First aid action
Volume 11, No. 55, November 02, 2006
By Maj Graeme Henley

A changed man: LCpl Grant Lowien with Domingos Oliveira whom he helped save. Photo by Cpl Bernard Pearson

TWO Australian soldiers have been credited with saving the life of a man who suffered a serious dart wound in a fracas in Timor-Leste.

They were part of a patrol from C Coy, 2RAR, tasked to defuse a confrontation between two groups at Faularan, Bebonuk, a few kilometres east of Dili’s city centre on October 3.

About 120 Timorese were throwing stones and shooting darts at each other. The patrol came to the aid of a man with a serious dart wound to the abdomen and another who had a machete wound to the upper arm.

LCpl Grant Lowien, the combat first aider in the patrol, and section commander Cpl Hagar Quirke provided first aid to both men and arranged for an ambulance to take them to hospital.

Their treatment and quick response was instrumental in saving one man’s life.

While the men were being treated at the scene, the crowd was belligerent and threatening to the soldiers, resulting in arrests being made. A UN Police officer said the violence flared when a “Clean up Dili” group working in the area was attacked by a group of local youths.

After the incident, Cpl Quirke and LCpl Lowien visited the man wounded in the abdomen, Domingos Oliveira, to check on his recovery.

Mr Oliveira was appreciative of the life-saving assistance the soldiers had given him.

“I am happy the soldiers helped me and gave me medicine,” Mr Oliveira said. “It is good the soldiers are here giving us security.”

JTF 631 Comd Brid Mick Slater said the incident proved that the members of the taskforce were “impartial and fair”.
“We treat all Timorese equally. When we turn up to a trouble spot, our job is to separate and disarm the opposing factions,” he said.

“We will detain any person carrying a weapon or threatening to harm anyone, including us.”