G'day all,
Been very poorly for several days and got very ill Sunday night so that yesterday was spent in hospital Lots of tests and x-rays. The usual stuff.
At the moment I've been allowed home to "waït and see". Fever is still 40 degrees and I don't even feel I could taste a shiraz!
I was taken to the ER at a local hospital and the doctor who took charge of my case was a middle-aged man (quite unusual in NSW hospitals) with an exceptional manner. His bearing was calm and pleasant; he exuded a quiet confidence. Although of foreign extraction, I could tell from the way he interacted with his fellow doctors and nurses that this was no difficulty for him. I was 'struck'by the crispness of his white long-sleeved shirt; not the usual business shirt material.
A very cautious and thorough man, I overheard some debate going on with two other doctors about the wisdom of discharging me.
Mrs Ozzie was pleased that I was, although she's had a difficult time coping.
Mrs Ozzie asked him how long he'd been in Australia. "four years" he replied. He'd arrived under the points system that the Australian Government applies to immigrants.
"And where did you come from?", we asked. "Iraq", he said.
"Not an easy time for you, I imagine", I said.
And well it may not be an easy time for him. What will happen to such a man if and when those clamoring for war have their way? Will he be "tarred with the same brush" so to speak?
When you read history books of the Vietnam war and the memoirs of persons such as Westmoreland, you find an attitude pervaded back then that was quite similar to that of the WTS. The dubs claim that people in places such as Pakistan and communist China where there are few Dubs, are responsible for the governments they live under, so that if the "kingdom good news" is not preached there, then the people are judged on the basis of their governments. Similarly Westmoreland and other military leaders had the attitude that the peasants of both North and South Vietnam were not his overriding concern, for they were vicariously responsible for their governments.
Just musing from my sickbed and wondering if this attitude will again be seen in the next conflict.
What will happen to my doctor? Will he be ostracised? I trust not, for this is "the lucky country" but strange times make for strange deeds.
Cheers, Ozzie