Acehnese offered alternative therapies<\/p>\n
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh, Aceh<\/p>\n
Abdussalam lay face down on one of five stretchers in a tent
\nwhere several foreigners clad in yellow T-shirts helped people
\nwho had approached the Scientology volunteers in search of
\nconsolation.<\/p>\n
Andre, a Swede, lightly stroked the 36-year-old over
\nparticular nerve points before asking him to roll over and
\ninquiring whether the displaced resident of Lamhu village, Inin
\nJaya in Aceh Besar felt any better.<\/p>\n
The volunteer then led him outside by the hand and ordered him
\nto touch the bus parked by the tent, the trees and the shoulder
\nof a passersby to regain his sense of something solid.<\/p>\n
Abdussalam and his friends have not slept soundly since Dec.
\n26, when an earthquake and ensuing tsunamis leveled parts of Aceh
\nand North Sumatra provinces.<\/p>\n
\"I always feel as though the earth is moving under me,
\nalthough others convince me that there is no aftershock. None of
\nus can sleep, including my wife, who is nine months' pregnant.
\nBut she doesn't want to come here ... I feel much better now, I
\nalready feel sleepy. I'll come back for more treatment,\" he told
\nThe Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
A couple walked in brought by a relative, who said the waves
\nhad wrenched their three children away from them. The father had
\nlost his ability to hear and his right hand was injured.<\/p>\n
Talking in broken Indonesian, another volunteer asked them to
\nbe seated and began to massage them, again asking whether they
\nfelt any changes. The two were soon relaxed and expressed their
\ngratitude.<\/p>\n
At the far end of the tent, another volunteer was teaching
\nmassage techniques to body retrievers. It was hoped that the
\ntherapy would alleviate their stress after seeing unimaginable
\nscenes of death and destruction. Two students from Lhokseumawe
\nwere also being trained by Scientology volunteers.<\/p>\n
\"We're here to help people to heal themselves,\" Wayne Saunders
\nof Perth, Australia, told the Post.<\/p>\n
The volunteers from many parts of the world are apparently
\nworking hand-in-hand with members of a Muslim organization, who
\nwill give the patients religious instruction after their
\nmassages.<\/p>\n
The Scientology volunteers said they planned to stay for a
\nmonth.<\/p>\n
With over 105,000 people killed in Indonesia and thousands of
\nothers still missing, the health ministry has estimated that half
\nof the over 605,000 displaced people in Aceh are suffering from
\nmental problems, ranging from severe to minor breakdowns, with
\nsymptoms such as insomnia, anxiety, confusion, depression,
\ndelusion and excessive fear of water.<\/p>\n
According to Wayne, the Scientology team offers various self-
\nhelp methods that are useful in helping survivors recover.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/acehnese-offered-alternative-therapies-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}