Ambon kids learn to ease trauma

Ambon kids learn to ease trauma

M. Azis Tunny, The Jakarta Post/Ambon

It happened during the Idul Fitri holiday six years ago when
Thamrin Wally was on his way home with his mother. As they
arrived at the Mardika Terminal, suddenly chaos broke out in the
vicinity. People fled in panic, and buildings were on fire.
Thamrin was confused as he had lost his mother in the chaos.
Thamrin, then seven years old, thought that his mother had
mistakenly grabbed the hand of another boy in the terminal
vicinity.

Thamrin was confused and did not know where to go.
Fortunately, a university student whose house was near Thamrin's
in the Waringin area recognized Thamrin and escorted him home.

Along the street, Thamrin and his neighbor ran as quickly as
possible while keeping a look out for snipers. He saw men and
women dead, some mutilated. His house had been burned down. He
did not know where to go but again he was fortunate that his
neighbor, whose house had also been burned down, brought him to
the Al Fatah Mosque.

When Thamrin arrived at the biggest mosque in Ambon, hundreds
of people had already taken refuge there and Thamrin was relieved
to be reunited with his family.

This was the first time that Thamrin had seen such violence.
Days later, scenes of extreme violence became commonplace as
sectarian riots -- ostensibly between Muslims and Christians --
broke out all over the city.

The bloody violence turned Thamrin into an introvert, and he
was very distrustful of people. "He often sat alone," said a
displaced persons coordinator Fatimah Sangaji, who is also
Thamrin's neighbor.

Thamrin's story is representative of Ambon children in
general. During the sectarian violence that took place between
1999 and 2002 and which killed thousands of people, Ambonese
children lived amid the sound of bullets whizzing and bombs
exploding. The children lived in fear.

"From their gestures we could easily see that they had been
traumatized by the situation," said Baihajar Tualeka, coordinator
of the Institute for Women's and Children's Empowerment (LAPPAN).

LAPPAN, whose office is located near the displaced persons
camp at the Waiahong Amusement Park, has been actively counseling
436 children in the refugee camp since 2000. Its 18 volunteers
also actively counseled children in other camps in Waiheru,
Waringin and Tulehue in the city.

Besides LAPPAN, which counsels Muslim children, the Ekaleo
Foundation is active in counseling Christian children.

Children from both sides have often met in order to promote
pluralism and trust among them, according to Vecky Peilouw, the
director of Ekaleo foundation. Ekaleo, which receives funding
from a Netherlands organization, counseled some 500 children from
the Leihitu area.

Both organizations worked to build children's self-confidence
and help ease them out of their trauma. "At first, they were
traumatized with the violence. They expressed this when making
paintings that were colored with violence symbols such as guns,
riots or burned houses," said Vecky.

However, this trend has changed since 2002. Since that year,
they had begun to paint flowers, and their articles and poetry
tell stories of peace and friendship, said Vecky.

"It's a good development, but it takes time to ease out the
trauma completely," said Vecky, adding that spats of violence in
recent years had often brought back dark memories for the
children.

The two organizations were trying to implant positive values
in Ambon children and through these values, they learned that the
essence of people's lives is to interact and help each other.
These values will be promoted during National Children's Day that
is commemorated today.