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TUESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2013
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White Rock
Hospital staff earn award for riot heroics Christopher Poon
Now staff Twitter @questionchris
A group of staff members at the Peace Arch Hospital is set to receive the Vancouver Police Department’s greatest civilian award following their actions during the 2011 Vancouver Stanley Cup riot. June 15, 2011 was supposed to be a day for celebration – it was supposed to be the day that Vancouver finally brought home a Stanley Cup. Instead, the day will go down in infamy, as Vancouver descended into a riot zone following the Canucks’ loss to the Boston Bruins in game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals. With hundreds of thousands of people in and around the downtown core for the event, the defeat quickly turned ugly as rioting began almost immediately following the local team’s loss. Businesses were broken into, cars were torched and people were attacked – it was something that the Peace Arch Hospital’s Catherine Mastine thought she’d never be a part of. Having gone to watch the game with colleagues from the hospital, Mastine never thought she’d find herself in the middle of a riot, let alone helping to treat the injured
A group of staff members at Peace Arch Hospital are being recognized for their actions during the 2011 Stanley Cup riot in downtown Vancouver. when things began to turn violent. “We went down to enjoy the festivities hoping we were going to win,” said Mastine. “We didn’t expect it to turn out like that. We could see fires, smoke and lots of people. We were trying to basically get out and we didn’t realize our limo wasn’t able to come
into town to pick us up.” Instead, Mastine and her group ended up getting tear gassed and had to turn back toward the downtown core when they came across an unconscious man needing assistance. Mastine and her group, most of which
were ER nurses, as well as one doctor, immediately began treating the man. It was then that the VPD asked them for further assistance, and the group split off to assist others. The group ended up helping treat three people that day, including a stabbing, during which the PAH’s Dr. Lourens Perold had to use an ungloved hand to ensure the wound was OK. “There were no gloves, no equipment, nothing to protect ourselves,” said Mastine. Aside from Mastine and Perold, the others involved were nurses Jennifer McDuff, Anna Csepregi, Lisa Snider, Tina Stewart and patient care coordinator Kam Dhami. Now, a year and a half later, Mastine and her colleagues are about to be honoured on Jan. 9 by the VPD for their help during the riot, the Chief Constable Award of Merit, the police department’s highest award for civilian bravery. “I’m just really shocked and surprised about the whole thing,” said Mastine about the award. “When we were at the riot and doing those things, that was the last thing on our minds. Working daily in emergency, that’s just a daily thing, to help people. This time it was just in a different environment.”
cpoon@thenownewspaper.com
Surrey
Surrey
Vigil highlights ‘global issue’
Hit-and-run hurts two Surrey teens
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Two teenaged Surrey boys were badly injured in a hitand-run crash in Whalley on Saturday night involving a dark-coloured pickup truck. The boys are 17 years old. One suffered a collapsed lung and the other a broken leg. The pickup truck struck the 2007 grey Mazda 3 they were in, at 138th Street and 92nd Avenue, at 7:20 p.m. The crash sent the Mazda spinning into a retaining wall. At press time Surrey Mounties were still looking for the pickup. It’s driver drove off without stopping to see if the Mazda’s occupants were OK. It was last seen heading west on 92nd Avenue, away from 138th Street. Staff Sgt. Murray Hedderson said the pickup is a newer model and would have front-end damage. Police ask witnesses or anyone with information to contact the Surrey RCMP at 604-599-0502.
“It really brought people together from every single caste, every single religion, every single part of India,” said Gill of the worldwide response. “It’s not just India’s problem, it’s a global issue. Girls all over the globe have always been devalued and are constantly being put down.” Pandey boarded a bus with a male friend, not knowing that the bus was being taken for a joyride by six males. The men beat Pandey’s male friend unconscious before sexually assaulting her for more than two hours. She died from her injuries. “If Jyoti had boarded a bus that day with six good men, this never would have happened,” said Coun. Barinder Rasode, who attended the vigil. “We need to stand strong, both men and women together, to eliminate this type of behaviour. It’s not a women’s issue, it’s a societal issue.” While the six men on the bus have been charged with rape and murder, Global Girl Power is calling for the Indian government
laws to protect rape victims from inquiries into their sexual history. It also asks for an end to immunity granted to police accused of sex crimes and that government-funded medical support be provided to rape victims. MORE PHOTOS ONLINE
A candlelight vigil in Surrey drew hundreds on Sunday for an Indian rape victim. (Photo: GORD GOBLE) to follow through on proposed changes. Gill and other group members have penned a letter to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to prevent incidents of rape and violence against women. “Indian women must feel safe to walk on the streets of their hometown or capital city without threat of being teased, molested, abused, or worse yet, killed, simply
because of their gender,” reads part of the letter. “Impunity for perpetrators as well as police and judicial apathy must be a matter of grave concern, not just for women but for all citizens.” The letter asks for timely prosecution of all rape cases, comprehensive legislation against all forms of sexual assault and the implementation of “rape shield”
Enclosed with the letter is a petition, which gathered more than 225 signatures just from Sunday’s vigil. Gill noted that the youth of India have been very vocal, holding rallies and protests demanding change. “They don’t want to simply put up with what’s been happening in the past,” she said. “They’re the ones saying enough is enough.” Global Girl Power is currently organizing a public forum for Sunday, Jan. 20 to discuss how communities can work together to help prevent violence against women here and around the world. Visit globalgirlpower.ca.
jacobzinn@gmail.com
Tom Zytaruk