A FORMER Warrnambool man who went to the aid of his United Nations colleagues in the midst of a Taliban firefight has been recognised with a commendation for brave conduct in the Australian Bravery Awards.
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Paramedic Ben Nelson was working with the UN in the Afghanistan capital Kabul in 2009 when three insurgents stormed a guesthouse the humanitarian organisation used to house foreign aid workers.
Mr Nelson, who lived in Warrnambool until he joined the military at age 17, said the initial call came at 5.50am on October 28. It was to assist with a broken leg, but as he and colleague Joel Donkin, who was also cited for his brave actions, approached the city, it became clear something bigger was unfolding.
“We could see smoke and hear gunshots. It wasn’t until we got closer to the guesthouse we realised that’s where it was coming from,” Mr Nelson said.
“There were a lot of Afghan police and security there and we were held at gunpoint by a young guard, who would have been about 16, until we could prove we weren’t armed.”
Mr Nelson said shots were still being fired and they had to take cover behind cars and in drains as they made their way into the compound.
The firefight lasted two hours, during which suicide vests were detonated.
Twelve people were killed in the attack, including six UN employees, members of the Afghan security force and the three attackers.
Mr Nelson said he and Mr Donkin were on the phone to a UN colleague, Jossie Esto, inside the building and told her to stay put. He said when the building caught fire after a suicide vest was detonated, she had an option to go left or right to make her exit.
“She unfortunately went the wrong way that day and was killed,” he said.
“After it all ended we went in to retrieve the bodies of our colleagues and friends and to stabilise the wounded. We realised one of our guys had been taken to an Afghan hospital.”
Mr Nelson then went from hospital to hospital in an unprotected car to find the body of a colleague who took up arms during the gunfight to protect those inside the guesthouse.
“It was chaos. The attack itself was chaotic and frantic and the week that followed was the same,” he said.
Mr Nelson said it was a life-changing experience and he “did it tough” until 2013, when he met his wife and had a son. He now works as an offshore paramedic for BHP Billiton in Queensland.
