Trauma recovery to take years

Trauma recovery to take years

A. Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Husen, a six-year-old boy at a shelter in Banda Aceh, Nanggroe
Aceh Darussalam, drew a big red wave and several figures in black
on a piece of paper.

Husen and dozens of other children, accompanied by volunteers
from Yayasan Pulih and UK-based Save the Children, tried to
express their memories of the Dec. 26 disaster.

Drawing is part of a recreational, trauma recovery approach to
help thousands of children in the province deal with their grief
and loss.

"Drawing is a method by which children can express their
feelings and memories. We didn't ask the children to draw
pictures about the tsunami," said psychologist Norcahyo Budi,
head of the community recovery and empowerment division of
Jakarta-based Yayasan Pulih.

Besides art therapy, Norcahyo also uses song, dance and games
to help the children heal.

He emphasized the importance of introducing elements of local
culture in recovery methods, such as traditional Acehnese songs
and dances.

"It's better that the children maintain ties with their
culture during the process of healing," he told The Jakarta Post
last week.

Norcahyo, who had been in Aceh six months when the tsunami hit
and remained there for two weeks afterward, said it would take at
least two years for the children to recover psychologically and
emotionally.

"It could be more or even less than that, since children are
generally more resilient than adults," he said.

Norcahyo urged people not to assume off-hand that a child was
traumatized, as this could have a negative impact on the child,
and could alienate them from their friends.

He said a child could be diagnosed as suffering from trauma if
a change in behavior was observed over an extended period of
time.

"Feeling sad after the tragedy is normal. It's not trauma if
the child can resume their social activities within their
personal environment," he said.

Separately, Save the Children country director Tom Alcedo said
a comprehensive effort was needed in trauma recovery for Acehnese
children.

"Besides the psychological method, other efforts, such as
reconstruction of educational facilities and economic recovery,
are important for the children," Alcedo told the Post.

He said all efforts targeting children should be based on five
principles: family unity, the children's best interest,
community-based care, local culture and the child's
participation.

He said separated and unaccompanied children must be provided
with services focusing on reuniting them with their parents or
primary or customary caregivers as soon as possible.

"We have a list of hundreds of separated children. Dozens of
them have been reunited," Alcedo said.

He agreed that children who had lost their entire extended
family could be helped best in their homeland.

Save the Children is cooperating with the government, local
leaders and organizations to develop a policy for Aceh's orphans,
such as fostering, community-based care and local adoption
schemes.

The organization is also targeting around 3,000 separated and
unaccompanied children in several areas across the province, such
as Banda Aceh, Pidie, Lhokseumawe and Bireuen.

Save the Children has allocated US$2.8 million for this year's
program, and plans to channel more funds annually for the next
five years, he said.