Page 6 – POST, September 10, 2016

Tom’s vision for all breaks conflict barriersTom Ogilvie-Graham works

in the eye of the storm.The decorated English soldier

is the CEO of the St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital Group, in Israel, one of the most confl ict-ridden places on Earth.

“We are apolitical and treat anyone who comes to us,” Mr Ogilvie-Graham said.

“We stay out of politics.“But we are in the eye of the

storm, on a fault-line of history, and it takes a lot of negotiation.”

As well as its Jerusalem hos-pital, the group operates two ophthalmic hospitals in Gaza and Hebron.

It treats 128,000 patients a year, performs more than 5000 major operations and employs 235.

Queen Victoria set up the Group in 1882, nine years before the St John order started its ambulance organisation in WA.

Mr Ogilvie-Graham visited the Perth Eye Hospital in West Perth last Thursday night.

The Ord Street hospital has donated $360,000 to its Middle Eastern associate in the past 10 years.

“Gaza opened a few months ago after 148,000 homes there were destroyed in the last round of confl ict,” Mr Ogilvie-Graham said.

He said eye problems in the Middle East were 10 times as common as they were here.

“Some of the reasons are ge-netics and diet,” he said.

“Eighty per cent of the blind-ness is preventable, and we see a lot of children and babies.

“They have nowhere else to go.”

Mr Ogilvie-Graham went to school in Edinburgh and spent 30 years in the British army, ris-ing to brigadier-general before working for the Group.

He was in the Household Cavalry, a paratrooper, and served in the Army Medical Services.

He helped coordinate hu-manitarian efforts between the British army and NGOs in refugee camps in Rwanda, and helped EU-funded public health programs in Bosnia-

Herzegovina. He was awarded an MBE for

his services in the Gulf War, and received a Papal knighthood in 2012 for his humanitarian work.

Mr Ogilvie-Graham said the keys to being a good leader were consulting widely; staff development; and taking the ultimate responsibility yourself.

Mr Ogilvie-Graham was pes-simistic about Middle Eastern peace prospects.

He didn’t see peace breaking out there as it had in Ireland.

“I never thought it would hap-pen in Ireland,” he said.

“A new generation of Irish were looking to Europe, there was investment from America and the EU.

“The young Irish saw an old man’s law.

“Israelis and Palestinians have both got a state they don’t like.

“It could go on for millennia. “Talk about piling problems one on top of the other.”

By DAVID COHEN

Eye see … Tom Ogilvie-Graham, left with Perth Eye Hospital CEO An-drea LeGuier and board director Ian Kaye-Eddie.

Patio peace on cardsPeace looks set to break out over

a Claremont patio built without strata permission.

On Monday afternoon, the State Administrative Tribunal heard two of Claremont resident Gary Johnson’s neighbours had with-drawn their dissent over his patio.

But Judge Tim Sharp was expect-ing another neighbour, Louise St John Kennedy, to be at the direc-tions hearing.

“You seem to be painfully alone,” he told Mr Johnson’s lawyer, Darryl Barker.

Mr Barker said he was not sure if Ms Kennedy had returned from overseas.

“What do we do then?” Mr Sharp asked.

Strata residents in Chester Road took Mr Johnson to the SAT in June, and Judge Sharp ordered a mediation.

Mr Barker said the mediation had been successful, and two out of three fellow strata owners had withdrawn their dissent.

“I was hoping something similar would happen with the one remain-ing [Ms Kennedy],” Mr Barker said.

Judge Sharp said: “I’ve only got one more trick up my sleeve: list it for a hearing.”

He said another directions hear-ing would be held on Monday.

“If you could ask your client to mention it to Ms Kennedy, if he bumps into her in the hallway,” Judge Sharp said.

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