Hopeamidsttragedy

Australians show their true spirit in the face ofthe Bourke Street incident

BY PREETI JABBAL

Auscralians,especially those living inMelbourne, have been wiitedin shod<,grief and condemnation of theBourke Streettragedythat resulted in fivefatalitiesandinjuries tomultiple pedestrians who wereplougheddownbya motorise.BhavitaPatel,33,was namedasthe sixthvictim of theincident. Shedied on 30 Januaryafter her familydecided to mrn off herlifesupport.

"l have no idea what to sayabout what happenedexceptthat I missherand love her.so much and can't believethatI won't seeher anymore," her brother Miteshcold the Herald Sun.

Nechra Krishnamurthy, ayoungIndian mother, was amongtbeshoppers,tourists andworkers who fellvictim to this senseless acc.

In an incident chat shook theentire city,26-year-old Dirnicrious GargasouJas allegedlydrovehiscar into thebusyBourke Street Mall,deliberatelystrikingpedestrians after lunchtime on Friday20January.He was witnesseddoingdoughnuts with his vehicle outside the busyFlindersStreet Station prior to thecrash.

Victoria Policehave charged him with fivecounts of murder for killingMatthew Si (33),JessMudie(22) Thaila Hakio (10) andZacharyBryant (3months) as well as an unidentified25-year-oldman.A charge regardingBhavitaPatel isexpected. About 30 people wereinjured; many are stillreceivingtreatment includingNethra Krishnamurthy. ethraisanIT consultant who migrated toAustralia from Mysore,Karnatal<a and moved toMelbomne in2012.Sheis married toMohan Kumar andtheyhaveaneightmonth-oldson, Hari.Shehad just finished feedingher child who was in a daycareand wasremrningto work whenthetragedy occurred. Her husband was withher, however he was unharmed in theincidem.

Nethra isundergoingtreatment at theAlfredHospitalfor her injuries.She has multiple spinal and rib fractures, a puncmred lungand lacerations on her liver, kidney, intestineandscalp. She has been through many surgeries and her medical treatment will continue.Icis expected to be alongroad to recovery.

"l was luckyto miss thein1pact but unluckyenough to witness themassacre firsthand,"hesaidin hissocialmediapost informingpeopleabomhis wife's wellbeing. "l wouldhavedoneeverything I couldand leaveeverythingI have to prevemthis from happening toher," headdedashe thanked everyonefor their concern, care andsupport.

Accordingto updates ethra had her ventilator,lungandnasogascricmbes removed recentlyandisableto talk anddrink fluids.Sheisexpectedto undergo plastic surgeryfor thelacerations onher scalp. FriendsandMohan'smother,whoreached Melbourne soon after the cratunacicincident, are caring for herchild.

This unprecedentedtragedyhasimpacted manyfami.liesandthe outpouringof support from thecommmiityhasbeenenormous The floraltributes,messages of hope, condolences,lettersand fundsarepouring in.Vigils andmemorials wereheld to honour theinnocent victims of tberampage.

Saddenedand concerned, the Australian communityhasdugdeep imo their pockets co donate to dievictims.At last count over $700,000 had beenraised.

Afundraisingcampaign was alsocreated for Nethra and her family. Exceedingits originalgoal in the first few da)'S withneatly 2000donations,so far, over 5.SKpeople have sharedthecampaign link andthere has beenan overwhelming response for theyoungfamilyduring this tragic time.To continue die support donations can bemade atmycause.com..au.

Besides the grief, thereis growinganger at d1eaccused,Diniitrious Gargasoulas, who wasreleasedbyabailjusticedaysbefore heallegedlycaused diisincident.There is anincreasingdemandfrom thecommunity toreviewthe bailsystem andmake amendments or overhaul currentstrucmres to protect peoplefrom violent offenders

Amidst diebacklash,the Victorian PremierDanielAndrews haspledgeda fulle:xan1ination of d1ebail system and establishment of an after-hours magistrates' court.The:,light court willconsiderbail applications for peoplecharged withviolent crimes when police oppose bail.Leader of Opposition Matthew Guyalso proposed a 'one strikeand you're out' policy and presumption of remandforthosecharged widiviolent offences.

As the stories of the victims unfold thereis much heartbreak; however,shining through ailthis is the indomitablespirit of d1e people of Melbourne. Kudos to d10se heroesand wonderfulpeople who reached out to helpthevictims on theday the tragedy occurred and chose who continue to work tirelesslyto care for them Humanityisalive and kicking.

Taking care of Bourke Street Families

TheVictorian Governmenthassetup a Bourke St Fund' forfamilies affected bythe tragic incident. Itwillworkin addition toexisting compensation being made available throughthe TransportAccident Commission (tAC) and WorkSafe Victoria For those who lostlovedonesfollowingthetragic events ofFriday, people physically injured and witnesses, theTAC can coverthe costof:

• Ambulance and hospital care

• Rehabilitation services, includingphysic and psychologists

• Counsellingfor individuals families and couples

• Additional medical services. includingsurgery, pathologyand GP visits

• Prescribed medication

• Travel expensesto and from medical appointments

• Lossofwages

• Funerals and lump sum payment to dependants

WorkSafewill providesimilarassistance for people whowereatwork, ontheir lunch breakandwereaffected bythe incident.

Anyone directlyimpacted by the incidentis encouraged to call theTAC as thefirst pointof contactduring business hours on 1300 654 329 to discusstheir needs. Anyone who wantsto make a donation can do so theVictorian Government's website, wwwvicgov.au/bourkestreeLhtml or bycalling1800 226 226

General Practice As Well As Social Work

DrPurushottam Sawrikar, OAM Forservice to medicine, and to the Indian communityof Sydney

ow clid Dr Sawt:ikar feelwhen he heard thenewsthathe had won an Australia Dayhonour?

"Honoured,butmostly surprised and also motivated cocake on some more projects!"

PurushortamSawrikar,general practitioner, has been a social work enthusiast ever since he arrivedhere in 1972 from Hyderabad inIndia.

"Ilove interactingwithpeople.Social work is somethingthathasbeen a part of mylifesinceIwasa school kid.It continuedthroughmyuniversity days and as a young adult."Therewasmuch opportunityinIndia for thistO find outlet. As a doctor, preventive medicine became one of Dr Sawrikar'spassions andhe cook the message of improvingquahtyof life to the people throughthe media.

On radio,pt:int,TV and through audio CDs, Dr Sawrikar reached outtotbeIndian communityinSydneyon health-related issues.

On his Marathi radio showon 98.5 FM Akashvani Sydney, on the Kannada language Cbandananr and onChannel 31, he produced and directed showsabout participatingingovernment-initiated health and screening programs such asthose forbowelcancer, breast cancer and the Mother'sDay\'(lalk inParramatta.These showshelpedcreateawarenessan10ngst newlyarrived migrants on a varietyof topics.Some of his memorable sho\vs have been aboutwhat to dowhen a heartattack occurs, our predisposition to diabetes, bow ro stave off depression, and age-relatedeye disorders.

Manyof tl1ese programs were turned into resource materials for distributionat surgeries and atcommunityfunctions.

Arlarge-scale communityevents,Dr Sawrikar organised for free health clinics onBPand diabetes.

Asexecutive member and president of theAustralian Indian lv[edical Graduates AssociationAIMGA,Dr Sawrikar advocated on behalf of India-trained doctorswho found it hard toqualifyfor registration.

"We liaisedwithministers andhelped organise clinical attachments ata time when the draconianregistrationprocess was causing some clistress."

Hewas also instrumental in organising overseas conferences and seminarsfor AIMGA,especiallya particularlysuccessful onewitb the GlobalAssociation of Physiciansof IndianOrigin(GAPIO) in 2014.

Another project,creatinga directoryof Indiandoctors inAustralia,alsometwith much success: twoeditionswere created, in 2003and in2013.

What does the future hold for Dr Sawrikar?

"I'm 71 now, and latelythe issue of aged carebas begunto interestme.I'dlike to explore further tl1e government initiatives that are in placesuch as MyAgedCare and help popluarise them inour community. Aswell,Iwould like to aid the creation of volunteer teamswithin the communitythat can take011some of the burden of caring for our seniors."

Given he is stillworking 12-hour days most days, wonder when thisnewproject willrake off.

RajniAnand Luthra