One
year on from the Yogyakarta earthquake, hundreds of thousands
of people are rebuilding their lives, picking up the pieces
that were so violently smashed. For a lot of survivors, the
long road to recovery is compounded by feelings of grief and
loss.
Many people lost family members and friends in the earthquake.
Some also lost the ability to walk. Nearly a thousand people
suffered spinal injuries, a tragically common consequence of
earthquakes, when collapsing buildings crushed occupants.
The International Federation’s Phil Vine
looked at how the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) is supporting an
isolated group of people disabled by the earthquake to maintain
hope and stay in touch with each other through a network of
old radio telephones.
In the earthquake they lost homes, friends, family and the ability
to walk.
For many of them, thoughts of suicide are common.
But when they wake up in the morning they switch on a radio
telephone and are part of a small, connected community of old
technology that keeps their hope alive.
The initiative came from Pak Tutur a volunteer at an Indonesian
Red Cross (PMI) physiotherapy clinic, and coordinator of the
programme. He realized many of the disabled people they were
treating were prone to depression, and some to suicide.
“Within our first group of 20 people with spinal cord
injuries three have tried to commit suicide. They tried to cut
their wrists and to drink mosquito repellant,” he explains.
One of those who tried to take her own life is Erna. A 26-year-old
university graduate, she was about to start her first day of
teaching at a middle school when the earthquake struck. She
hasn’t walked since.
Thanks to PMI, Erna now has a radio telephone in her house with
a 12-metre antenna outside and can talk whenever she wants with
seven other spinal cord patients in her area.
Pak Tutur says it’s important for patients to keep in
contact with others going through the same problems, bolstering
each others spirits so they don’t try and end their own
lives.
A taboo subject
The magnitude 6.3 earthquake claimed the lives of 5,749 people,
injured 38,000 and left more than 1.1 million homeless.
However, there are no accurate figures for the number of suicides
attributed to the disaster. Suicide is a very taboo subject
on Java, explains Pak Tutur.
“In the Muslim faith if you commit suicide you go straight
to hell. There is a lot of shame if someone in a family does
this.”
Nearly a thousand people suffered spinal cord injuries in the
quake. They are some of the most susceptible to severe depression,
he continues.
“These are people with high mobility before the earthquake
with jobs and busy lives. Now they just have to sit at home.”
As well as informal chat, there is also a structured programme
on the network, when patients take turns to give prayers early
in the morning, and to share readings from the Koran in the
evening.
It’s a lifeline for patients who can’t get to the
mosque in their wheelchairs.
Later in the evening, the topic turns to a very personal issue.
One of the most common topics of conversation among the men,
says Tutur, is how their disabilities will affect their ability
to have a family.
“They are able to talk about this sensitive subject because
they have got to know each other well, and they don’t
have to look at each other when they are talking,” he
says.
This week they have some good news to talk about. A member of
their network has just found out that his wife is two months
pregnant.
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Erna,
26-year-old university graduate, was crushed in the 27
May earthquake and hasn’t been able to walk since.
In her despair, she tried to take her own life. Now, thanks
to the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI), she has a radio telephone
that keeps her in touch with a network of other people
disabled by the quake, helping her keep connected to her
community. (p15759)
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Indonesian
Red Cross volunteer, Pak Tutur, says it’s important
for patients to keep in contact with others going through
the same problems, bolstering each others spirits so they
don’t try and end their own lives. (p15760)
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Indonesian Red Cross volunteer operates a radio telephone.
As well as offering an avenue for informal chat, the programme
also has a structured component. Participants gather in
the morning and the evening to pray and to read from the
Koran. (p15761) |
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