Action-Packed Anita Astelier Beaut'e SUMMER 2007 (website : www.ericane.com) Nominated by the New Straits Times Press-Pricewaterhouse Coopers (NSTP-Pwc) Young Humanitarian Award in 2004 for her voluntary rescue and relief mission work in Bam, Iran, it is hard to believe that this pint-sized lady is trained as a firefighter. Not knowing what to expect before meeting Anita Lim, I came away totally convinced that I could be a firefighter too. Anita’s voluntary services is not just a ‘part-time job’ but a passion that transcends all aspects of her life, being on-call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Surprisingly, firefighting was not Anita’s childhood ambition. “When I was young, I wanted to be a policewomen but when I grew up, I realised I could not qualify because I did not have perfect eye-sight.” In 1995, as she watched the rescue efforts of the Highland Tower tragedy on TV, her passion to help others was ignited. She signed up to volunteer with the Malaysian Voluntary Fire and Rescue Associates (MVFRA) and went through its training.   Demanding Training When she first started, she was so skinny and small-sized that some of her training officers gave her three months before she called it quits. She proved them wrong and is even more passionate about her work today than she was 12 years ago. On why she chose firefighting and rescue work, Anita explains, “I wanted to do something different with my life that was action-oriented.  Furthermore, I could use the skills I acquired to save lives or train and educate others.” Training was tough but this plucky lady enjoyed it tremendously, “We have to slowly build up our stamina as rescue work requires someone to be fit. We started off by learning basic firefighting skills such as the technique of carrying the hose whilst running. Training is ongoing because there is so much to learn, not just in firefighting and rescue methods, but also in communicating with team members, handling rescue equipment, driving ambulances, acquiring paramedic skills, water rescue, jungle survival and flood operations. When I am onsite, I need to be able to handle all the equipment as well as be technically ready to deal with any situations.”   Call to Action During her voluntary service with MVFRA,  Anita had responded to local and international disasters, including the 2003 earthquake in Bam, Iran, the tsunami in Acheh in 2004 and the Segamat flood in 2007, to name a few. Normally, with a search and rescue mission, MVFRA aims to respond within 72 hours of the disaster. Its main job is to search for survivors who may be trapped under collapsed buildings, and provide initial medical relief and food supply to disaster victims. The information it collated during its mission will then be passed on to subsequent teams going in so that they will be more informed and equipped to help. With the Bam earthquake, a team of five MVFRA from Malaysia, including Anita, set off to respond to the disaster.   Gruelling Journey “It was very difficult getting to Bam. We had to fly from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore, then to Dubai and after that to Teheran and Keman. No commercial aircraft could fly into Bam as its runway was destroyed; only military planes carrying rescue teams could fly in. Security was very tight at Keman where we had to report to the International Red Cross and meet the mayor of Keman to obtain a ‘white pass’ to enter Bam and get on a military plane heading there.  There are no allotted seats on a military flight, just benches by the sides of the plane. We had to hang on to the hand railings so that we didn’t fall off the plane! As if that was not unnerving enough, before the plan took off, the captain of the flight asked us if we knew how to use a parachute. When we said no, he said, “Then, good luck!” Despite the gruelling 16 hours and five transits to get to Bam, Anita says, ”It was a fantastic experience!”   Challenging Conditions The earthquake struck Bam in the middle of winter so Anita and her team found themselves landing on frozen ground. “The temperature was -14∞C,” she recalls. “We were not fully prepared for the cold. We slept in tents and our blankets were really thick but we could still feel the cold. As for food, we ate nothing but naan bread with water for the whole seven days.”   Search and Rescue At Bam, Anita’s team reported to the UN command post and obtained information on which areas in the state needed what type of assistance. Then it enlisted the help of a local to scour the sites. “In the first two days, we searched for survivors. In some towns, the locals told us what they needed and we compiled a report. Most of the time, we were recovering dead bodies, which we pulled out from under the rubble and placed by the roadside for the army trucks to come and pick them up. The army trucks would then send the bodies to mass burial sites. As for the survivors, they were temporarily placed in the airport building before being transferred to hospitals in Keman or Teheran. We were always on the move, carrying our backpacks and rescue equipment with us. From town to town, we travelled at the back of trucks, and camped and slept wherever we went. We only reported back to base camp at the end of our trip.”   Tough Going As Anita was the only lady in the team, it was not easy for her to travel with a group of men, and she says it was her mind-set that saw her through. “If you train your mind to tell yourself that you can do it, then you can go through the difficulties. Nothing is impossible. I kept on reminding myself not to be a burden because for them to take me along was a big risk.” Showing emotions was a no-no. At one point, when she was working under scorching sun, Anita thought to herself, “Oh no! I don’t have any sun block on. My poor face!” Yet, she forged on. “It is not death that brings us tears but the living.” When dealing with the lack of toilet and shower facilities, Anita took it in her stride and laughs about it, “I would do a quick one in the open or I get up really early in the morning to beat the guys to the bathroom if there was one. I did not shower for seven days while I was in Bam so when I had one in Teheran, the soap foams turned completely black!” As for the permeating smell of dead bodies, Anita says, “Your nose gets immune to the smell by the second day but you can still smell it when you swallow and the smell gets stuck to your hair, your clothes, and everything around you.” Although appearing emotionally stoic at most times, Anita admits that there were instances when it was too difficult not to cry, “It is not death that brings us tears but the living. In Iran, an English teacher touched my heart. When she expressed her pain in losing her whole family, all of us in the team - including the men - had to look away because we could not take her pain.”   Impacting the World Despite the difficulties, Anita is fuelled by her passion to help others. “The joy on the faces of the people when you are able to help their families is incomparable. When I was distributing food in the remote mountains of Banda Acheh after the tsunami, a lady came up to me and tapped my shoulders to thank me. I responded that we were just helping each other. I said that if one day Malaysia should face a disaster, perhaps you will be the one to come and help us.” On whether her small frame is a hindrance to her work, Anita smiles and says, “There may be some tough guys around but not everyone can handle an emergency situation or move dead bodies. Although I may be small in size, it does not mean I cannot be a rescuer. You sometimes need small-sized people to go into confined space to save someone. That’s why all our volunteers come in all sizes. It is about a calling to serve and taking it as a privilege to do so.”   Preparing Others It was that very calling to serve that saw Anita nominated for the NSTP-Pwc award in 2004. To Anita, the nomination was more about creating an awareness amongst the public. “We never expect anything in return for what we do but by this nomination, we can be good role models for others.  I don’t feel proud helping others after a disaster has struck. My pride comes in being able to prevent disaster from happening, which is why my role in MVFRA goes beyond search and rescue operations to training little children about fire prevention, cycling and road safety. Since our inception 12 years ago, we have taught 28,000 children about fire safety awareness. This is my greatest pride yet.” On volunteerism, Anita concludes by saying, “If you have a thought to volunteer, do not think about when to do it. Start doing it today. Volunteerism is not something you do when you have the time. It is a passion for helping others. The commitment and time will come naturally once your passion and focus are in the right places. Then, you will be able to see the results of what you have done.”