[ga] Proposal to Icann since my car accident during Icann Shanghai.
Dear Vinton: As per your request, I am sending you and other Icann officers an account of the car/taxi accident I was involved in while attending the Icann Shanghai conference. More importantly I am presenting you and Icann with a proposal to avert what happened to me from happening to fellow Icann attendees and making future Icann conferences safer. It was a wet night, my Taxi was hit from the side at around 11pm and I was seriously banged up. When the police came about ten minutes later, they were only interested in assessing the damage to the cars. I was conscious but somewhat dizzy. I called a friend who speaks Chinese to come and help me translate. I asked the police to provide me a doctor or call an ambulance immediately numerous times, even at times making the request official as a US citizen attending a conference hosted by the Chinese government. They ignored my requests. I was made to wait for 55 minutes in the rain until another police car came to take me to the hospital, while my head was pounding from pain and not knowing if I was bleeding internally, At the hospital I was given a CT scan to my head and an X-ray to my neck and was told by the attending doctor who did not know what Ibuprofen or an anti-inflammatory is that I was OK. Upon my return to the UK I was told by my doctor that I had suffered a concussion to the head. The service and care I received in the hospital in Shanghai was sickening and appalling. I am so fortunate not to have needed any treatment. I won't bore you with more detail but suffice it to say my life was jeopardized because they were no plans in place to deal with such emergencies. Also, the local hosts' authorities may have different standards of care to what we have the right to expect at a minimum. And bearing in mind that my presence and the presence of every Icann attendees gives the local host international recognition, I believe the least we can expect is that our safety is not compromised in case of an emergency. The proposal I propose that Icann adopts as part of its policy, an additional requirement of the hosting country that a dedicated emergency liaison office is set up 24 hours/day for the duration of the Icann meeting with liaison officers and translators available at all times to liaise with the police, and with pre-designated doctors and lawyers with immediate accessibility if and when the need arises. To also pre-designate a private clinic and private hospital within vicinity of the conference where patients will be treated in an emergency. The liaison office must be able to act immediately the reason it needs to be manned 24/7. I also propose that the telephone numbers to the liaison office and all these services be printed on the Icann ID cards we pick up on the first day as well as online with information as what is an emergency. I believe this proposal, as you and I discussed it in person in Shanghai, will make Icann conferences safer. I look forward to it being adopted and implemented ASAP especially in preparation for the Brazil Icann conference, and you can count on my help in making this happen should you need it. Looking forward to you positive reply. Best regards, Khaled Fattal CEO, IBE limited, UK President, Waqalat Arbitration Center. Chairman, Minc Acting Executive Director, AINC +44 7041 380 089 w +44 1932 831 274 Direct line +44 1932 830 874 fax +44 7860 866 841 Mobile
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