Dronist from the search team in the east: We must put ourselves in the skin of the missing and think of how
They also have a mechanic or an electrician.
Volunteers in the Civic Association of the East Search team are also part of extensive search events. They are involved together with cops and rescuers. They often search in harder terrain, long hours, IV night.
They were also looking for a missing tourist who was lost on the way from Sivec Hill near Ružín. Unfortunately, they found it without signs of life.
Dronist Michal Ondrik from the search team in an interview for Korzár says that they have people from different sectors in the team. He also talks about how to contact them, and what their volunteer activity is specific.
In the interview you will also read:
- When the police call them for search events,
- What had the longest search action,
- What is the specific search for a missing tourist,
- How they touched on the Act on NGOs.
You are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, selflessly, without claiming a fee. Do you only work on a volunteer basis?
Yes, everything we do is on a voluntary basis. We don’t get any fee for helping. It is more of a mission for us rather than work. We bring together more than 40 volunteers who are willing to go into the field at any time at the expense of their free time, health and finance. These are people with a good heart that it fulfills if they find someone and hand over to the family. We have people from various fields in the team, such as an electrician, a city policeman, a state policeman, a mechanic, a cameraman, a plumber and various other industries.
Can anyone be a volunteer in the search team? Or must it be the person you test in advance, whether it has the prerequisites, both physical and mentally?
Anyone who wants to help others without remuneration can become a volunteer. Sometimes, however, a person who comes in good shape and full of enthusiasm finds that if the body is found without signs of life, it is not for him. In such cases, we do this and give him a psychologist who will take it over with him. Furthermore, it is already to consider the volunteer whether he will continue or will end his scope with us.
Are women in the search team?
Yes, our team is also women. They often complete a better atmosphere. We have eleven among us.
You are doing your activities based on the consent or permission from the state authority to search for persons. You work with cops, firefighters and rescuers. How is it going?
Our civic association is accredited by the Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic as the other component of the integrated rescue system. We can officially cooperate with the state authorities and can call us on the cooperation of missing people at any time of the day and night. In addition, the family of the missing person can also apply for help.
You have contacts on Facebook, so it happens that people directly contact you to track someone? How then do you consult them?
Yes they contact us either to social network or right on our websitewhere we have a form that the notifier will complete and send. We will contact the notifier and discuss the necessary things. We will also guide them to report it to the police. Of course, we also contact the police with the information we have, because we do not replace it, but help it.
In what cases do the police call you to search events?
Usually they are called if a larger number of people are needed for organized search, but they often call us especially with technology, such as drones with a thermal camera. Those who allows the current situation to go to the search action. If the volunteer is free and can go into the field, we will determine the meeting place and go together. It often happens that it is in the afternoon and evening hours.
How often do you have a search action?
It depends very much on the period. Sometimes we go from one search action to the other, sometimes nothing weeks. However, this does not mean that we do nothing. If such a « leisure », we use time to write projects, address companies and maintain technology.
For example, you searched for a missing tourist on the top of Sivec near Ružín, but you are also looking for lost teenagers. In the past, you were also looking for a four -year -old girl in Stropkov. What was your hardest search action?
The hardest particular search action is probably not. Rather, we could say that every search event in forest terrain is difficult, because we never know what we are going to and in eastern Slovakia is often rugged.
However, the longest search action is the one that lasted four days in a row for ten hours a day. The number of people is different, sometimes 40 people come to the search event, sometimes 20 and sometimes 100. We also take police, volunteer firefighters, firefighters, cynologists, troops and others to the number of people.
What is part of the search, what is it necessary to think about, for example, in preparation?
Every search action is specific. We have to put ourselves in the skin of the missing and think as he thinks. First of all, we need to get as much information about the person, what her favorite places are, where she used to walk, what she left at home, drink alcohol, or has drug experience. Every information is crucial, but often some are concealed or we get to them late.
In every search event, we must think of our safety and not to underestimate our strength. The preparation itself is not somehow specific. Rather, it is an action -use technique, ie charging the flashlights and a smaller service of technology. However, this is done in free time or after every search action.
Recently, you had a search action for a missing tourist at Sivc, which you have found without signs of life. What makes such a search action specific?
It is specific in that we were looking for it in rugged terrain, and in this case it is necessary to proceed very carefully. Being an experienced tourist, we put emphasis on hiking trails and their surroundings and also the surroundings of rock cliffs that are dangerous.
MEPs recently approved an amendment to the Act on non -profit organizations from the coalition CIS workshop. It brings several changes. For example, for organizations, the obligation to develop a report on transparency and disclosure of public management management should be established. Did it affect your activity?
This does not affect our activities. If we develop a transparency statement, we will proceed in accordance with the law. All of our technology is financed from its own resources, or from projects, foundations and individual donors. We also collect 2 percent of the tax each year, which helps us to cover the costs, whether for the operation of the web or promotional items.
They often search in forest terrain. (Source: East search team)The most important reports from the east of Slovakia read to Korzar.sme.sk. All reports from Prešov and Scarch region can be found at Prešov Corsair
