Tearful leader thanks hospital
Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 20 Mar 2008: 2.
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Abstract
He recalled bleeding heavily and being fully conscious after the shooting as he was taken in “a very old battered ambulance” to anAustralian field hospital in Dili.
“I remember every detail from the moment I was shot,” he said. “On the way to the heliport I fell off the chair a few times because there were no belts. I remember, even though I was bleeding, I was holding on tight. And I was telling the driver, `Go slow’. But maybe he was wise because it was only a matter of minutes for me to arrive there.
He also paid tribute to the staff of the Australian field hospital where he was first taken in East Timor, and then to all the staff in [Darwin], from the doctors to the cleaners. Asked if he had a message for his country, he said: “Please forgo violence and hatred with weapons, machetes, with arson — we only destroy each other and the country.”
Full Text
FIGHTING back tears, East Timorese President Jose Ramos Horta yesterday gave his first chilling recollections of the moment he was shot, and bade farewell to the Darwin hospital staff who treated him.
The Nobel Peace laureate was discharged yesterday from hospital after multiple surgeries and five weeks of treatment following theFebruary 11 shooting.
Rebel troops shot Mr Ramos Horta outside his home and on the same day ambushed Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, who escaped unharmed.
During an emotional reunion with Royal Darwin Hospital staff, a thin and pale Mr Ramos Horta thanked those who cared for him and recounted the attack for the first time in public.
He recalled bleeding heavily and being fully conscious after the shooting as he was taken in “a very old battered ambulance” to anAustralian field hospital in Dili.
“I remember every detail from the moment I was shot,” he said. “On the way to the heliport I fell off the chair a few times because there were no belts. I remember, even though I was bleeding, I was holding on tight. And I was telling the driver, `Go slow’. But maybe he was wise because it was only a matter of minutes for me to arrive there.
“And then I arrived here in your hands. I thank all of you.”
He then put his hands to his face and fought back tears.
He recovered his composure when a nurse told him quietly: “You have done very well.”
Airlifted to Darwin on the night of February 11 in a critical condition, Mr Ramos Horta had suffered serious gunshot wounds to his chest and stomach in a shoot-out with rebels led by Alfredo Reinado, who was killed in the attack.
As revealed in The Weekend Australian two weeks ago, the Royal Darwin Hospital’s leading trauma surgeons moved swiftly to stabilise the President, who had three bullet holes on the right side of his back and a huge wound lower down in the rib area.
He was then transferred to the Darwin Private Hospital from which he was discharged yesterday.
Having made the short trip back to Royal Darwin Hospital
he smilingly knocked back offers of the use of a wheelchair as he warmly greeted a group of 25 doctors, nurses and other staff.
He presented them with gifts, including Timorese coffee, which he claimed to be a natural aphrodisiac, as well as copies of pictures of himself with the Pope, who he said had prayed for his recovery.
He also paid tribute to the staff of the Australian field hospital where he was first taken in East Timor, and then to all the staff in Darwin, from the doctors to the cleaners. Asked if he had a message for his country, he said: “Please forgo violence and hatred with weapons, machetes, with arson — we only destroy each other and the country.”
Mr Ramos Horta is expected to remain in Darwin for several weeks for further treatment.