IRVINESTOWN WOMAN ACTED AS INTERPRETER
Irvinestown woman acted as interpreter for Spanish injured
AN Irvinestown woman this week recalled how she had to act as an interpreter for the Spanish children and leaders who were taken to Erne Hospital in the aftermath of the Omagh bomb.
Mrs. Mary Doris, a teacher at Mount Lourdes Convent Grammar School, in Enniskillen, said she had been contacted by social workers within minutes of the injured foreigners being admitted to the hospital on Saturday evening.
"When I got to the hospital there were three Spanish people - and one of them was a leader, Maria Sanchez, who is 24, a girl of 14, Lucrecia Blasco, the sister of the boy who was killed, and the other was Marta Ordonez," she said.
"Marta was only nine, and she, in fact, was transferred to the Royal in Belfast and is still in intensive care there. She had bad burns, in 20% or 30% per cent of her, including her back and hands, and her hair was badly singed and her face cut.
"Lucrecia had extremely bad wounds to the side of her face and lost part of one ear, and went through an operation that night in the Erne as a temporary measure before she was moved to the Ulster Hospital in Dundonald.
"I was told the original idea was to have her stay for another operation and then get plastic surgery, but she was taken home on one of the two military airplanes that came over," Mrs. Doris said.
"Apparently the skin needed to form a scar before plastic surgery could take place, and rather than keep them, the Spanish doctors said they could meet the same levels of the doctors here, so they said they would let them go back home," Mrs. Doris recalled.
She said the other girl, Maria, had a lot of facial wounds caused by shrapnel, and a leg wound, but she too, was able to go back home on the military plane.
"The nine-year-old was extremely sore, but so good for her age. Some of her facial wounds opened every time she tried to speak," the Irvinestown teacher said.
"I got telephone numbers to ring in Spain. Marta was so good, she said for me please not to tell her mum as she would be very nervous - another child of nine would be crying for their mother," she said.
Mrs. Doris explained that the young girl's father had died two years ago and she was being protective of her mother's feelings.
Initially when when Mrs. Doris rang the number, she got no reply, but later discovered through the girl's sister that the child's mother went away every weekend to the grandfather's home.
Frantic
"The woman was frantic, and her sister took the telephone from her and was very calm. My main message was that Marta's injuries were not life-threatening. The sister asked lots of questions, and I told them to come over and that they did not have to think of the expense or where to stay as it would all be taken care of. I just told them to get here," Mrs. Doris said.
She went on to recall how at 7.30am the two girls, Marta and Lucrecia, were transferred to Belfast, where they were reunited with family members from Spain, and how she rang her own daughter, who worked in the Royal, and who was able to maintain contact with the injured visitors.
Fate, however, had another cruel twist in store for the 14-year-old Spanish girl. She was the passenger in the ambulance which crashed, claiming the life of Mr. Gary White, who worked at Belfast City Council. The accident occurred close to the junction of Knock Road and Kings Road in the city.
Emergency staff on board the ambulance received minor injuries and Lucrecia was badly jolted, and initially they thought the youngster had broken her neck, Mrs. Doris recalled.
"The leader remained in Enniskillen. She was able to tell me a bit about the bomb. She said they were going along the street when they noticed everyone was running.
"Altogether there were 30 Spanish people and 10 from Buncrana, and they went up to a policeman and asked him what the matter was.
Bomb scare
"He told them about the bomb scare. They were told not to go to the bus which was parked at Bridge Street, and told her to get the people down the street as far as they could." she said.
As Mrs. Doris recounted the ordeal, she said it was left to the Spanish ambassador, who visited the Erne Hospital, to tell the 24-year-old leader that her friend, Rocio Abad Ramos (23), and 12-year-old Fernando Blasco Baselga, were dead.
"Everyone thought it was better that someone from her own country told her the bad news," Mrs. Doris said.
"She had a couple of hours alone to take in the news before members of her family arrived," she recalled.
Mrs. Doris also found herself in demand by the Spanish speaking media as the full horror of the story unfolded, and she did radio and television interviews.
"The strange thing is, that in any normal situation if someone had said they wanted to come to my house to do an interview I would have said 'no way'. But in a situation like this you just cope.
"I was glad I had the language to be able to be involved in helping. If it were the situation where my children were on a trip I would be relieved that I could telephone a hospital and someone there would be able to speak to me. Really, I thought my part in helping them was tiny compared to others," she said.
She said she thought the situation had brought the Spanish pupils and those involved with the Spanish-English speaking "Donegal Centre" school, closer together, and she had been told by several foreigners that they loved Ireland and would not be deterred from coming here again.
It has been 10 years since the language school was set up, and Mrs. Doris commented: "There is something strong there, a bond, that will bring these people back again."
AN Irvinestown woman this week recalled how she had to act as an interpreter for the Spanish children and leaders who were taken to Erne Hospital in the aftermath of the Omagh bomb.
Mrs. Mary Doris, a teacher at Mount Lourdes Convent Grammar School, in Enniskillen, said she had been contacted by social workers within minutes of the injured foreigners being admitted to the hospital on Saturday evening.
"When I got to the hospital there were three Spanish people - and one of them was a leader, Maria Sanchez, who is 24, a girl of 14, Lucrecia Blasco, the sister of the boy who was killed, and the other was Marta Ordonez," she said.
"Marta was only nine, and she, in fact, was transferred to the Royal in Belfast and is still in intensive care there. She had bad burns, in 20% or 30% per cent of her, including her back and hands, and her hair was badly singed and her face cut.
"Lucrecia had extremely bad wounds to the side of her face and lost part of one ear, and went through an operation that night in the Erne as a temporary measure before she was moved to the Ulster Hospital in Dundonald.
"I was told the original idea was to have her stay for another operation and then get plastic surgery, but she was taken home on one of the two military airplanes that came over," Mrs. Doris said.
"Apparently the skin needed to form a scar before plastic surgery could take place, and rather than keep them, the Spanish doctors said they could meet the same levels of the doctors here, so they said they would let them go back home," Mrs. Doris recalled.
She said the other girl, Maria, had a lot of facial wounds caused by shrapnel, and a leg wound, but she too, was able to go back home on the military plane.
"The nine-year-old was extremely sore, but so good for her age. Some of her facial wounds opened every time she tried to speak," the Irvinestown teacher said.
"I got telephone numbers to ring in Spain. Marta was so good, she said for me please not to tell her mum as she would be very nervous - another child of nine would be crying for their mother," she said.
Mrs. Doris explained that the young girl's father had died two years ago and she was being protective of her mother's feelings.
Initially when when Mrs. Doris rang the number, she got no reply, but later discovered through the girl's sister that the child's mother went away every weekend to the grandfather's home.
Frantic
"The woman was frantic, and her sister took the telephone from her and was very calm. My main message was that Marta's injuries were not life-threatening. The sister asked lots of questions, and I told them to come over and that they did not have to think of the expense or where to stay as it would all be taken care of. I just told them to get here," Mrs. Doris said.
She went on to recall how at 7.30am the two girls, Marta and Lucrecia, were transferred to Belfast, where they were reunited with family members from Spain, and how she rang her own daughter, who worked in the Royal, and who was able to maintain contact with the injured visitors.
Fate, however, had another cruel twist in store for the 14-year-old Spanish girl. She was the passenger in the ambulance which crashed, claiming the life of Mr. Gary White, who worked at Belfast City Council. The accident occurred close to the junction of Knock Road and Kings Road in the city.
Emergency staff on board the ambulance received minor injuries and Lucrecia was badly jolted, and initially they thought the youngster had broken her neck, Mrs. Doris recalled.
"The leader remained in Enniskillen. She was able to tell me a bit about the bomb. She said they were going along the street when they noticed everyone was running.
"Altogether there were 30 Spanish people and 10 from Buncrana, and they went up to a policeman and asked him what the matter was.
Bomb scare
"He told them about the bomb scare. They were told not to go to the bus which was parked at Bridge Street, and told her to get the people down the street as far as they could." she said.
As Mrs. Doris recounted the ordeal, she said it was left to the Spanish ambassador, who visited the Erne Hospital, to tell the 24-year-old leader that her friend, Rocio Abad Ramos (23), and 12-year-old Fernando Blasco Baselga, were dead.
"Everyone thought it was better that someone from her own country told her the bad news," Mrs. Doris said.
"She had a couple of hours alone to take in the news before members of her family arrived," she recalled.
Mrs. Doris also found herself in demand by the Spanish speaking media as the full horror of the story unfolded, and she did radio and television interviews.
"The strange thing is, that in any normal situation if someone had said they wanted to come to my house to do an interview I would have said 'no way'. But in a situation like this you just cope.
"I was glad I had the language to be able to be involved in helping. If it were the situation where my children were on a trip I would be relieved that I could telephone a hospital and someone there would be able to speak to me. Really, I thought my part in helping them was tiny compared to others," she said.
She said she thought the situation had brought the Spanish pupils and those involved with the Spanish-English speaking "Donegal Centre" school, closer together, and she had been told by several foreigners that they loved Ireland and would not be deterred from coming here again.
It has been 10 years since the language school was set up, and Mrs. Doris commented: "There is something strong there, a bond, that will bring these people back again."
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/0502
Published Date: 27-Aug-98
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