The walking dead
In the first weeks of the aftermath of the tsunami of Dec. 26, we were stunned by the severity of the destruction, and thankful for the many small miracles of survival told by enduring residents.
Rizal Shahputra and Ari Afrizal were among the latest survivors found after days at sea -- the latter adrift for two weeks -- surviving on only coconuts. With many of their loved ones probably gone forever, the two only had each other to share while being treated at a hospital near Kuala Lumpur.
Those who survived the giant waves and the injuries during their ordeal, have displayed the strongest imaginable will to live. They join hundreds of thousands of others who continue to strive for subsistence despite knowing full well there is nowhere and no one to go home to. Rizal, for one, has said that he wishes to remain in Malaysia after finding out that most of his family members had perished.
Being alone in the world is the future that scores of survivors now face -- and this makes the degree of any difficulty of "reconstruction and rehabilitation" pale in the face of the work of healing their trauma and sorrow.
Many, including victims in India and Sri Lanka have lost hope altogether, saying they wished they had not survived that fateful morning. Losing one's family, livelihood and home in the space of a few seconds is more than any human being should have to bear.
We hear stories and see news clips of residents walking in a complete daze in Aceh -- their logic shattered, their sense of direction lost.
A pedicab driver in Banda Aceh recounts his severe bouts of depression even whilst transporting passengers in his becak. The sudden remembrance of his wife and five children -- all lost on that fateful tsunami Sunday -- rendering him helpless. The understanding passengers usually look for another becak as they leave the despondent driver frozen still in the middle of the road.
Indonesians have rarely treated patients suffering from mental illness with proper respect. Rather than empathy, mockery is the unfortunate common reaction.
But the psychological burdens of survivors will be an important aspect to reconcile if this nation ever wants to comprehensively rebuild Aceh.
How far psychologists sent to Aceh will be able to help -- even with the help of medical personnel experienced in other crisis hit areas -- is far from clear, perhaps even questionable. Even seasoned aid workers from places like Chechnya and Maluku said the aftermath of the tsunami was nothing like they had ever witnessed before.
The early reports of signs of trauma and depression have only begun to surface.
The spontaneous activity of psychologists like Seto Mulyadi, the head of the National Commission for Children's Rights, and those from foreign and international bodies, along with counselors and therapists from various organizations, should not only be commended, but receive our long term support.
They have correctly raised an important aspect of healing, which most of us could not even conceive unless we ourselves fell prey to such a traumatic experience.
It is a thankless, and seemingly endless, task which gets little attention, yet requires complete sacrifice on the part of the carer.
Just look at one Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) volunteer who is reportedly giving company to a 15-year-old girl who survived the tsunami, but had to have her arm amputated.
Many more will need such companionship and it will consume more time than the ridiculous deadline of three months by which officials say the government will then begin to take over relief operations.
Experts in various fields would be needed -- the surviving fishermen from vanished coastal villages, for instance, must be assisted to start anew if indeed they want to see the ocean again.
This tragedy is unprecedented. Hence our desire to help should also elicit a non-conventional response. Dropping sacks of rice and building new homes is not enough.
A complete panacea -- for mind and body -- should be the top priority for our government instead of fussing about how long foreign aid workers should be allowed to remain in Aceh.