Many of the people injured in the Urumqi riots remain in hospital in serious condition. Reporter visited some of the victims and medical staff at the People's Hospital of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
This is Parhatti. He was working as a security guard at the Carreforre supermarket in Urumqi. He suffered severe head injuries when attacked by rioters on his way home from the supermarket on the afternoon of July 5. He was covered in blood and in a serious condition when he arrived at the hospital. Staff there were unable to identify him , so gave him an identity tag...patient number seventeen. He was finally identified by his mother who came to the hospital looking for him.
Parhatti's Mother said, "We knew nothing about this. He went to work alone and didn't come home, his phone couldn't be connected. He is just an innocent boy."
A doctor said Parhatti's condition was improving. But they can't exclude the possibility that he will be paralyzed in the future.
The attack on Parhatti roused anger among his relatives'.
Parhatti's relative, said, "We all want to see a stable environment so we can live a better life. We don't want fighting."
The hospital's management told reporters that all medical staff had to stay overnight in the hospital over the last few days. More than fifty surgical operations have been conducted every day. A group of senior doctors are assessing which cases need further treatment.
Ge Xiaohu, Vice President People's Hospital of The Autonomous Region, said, "Since the riot, a thousand medical staff have been working here. Half of them were at home and came to work voluntarily. We were not able to distinguish who were victims, and who were rioters. But the human thing to do was try to save every life."
Local government staff have been mobilized to deal with the aftermath.
Zhang Manxiang, Party Secretary Civil Affairs Bureau of Tianshan District, said, "We have policies in place to comfort the victims. One thousand Yuan for the injured, and twenty thousand for those who have died. This is just the first step. There will be more compensation later on."
Victim said, "We hope a disaster like this never happens again. We want to live a peaceful life."
Local officials said the city government has established a special office to deal with the aftermath.
(CCTV July 9, 2009)
