan disaster is a classic example. There was almost a generation missing apart from the several survivors. The parents of the survivors were severely damaged as they held onto their children whilst their friends had lost theirs, the same friends who had dug with their bare hands in the soil to get to their children and find them dead. The children who survived were completely traumatized.

I hope the parents of the survivors and the survivors themselves of this terrible tragedy in Switzerland get shedloads of help along with the bereaved parents. These kids have to go back to school and continue with their lives.

There is also the family of the bus driver. How must they be feeling right now? and then to read headlines that say he was speeding/not speeding. How must they be feeling?

There are the teachers who have died. The teachers who won't be in school next week. The pupils who won't be in school next week. The families of the teachers who are grieving.

A huge prayer for everyone involved in this.

Quite so. But how long before the physical injuries are healed enough for any of them to go back to school.
The press always seems to give the impression that either you die, or are unharmed. They never mention the amputations, broken spines, paraplegia, smashed bodies, and broken minds. It is obvious that every survivor will have been thrown forward into the seat back in front of them. So all will have severe facial injuries, broken femurs, and chest injuries.

There is obviously a sort of agreement not to do this in the case of our soldiers in Afghanistan. For reasons of morale amongst the rest and so that the general public do not rise up and demand their immediate withdrawal we are only allowed to see the "brave ones" in their wheelchairs playing rugby, and doing marathons. We are never allowed to know the reality,
Sensitive souls should not read on.
I come from a medical family and have spoken to doctors who have done a tour of duty in Basra.
This is also on the web, though you may have to look for it.
If you are involved in a blast sufficiently powerful to tear off your thighs, you lose your genitals at the same time, and suffer massive internal blast injuries to the anus, rectum and colon. There is evidence that the Taliban have realised this and place their roadside bombs at a height calculated to cause this injury.
But we are never told this.
In the States Army Charities are now actually recommending that soldiers posted out there use the facilities of a sperm bank before they leave. But again this has, to my knowledge, never made the mainstream press.

Ultimately it is counterproductive, as the general public, reading the papers and seeing the "good news" stories will then be less likely to donate heavily to the Charities concerned, and less likely think that taxation for the NHS is a good thing.

PeterMac wrote:
Ultimately it is counterproductive, as the general public, reading the papers and seeing the "good news" stories will then be less likely to donate heavily to the Charities concerned, and less likely think that taxation for the NHS is a good thing.
unquote

In pretty well all European countries one has to pay tax for the health service whether you use it or not. At present I have to pay about 150 euros a month - there is no way out.
One can pay more and have cover for many more 'extras' such as physiotherapy, alternative treatments such as acupuncture and so on. When I move back to the UK, some 80 euros a month will still be deducted from my income as the UK can and will claim full costs from the NL. When I worked in the UK for the NL government, we were asked to have a private medical insurance, since we were not contributing to the UK. This was simply a courtesy - we were not compelled to do this.

PeterMac is right in saying that the ugly truth about injuries is rarely seen in the press. Help for Heroes is very popular, but we only see the successful results - wheelchair users, faces intact.
The Western World seems to be incapable of coping with ugly faces and ugly facts.

I think Simon Weston is the only one with facial injuries we were allowed to see. And of course he can walk and talk, and is intelligent and articulate, even now running his own website and in demand as a celebrity after dinner speaker.
But that about the others ?
Name ONE other soldier injured in the Falklands Campaign. Just ONE.

@PeterMac wrote:I think Simon Weston is the only one with facial injuries we were allowed to see. And of course he can walk and talk, and is intelligent and articulate, even now running his own website and in demand as a celebrity after dinner speaker.
But that about the others ?
Name ONE other soldier injured in the Falklands Campaign. Just ONE.

I suppose the public can cope with a 'token' disfigurement, but that will be about the limit. Friend of mine was in Basra, he simply doesn't talk about it.

I think that is right. Simon's face is still recognisable as human, and his character shines through. I had the honour of meeting him many years ago when he came to my patch.
I am not surprised your friend does not talk about Basra.
This medic has the full stories of what the new generation of "Officers" in the Afghan Army who we are training are really like. Much of it caught on the CCTV security cameras round the training school compound, so these are not invented racist stories. This is real. It is not a matter of religion, or cultural differences. This goes much deeper into what it means to be human. We are dealing with degenerates.
We should not be there.