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Aid Continues to Trickle Into South Asia for Quake Victims; Investigation Continues Into Possible Mercy Killings in New Orleans Hospital

Aired November 04, 2005 - 11:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: And the news isn't getting any better for Pakistani survivors of last month's earthquake.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STAN GRANT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So much of Mohammed (ph) and Sarina's (ph) life now is about what they do not have. Before the earthquake, they had three boys. Now there are two. Their 14-year- old son died, crushed when his school collapsed. For Sarina, the loss is unbearable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: CNN's Stan Grant reports on one family's struggle to survive in the ruins of Kashmir.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: It has been nearly a month since South Asia's deadly earthquake left thousands dead and an estimated three million people homeless. Humanitarian aid continues to trickle into Kashmir. That's the area hit hardest by the quake. The tragedy unfolded just as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan was getting underway. Now as that observance concludes, Pakistan's president is asking for a subdued celebration out of respect for the quake victims.

Well if one good thing has come from the earthquake, it's been a renewed peaceful dialogue between India and Pakistan. The two nations have long been at odds. But post-earthquake diplomacy means little to those that are living in the midst of a disaster.

CNN's Stan Grant picks up the story from Pakistani-controlled Kashmir.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GRANT (voice-over): Look into Mohammed Anwah's (ph) eyes. You see the confusion, the helplessness etched into so many millions of faces here. A father, a husband at a loss to find the strength to go on.

MOHAMMED ANWAH (through translator): We have lost everything. We are thinking what will we do? at this moment, my mind is not working. GRANT: Mohammed's wife Sarina prepares a simple meal for her family. Not much -- some meat, some fruit. It's all they have. That and each other.

"It's very hard to live here," she tells me. "We don't have enough food. My husband went to the relief tent for more food and I cooked that for my family."

So much of Mohammed and Sarina's life now is about what they do not have. Before the earthquake, they had three boys. Now there are two. Their 14-year-old son died, crushed when his school collapsed. For Sarina, the loss is unbearable.

"I am so sad, so upset," she says, "I can't express my feelings." Her tears say more than she can in words.

Mohammed, too, admits for a while he gave up. But there are still two boys to love and care for, and they need their father more than ever.

M. ANWAH (through translator): I have lost one child, but still I have two children. I think to myself, I must go to get shelter and food and where there are tents.

GRANT: He led his family here, to the outskirts of the town of Bagh. Incredibly, they trekked 45 kilometers on foot down the mountains to get here.

(on camera): Tent villages like this have popped up everywhere in the earthquake zone. It is what these people now call home. But many fear it will not be enough to survive the oncoming winter.

(voice-over): Mohammed's family's tent is a makeshift one, propped up by a loose pole. It is thin and barely keeps out the cold.

"This tent is not enough for my family," Sarina says. "If we get a better tent, we might survive. If we don't get it, I don't know how we can survive."

They can't build a future here. Mohammed's son, Navid (ph), scoffs when even asked.

"At this stage, I can't even afford to think about the future," he says. "I'm thinking only about surviving."

Across Pakistan, Muslims will be celebrating Eid, the end of the holy month of Ramadan. They will give thanks to god. But here in this tent, Mohammed Anwah, his wife and two sons, can find so little to be thankful for.

M. ANWAH (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): We are very sad. How can we celebrate Eid without my child?

GRANT: Stan Grant, CNN, Bagh, Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.

(END VIDEOTAPE) KAGAN: Aid to the stricken region will continue for the foreseeable future. Video for you now from the USS Pearl Harbor. A type of ship normally used to transport troops and equipment to combat areas. This time, however, it's been deployed in a humanitarian mission, ferrying relief supplies to the Port of Karachi (ph).

Commander Jonathan Harnden is the skipper of the USS Pearl Harbor. It's our understanding the ship has made three trips to Karachi so far to deliver relief supplies. And the commander joins me now live from Bahrain to discuss the life-saving mission. Commander, hello.

HARNDEN: Hello.

KAGAN: What can you tell me about your mission and what you and your crew have been carrying out?

HARNDEN: Well, the -- we just came back from our third delivery of relief supplies to Karachi. And we've been able to deliver heavy construction equipment to be used to clear roadways, as well as 140 tons of relief supplies to help the people that are suffering in the disaster area.

KAGAN: What would you say have been the biggest challenges with this mission?

HARNDEN: I think the biggest challenge is the size of the devastation and the coming winter has created a sense of urgency to provide supplies. So there are a number of countries that are eager to provide equipment and supplies to help, and trying to get all those supplies to the disaster area is a challenge. And I think that's where we were able to help, was providing our sealift capability to carry a large number of supplies into the country.

KAGAN: So not just taking the ship into port, but actually using helicopters to get the supplies to where they need to go?

HARNDEN: They were -- we turned them over to the Pakistan government military, and then they using trucks and -- were getting them to the disaster area, where they could be further transported by helicopter or other means.

KAGAN: So there was this sense that, even with all the great work that you and your crew are doing, the need is just so immense that perhaps it wouldn't be enough?

HARNDEN: Well, I think we have to be thankful that we're able to do something. I think that everybody putting their resources together are going to help the government of Pakistan meet this challenge. It certainly is huge. It's historic in its extent.

HARNDEN: I know that my sailors are thankful they've been able to do something. They see the devastation, and certainly their hearts go out to everyone that's been affected, and they -- they're happy to be able to do something to help that suffering. KAGAN: Commander, you were talking about winter just being right around the corner. In terms of the supplies that are really needed, I understand tents are in much demand; try to keep the people warm during the coming months.

HARNDEN: That's true. And that's something that Pakistan realizes and all the countries that are providing support, and some of the material we provided in that 140 tons was in fact blankets, as well as food, water, mattresses, things that can be used to help people as the temperatures drop and they need this to survive.

KAGAN: I realize there's a sensitive situation when the U.S. military comes into Pakistan. How are you able to get around what some people would consider not a welcome situation, not wanting to see the U.S. military there?

HARNDEN: Well, I think we found the opposite of that. We found that we were welcomed, found that the Pakistan government had met all of the requirements necessary for a ship to come into port and do this operation. The military civilian from Pakistani that facilitated the offload were all very positive about our involvement. And I can't say I ran into anyone that was negative about it. They were thankful that we were there.

In fact, several of them commented how they were personally touched by the positive attitude and goodwill that they could sense from these young American men and women that were offloading this equipment for them.

KAGAN: Well, that's encouraging to hear, and we commend you and your staff on the good work that you're doing to help out the people of Pakistan.

Commander, thank you for making time for us here on CNN today.

HARNDEN: Thank you.

KAGAN: Commander John Harnden, with the USS Pearl Harbor, joining us from Bahrain.

Well, as we move forward, we're going to bring you a CNN exclusive. It is delving deeper into the death of 45 patients at a New Orleans hospital. What was behind their deaths? We'll take a look.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: The man who says his mother almost died in a New Orleans hospital following Hurricane Katrina is speaking out. It's a CNN exclusive. The hospital is under investigation, amid questions about possible mercy killings.

Investigative reporter Drew Griffin has been on top of the story, and he has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is the first time he has been back and the first time he has ever spoken about what happened at New Orleans' Memorial Hospital. Lionel Hall's mother was a stroke patient here during the hurricane. And, in the chaos that followed, he believes, if his mother had been left alone, she would have died.

(on camera): if you did not do what you did, if you left your mother in their -- quote, unquote -- "care," you are for certain she would be dead by now?

HALL: One hundred percent, just like any of the other people that they found here dead.

GRIFFIN: And she is, today, 100 percent alive.

HALL: One hundred percent alive.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): Artie Hall had a stroke weeks before Katrina and was being cared for in room 5128. As the hurricane approached, Lionel Hall says he came to the hospital determined to be with his mom. They survived the storm, but the aftermath, he says, nearly killed them both.

HALL: I believe the truth should be told, because it was a sad thing that happened here.

GRIFFIN: News spread quickly through the hospital, he said, that patients on life support were dying because there was no power. Panic crept in. Those who could get out did. But invalids, like his mother, had to stay behind. He says that, after a few days, hospital administrators said it was time for him to go.

HALL: So...

GRIFFIN (on camera): And they said specifically to you what?

HALL: We want you to leave your mother with us. And, you guys, leave.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): A spokesman for Tenet Healthcare, which owns the hospital, said the staff performed heroically. While not addressing Lionel Hall specifically, the spokesman said people were encouraged to evacuate as transport became available.

Lionel Hall met Dr. Bryant King, a contracted doctor working inside Memorial. It was Dr. Bryant King, he says, who convinced him, if his mother stayed, she would die.

HALL: What he said to me was, "They are all going to burn in hell" -- his words to me. And he said, man, let's get your mother. Let's get her through a wall and let's get her out of here. And we proceeded to do so.

GRIFFIN: In exclusive interviews with CNN, it was Dr. Bryant King who first went public with allegations that some doctors and an administrator discussed putting patients out of their misery, performing mercy killings at Memorial in the aftermath of the storm. King says, an administrator suggested praying. And then there was this.

DR. BRYANT KING, MEMORIAL MEDICAL CENTER: I looked around, and one of the other physicians -- not the one who had the conversation with me, but another, had a handful of syringes. I don't know what's in the syringes. I don't know what -- and the only thing I heard her say is: I'm going to give you something to make you feel better.

I don't know what she was going -- what she was going to give them. But we hadn't been giving -- we hadn't been giving medications like that to -- to make people feel better or any sort of palliative care or anything like that. We hadn't been doing that up to this point.

GRIFFIN: Lionel Hall left New Orleans' Memorial Hospital on Thursday, September 2. He and his mother were two of the last people to leave this hospital alive, he said. He's convinced, if he hadn't been here that day, his mother would be dead.

HALL: She would not be here, as well as some of the other people that were here alive when we left, and they were not when -- let's just say when America found out there were people here dead.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Last week the Louisiana attorney general issued 73 subpoenas as part of the investigation into the allegations of mercy killings. We'll continue to update you on any new developments.

Well, you've heard of Lassie, now meet Honey. We have the story of a dog who truly proved herself to be man's best friend.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: As an animal lover, I'm often talking about the benefit of going to your local animal shelter adopting an animal. Well, this next story proves that those animals can prove to be life savers. It's true for one California man. The dog he adopted proved to be his life saver.

CNN's Ted Rowlands has a honey of a story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a northern California hospital, Michael Bosch had a very special visitor who he says saved his life.

MICHAEL BOSCH, PUPPY OWNER: Hi, Honey. Hello, Honey. Come here, baby. Come here. Come here to me.

ROWLANDS: Honey, a 5-month-old Cocker Spaniel, was with Michael Monday morning when he plunged 50 feet down his hillside driveway in an SUV. BOSCH: When we got into the soft soil, it just started to tip. And I knew I was in trouble.

ROWLANDS: The SUV hit a tree. Michael and Honey were trapped, pinned inside, hanging upside down in a remote area on private land.

BOSCH: Well I sort of went through my mind, who is going to find me on 70 acres?

ROWLANDS: Michael, who suffered a heart attack in August, said his heart was racing. He says he took a nitroglycerin pill to calm himself down. Then he saw a hole in a smashed window big enough for Honey to get through.

BOSCH: I saw the opening. And I said, Honey, you have got to go home. And I pushed her out that and scurried her up the hill.

ROWLANDS: Michael then waited, hoping he could stay alive until someone could find him.

BOSCH: My only hope was that dog.

ROWLANDS: Six hours later, now evening, a quarter mile away, Robin Allen came home from work and found Honey in her driveway.

ROBIN ALLEN, NEIGHBOR: She wanted to get my attention. There is no question about that.

ROWLANDS: Robin had never seen Honey, but the phone number on Honey's tag was Michael's. So, she drove the puppy home. When she opened her car door, she could hear Michael yelling.

ALLEN: And then I realized he was yelling help.

ROWLANDS: It took rescue crews 45 minutes to get Michael out of the SUV and pull him up the hillside. With major injuries to his chest and legs, Michael was rushed to a waiting medical helicopter.

Michael only adopted Honey two weeks ago from this northern California pet shelter. He had been coming here looking for the right dog for more than a year and immediately spotted Honey two days after she arrived.

CAROL WILLIAMS-SKAGGS, MARIN CO. HUMANE SOCIETY: I think she was just meant to be his. I think that she worked her way here for that reason. It's a match made in heaven.

BOSCH: Yes. You're my baby, aren't you?

ROWLANDS: Despite five broken ribs and limited feeling in one of his legs, Michael says being reunited with Honey is already making him feel better.

BOSCH: She's never leaving my side again. I'll tell you that. That dog saved my life.

ROWLANDS: Ted Rowlands, CNN, San Rafael, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And that's yet another reason why you should go to your local animal shelter to get your next pet.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

KAGAN: I'm Daryn Kagan. International news is up next. Stay tuned to YOUR WORLD TODAY with Jim Clancy and Zain Verjee. And I'll see you in an hour. Working double duty again today. I'll see you in just a bit.

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