The Boy in the Ambulance

[David Campbell]

There are some images you can't forget. On August 18 a video of a little boy in an ambulance in Aleppo, Syria, flashed around the world. Those who haven't seen it can find it here: http://www.news.com.au/world/middle-eas ... 61d789d171

The Boy in the Ambulance

© David Campbell, 2016

He was there, the boy in the ambulance,
on the news on a late winter’s day
as I savoured a tasty lasagne
that would satisfy any gourmet.

In Aleppo, they said, there’d been bombing,
and this boy, who was only aged five,
had been rescued just then from the rubble,
very lucky that he was alive.

And now, dusty and dazed, he was sitting
up the back on an old plastic chair,
for a moment alone and bewildered,
as he wondered just why he was there.

Then he lifted his hand to his forehead
and he rubbed at the blood on his cheek,
and then stared at his hand in confusion,
but not one single word did he speak.

He just sat there as they went on filming,
and then rubbed both his hands on the chair
as if maybe that one simple action
could obliterate all his despair.

Then my granddaughter, innocent, laughing,
with some pasta sauce smeared on her face,
brought me back to the family table,
a return to the time and the place.

But I saw, in a moment of horror,
that same vision, with her sitting there,
and the image stayed, vivid and shocking,
as I rubbed my own hands on the chair.

[Maureen K Clifford]

One of those pictures we are not going to forget in a hurry, like the little boy washed up on the shoreline - it is shameful to all of us in the human race that our children are being subjected to such agonies and trials. We consider ourselves intelligent, educated, modern and yet we have progressed not at all and learnt nothing over the centuries when it comes to futility of war.

I liked the twist in the tail of your poem David.

[Shelley Hansen]

Oh David, you made me cry!

A heartrending image indeed - both on film and in your words. It brings home so vividly that we who live in freedom, without the constant fear of violent death, have just so much to be thankful for.

It sure puts the noise of daily frustrations into its proper perspective!

Thank you.
Shelley

[Robyn]

Very powerful David. Over and over we see things that shock us, but next week happen again. And there's so little we can do - but write.

[David Campbell]

Thank you. As you say, Robyn, we can write...and hope that our words carry some weight, however small. Yes, Maureen, we do seem to have learnt little, and it certainly does put things in perspective, Shelley. We've just heard about the military blunder which cost the lives of some sixty innocent Syrians and it's impossible to imagine what it would be like living in a war zone where that sort of thing was a daily possibility. What happens to children who grow up knowing nothing else? There was a telling Tandberg cartoon in yesterday's Age. (http://www.theage.com.au/comment/the-ag ... rjlxq.html)

David

[David Campbell]

I'm harking back to this because there's an article of mine in today's Age that is directly related (http://www.theage.com.au/comment/hey-ma ... rc2xs.html)

Please note that the title is not mine, but a sub-editor's (always happens). In the print version they've gone with: Crisis is a failure of the imagination, which I prefer. My original title was: What would we do if Australia was a war-zone?

David

[Maureen K Clifford]

An excellent article and poem David and well said - and it amazes me that so many people miss the point - with their 'send them back where they came from' comments. There is nowhere to send them back to - it is all gone - destroyed. I would like to think that even the hardest nosed Aussie would give a stray dog in need, a feed and shelter - but sadly that isn't the case anymore. Not only are the animal shelters all full to overflowing, but seems we have also run out of compassion for all living things. We live in sad times and our country is becoming a place that our ANZACS wouldn't recognize and certainly not what they thought for. We were the lucky country, we always gave folks a fair go, and always helped the underdog. Seems that is no longer the case, generally speaking.

[Catherine Lee]

A powerful poem that really says it all David - the pictures from over there are just appalling. A news piece this morning showed doctors having to operate (brain surgery in one instance, and bullets lodged in the spine and nose of two children respectively for another) on floors that were covered in blood and where the sick and injured were lined up beside the dead...it is indeed impossible to imagine living in such a war zone!

[thestoryteller]

So many wonderful qualities mankind David, but sadly mankind is sinking into a dark place with the way they treat each other, especially when we've seen it happen for centuries and never learn by it.

Putting the story into verse will keep the images before us and hopefully remind us of how we need to show much more consideration for each other.


Merv.

[David Campbell]

Thank you again, Maureen, and yes, Catherine, the images are appalling. A "dark place" indeed, Merv, and it could get much darker if the Trump madness holds sway in America. There's a very interesting and thought-provoking article on this whole issue of "strong borders" in today's Age. (http://www.theage.com.au/comment/this-d ... rs5rk.html)

David