Increase distance on spotting a suicide bomber suspect, says expert

[Naveed Yaseen]

Myra Imran
Experts believe that on spotting a suicide bomber, the only precautionary measures an individual can take is to increase distance from the suspect as much as possible or take refuge behind a strong wall or a pillar.

Talking to ‘The News,’ Rescue 1122 Operation Officer Muhammad Ramazan said that people should learn to be vigilant about their surroundings. “In case they spot a suspect, they should immediately leave the place and inform ‘15’ or ‘1122’ rescue services,” he said.

Ramazan said that it is very difficult to spot a suicide bomber, as such people are dressed up like normal people and rush towards the target place without giving much time to people around to run towards a safer place. “People usually do not have much time to take any measures,” he warned. In case people suspect that a suicide bomber is approaching, he said that they should try to increase distance from the person. “Even police at pickets have the same instructions that instead of going close to confirm that the suspect is actually a suicide bomber, they should keep away and ask the person to keep his hands up,” he said. Talking about blast at crowded places like in International Islamic University cafeteria, he said that upon noticing any tussle between guards and a suspected person, people should take refuge behind a strong wall and increase the distance instead of wasting time in panic,” he added.

Disagreeing with the notion that it is better to lie down on the ground as the blast waves travel up on the ground, he said that in addition to destruction the bomb blasts also generates harmful gasses and staying at the same place could lead to other complications.

Keeping in mind the fact that the recent wave of terrorism is directed towards the common people, he said that there is a need that people should become security conscious and keep their eyes open with regard to any suspected person around them.

While taking as much precautionary measures as possible, the public should also try to acquire knowledge about how to provide physical and psychological help to victims or those who had just witnessed the horrendous incident.

Talking about the psychological aspects related to bomb blasts, Quaid-e-Azam University National Institute of Psychology (NIP) lecturer and publication officer Raiha Aftab said that such people need catharsis and instead of asking them to just forget about what happened, the relatives and friends should let them talk about the incident. “Without pressurising or asking pointing questions, the people around should provide space to victims so that they can express themselves on their own conditions,” she said. In her advice to general public, she said that to avoid anxiety and stress, they should watch live coverage for a limited time. “It is the duty of media to update people about every second development and it depends on public to control stress and anxiety by controlling the information,” she pointed out.

Raiha said that children should not be allowed to watch visuals of devastation on television, but it is also not advisable to hide things from them. “They should be informed in the children’s way with a touch of hope and optimism.”

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=204532