Psychologists
Intan Dewi Keumata and Marwan A. Hasibuan’s radio programme
is a mixture of chat and music. But behind the entertainment
lies a more serious purpose: the show is an important element
of a Red Cross Red Crescent programme to help the people of
Banda Aceh come to terms with the trauma of the tsunami.
Intan Dewi and Marwan engage in casual conversation about life
and how to cope with various situations. They reel off anecdotes,
share jokes and play music. In short, they try to lighten up
what otherwise could be a serious programme, one which broadcasts
tsunami operation updates in Banda Aceh.
The most important part of the programme, however, is when the
hosts receive calls from listeners seeking advice.
One caller was a teacher who lost her three children in the
tsunami. Her husband blamed her for it and later left her. After
listening to the teacher’s story, Intan Dewi and Marwan
gave their advice over the airwaves, followed by a love song.
A few days later, the teacher showed up at the studio, her husband
by her side, to inform the presenters that they had reconciled,
in part thanks to advice from the radio programme.
Some people can talk freely about their horrifying tsunami experience,
and often feel relieved when they have done so. Others, though,
prefer to keep the nightmare to themselves.
In many cases, explains psychologist Intan Dewi Keumata, those
who tend to avoid talking about their terrible ordeal, are likely
the ones who were most deeply traumatized and are, therefore,
more vulnerable to psychological stress.
“Indonesia bore the brunt of the tsunami and I am sure
there are hundreds of these silent sufferers who are in urgent
need of counselling,” says Intan Dewi Keumata who has
been providing psychological help to tsunami-stricken families
in the Aceh Besar Lhokgna region of Aceh province, with support
from the Turkish Red Crescent (TRC) and in partnership with
the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI), as well as the International
Federation.
“We must reach out to them the best way we can before
they suffer from nervous breakdown.”
The urge to reach out to those who are suffering in silence,
even without the benefit of seeing them physically, is what
prompted Intan Dewi and fellow psychologist Marwan A. Hasibuan
to air their one-hour radio programme every Tuesday and Saturday.
"It is heart-warming to know you have touched the lives
of people in distress. But you feel more elated when you’ve
brought back together two people in love who were separated
as a consequence of a disaster," says Marwan, his eyes
sparkling.
Marwan said that, apart from the teacher and her husband, many
listeners may have benefited from the radio programme, since
most people in Banda Aceh tune in to Suara Aceh Radio Durarat
to keep up to date with the post-disaster situation.
The initial target of the Red Cross Red Crescent psychological
support programme was to reach 12,545 people living in 18 camps
for the displaced. In the months of March and April, it had
benefited a total of 13,604 persons, including over 5,000 children.
Counselling and stress debriefing is conducted at 24 camps,
17 schools, and nine barracks in eight villages in Lhokgna region
by 10 local psychologists, including Intan Dewi and Merwan,
two psychologist delegates from TRC, supported by locally-trained
PMI volunteers.
As well as the various psychological activities, there are a
number of social activities such as games, reading and writing,
puzzle solving, drawing and colouring for children, cooking
and handicrafts for women and sports tournaments for men.
The purpose of these activities, according to Meric Gozden,
a social worker from the Turkish Red Crescent, is to mobilize
the community and divert their attention from their trauma to
something more positive. “We and the local psychologists
and volunteers only serve as facilitators. The beneficiaries
are the ones who really organize and get things done.”
“It is amazing how the people here are coping,”
said TRC psychologist Oznur Acicbe. “Everyone is very
cooperative. Everyone is enthusiastic about sharing his or her
talents. Everyone contributes to the decision-making. The children,
especially, are simply fantastic. You can see from their drawings
how sensitive and intelligent they are,” added Oznur,
who revealed that the first time they asked the children to
draw whatever came into their minds, most produced illustrations
of big waves or dark skies and seas.
Later, however, after a few stress debriefing sessions, story-telling
and games, the children began to draw flowers, trees, houses
and illustrations of children playing. “It is really amazing
how children are able to relate their feelings to their environment.
I wish I was a child again,” Oznur quips.
Meric and Oznur said the Turkish Red Crescent chose to lead
the psychological support programme to help the people of Aceh
because they have a profound understanding of how psychologically
displaced people can feel after a major disaster. Turkey has
been hit by a number of large earthquakes, including one at
Izmit in 1999 which left over 17,000 people dead and thousands
more traumatized.
To ensure the continuity of the programme, the TRC is putting
up a community centre in Banda Aceh to accommodate all psychological
support projects - from experience sharing to training, to games
and other recreational activities.
The centre will be donated later to PMI to further build its
capacity in the field of psychological support. “Psychological
support is always the first step to recovery,” Ornuz stressed.
“Other material aid follows.”
Both TRC delegates said language and cultural difference have
never been a problem. “Even if we don’t comprehend
exactly what people are saying, we fully understand how they
feel,” said Oznur. “Their eyes say it all.”
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Games,
reading and writing, puzzle solving, drawing and colouring
for children, are part of the social programming that
acts as an accompaniment to psychological programmes all
designed to assist traumatized communities to begin the
slow process of rebuilding their lives. Photo: International
Federation (p12947)
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Psychologists
Intan Dewi Keumata (left) and Marwan A. Hasibuan’s
radio programme is a mixture of music, chat and helping
the people of Banda Aceh come to terms with the trauma
of the tsunami. Photo: International Federation (p12948)
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