Combat Medic
by Terry Pickard (9780980325126)

Imagine being forced to watch a war crime - thousands of people, men, children, babies and pregnant women slaughtered – and all you can do is watch? Imagine living with the carnage, the horrific memories, the feeling of futility and guilt. Could you have done more? Combat Medic, An Australian’s eyewitness account of the Kibeho Massacre gives a personal account of what happened on the 22nd of April 1995 when more than 4,000 Rwandans were massacred and thousands more injured in a place called Kibeho.
Author Terry Pickard, a seasoned soldier and medic, was one of a 32-strong force of Australian UN peacekeepers in Kibeho on that terrible Saturday. While the United Nations’ presence prevented the death toll from being even worse than it was, the massacre continues to haunt Terry and has condemned him to more than a decade of recurring nightmares and debilitating flashbacks.
“I was one of 32 Australian soldiers in the area. We were facing more than 2000 RPA soldiers. I was worried but I wasn’t scared. All I had were questions. How the hell had a medical mercy mission ended in such a horrific tragedy? How had it been allowed to even get to this? Why were we not allowed to fire our weapons to defend these poor refugees? God, I thought, I hope we live through this day and if we do, I tell you what, won’t I have a story to tell”.
The horror and unimaginable tragedy of the Kibeho Massacre still looms large in the lives of Rwandans and the people sent to help them. No one who walked away from that day was ever the same again. Combat Medic is a personal account of one Australian soldier who found himself at the centre of events that shocked the world, and the personal toll that he paid. “I think I would rather have lost both my legs than part of my mind, at least that way people would be able to see my injuries. He [my specialist] told me that most people who suffer post traumatic stress syndrome are of the same opinion. No wonder some of the extremely desperate patients end up committing suicide.”
Terry Pickard’s army career spanned nearly 20 years and more than 15 years after Rwanda he continues to struggle with post traumatic stress (PTSD) triggered by his experiences.
Combat Medic details the lead up to Kibeho, the massacre and Terry’s long struggle with PTSD in an honest, open and emotional account of this dark day in history and its long reaching repercussions.

USD $29.22

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