Zeina Kassar Kassem: Budget austerity, swift rescue, and amendment of the Good Samaritan law
Roads for Life (RFL), in partnership with BLC Bank, delivered certificates to a new batch of Internal Security Forces (ISF) non-commissioned officers and troops who completed the First Responder rescue session in order to further their skills in terms of stabilizing trauma patients on Lebanon’s roads.
20 motorcycle police officers operating in southern Lebanon followed this program over seven days at the ISF Training Institute in Aramoun. The officers received certificates as well as individual kits enabling them to put their skills into practice on accident scenes before the arrival of paramedics.
On this occasion, Roads for Life President Zeina Kassar Kassem said: “The country is currently in economic and financial deadlock with budget austerity measures increasingly evoked. However, we believe austerity should not affect the rescue culture in Lebanon, especially given the growing number of traumatic injuries on our roads. Indeed, hardly a day goes by without news of additional road victims, and this growing number of victims in our country is mainly due to the failure to implement the traffic code and the culture of impunity”.
In conclusion, Kassem asserted that “the First Responder program will be the best means of support for the ISF until the Good Samaritan law is amended. This would encourage trained rescuers to intervene without fear of legal consequences”. Kassem continued to say “we are currently addressing this issue with the relevant authorities.”