 |
Search : | ||
|
|||
News
|
News stories
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
8 November 2002 by Herniwaty Husni in Bali Volunteers responding to disasters are often at risk of post-traumatic stress syndrome. Most of the 200 volunteers deployed during the relief operations that followed the Bali bomb blasts on 11 October were responding to a disaster for the first time. There was therefore concern that they would be at greater risk. To counter this, the Indonesian Red Cross (Palang Merah Indonesia - PMI) embarked on a psychological debriefing programme to ensure that their volunteers were well. The young volunteers are clearly pleased to have been given the opportunity to talk about their experiences. Feelings of sadness, anger and disbelief are common. When asked to talk about the changes they have noticed in themselves, the volunteers speak of loss of appetite, flashbacks, restless sleep and nightmares. The psychological debriefings, facilitated by a trained member of staff or volunteer and lasting no more than two hours, were conducted in groups of ten to thirteen volunteers. Facilitators took the volunteers through a six-step process which primarily involved the volunteers talking about their tasks and roles during the relief operations, their experiences and feelings and the changes they noticed in themselves as a result of their involvement in the disaster. "Mostly, they want to tell their story. The volunteers want to be heard and they want to hear that they did well," said Iris Trapman, an Australian Red Cross delegate working on a disaster preparedness proposal with the PMI. A psychologist by training, Trapman had helped to train four PMI headquarters staff who carried out the debriefing sessions. "Debriefings after relief operations in the past were concentrated on operational issues and not focused on personal experiences," said Ekuwin Suharyant, head of social services at PMI headquarters. "These new debriefing sessions provide the volunteers with an avenue to share their problems and relieve stress," he adds. The Bali disaster - in which nearly 200 people, many of them foreign tourists, died - provided the PMI with an ideal opportunity to introduce the long-mooted debriefings. Trauma cannot be seen with the naked eye, and Esteri, a volunteer from Semarang and one of the facilitators, said the debriefings were an important way of assessing the mental well-being of volunteers. This is especially true of those involved in long-term conflict, such as Aceh or Maluku. "What the volunteers are experiencing is normal," Trapman explains. "What would be abnormal is if these symptoms do not decrease or disappear over time and we explain this to them." The volunteers were taught about how to notice tell-tale signs of prolonged post-traumatic stress symptoms and to seek help if it happens. They were also provided with various tips and suggestions on how to relieve their stress and cope. "We let them know that they should always talk about their feelings with their friends and families," Ekuwin says. Following their experience in Bali, the PMI team will go back and evaluate the success of the psychological debriefing programme. A proposal for a sustained programme, where all volunteers involved in relief operations will be debriefed, will be drawn up. "One of the ideas was to train a small group of staff and volunteers more thoroughly," said Trapman. "This group would then be dispatched to debrief volunteers who are involved in relief operations throughout Indonesia." Related Links: 1 November 2002 - A life-changing night in Bali 22 October 2002 - Red Cross continues to take lead in Bali response 14 October 2002 - Indonesian Red Cross quick on scene of Bali bombings Indonesia - Appeals, Updates and Reports |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
