Traumatized refugees in Poso suffer from clinical depression

Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

Most refugees who fled the town of Poso, Central Sulawesi, suffer from clinical depression or other types of mental disorders following two years of sectarian fighting there, according to a recent survey.

It revealed that many refugees had suffered breakdowns after the trauma of being exposed to the violence of the war between Muslims and Christians, and the affect it has had on their lives.

The field research, conducted by a Yogyakarta non-governmental organization, the Tikar Pandan Community, in January 2002, showed that at least 54 percent of the more than 85,000 refugees displaced by the conflict have been "psychologically distressed".

La Ode Arham of the research team, which consisted of five researchers, said during a discussion at Yogyakarta's Gadjah Mada University on Tuesday that the depression mainly resulted from trauma after having witnessed extreme violence and killings of local people -- including family members and relatives.

In its 26-page report including appendixes, the team said that female refugees were particularly prone to depression, as many had been raped and impregnated by police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) members.

These findings showed that among the respondents, most suffered from anxiety (32.1 percent), followed by depression (26.6 percent), irritable depression (20.3 percent) and acute psychosis (12.5 percent).

"Should nothing be done to address the problem, it could lead to co-morbidity and chronic illnesses, premature death and collective family pathological problems," the report said.

Arham said the research was conducted for one month, in December 2001. It was aimed at identifying the latest developments in Poso, creating peace networks there, and gathering information on the conditions of victims, including refugees.

The survey used a method "in which we lived temporarily with local community members affected by the conflict, had open discussions with them, and made notes about it," he said.

"Through this experience, we hoped to create a mediation process to bridge the differences between conflicting parties," he noted.

There are 85,000 refugees currently residing in the districts of Palu (22,000 refugees), Poso (44,000 refugees), Donggala (12,000) and Morowali (7,000 refugees).

According to the report, up to last December, at least 577 people had been killed, 245 seriously wounded and 139 others slightly hurt in the conflict, which began in 2000.

The religious clashes also led to the destruction or damage of more than 14,000 houses, 55 churches, 27 mosques, 200 motorcycles, 39 cars and seven community health centers (Puskesmas), the report also documented.

Independent sources, however, have put the death toll at about 2,000.

Muslim and Christian leaders signed a peace accord last December in the hill resort of Malino in South Sulawesi to end the religious violence in Poso.

Local security authorities are searching for weapons at houses of rival groups there. More than 39,000 weapons -- including firearms, handguns, bombs, machetes and arrows -- have been voluntarily surrendered.