Chapter 5
Box 5.2 Red Cross volunteers key to psychosocial recovery

Irina* lives in Gomel, Belarus, on the doorstep of the forbidden zone. But she only heard about the Chernobyl accident days after it happened. Rumours about possible health effects were circulating, but it took years before she realized what kinds of effects. Short of cash, her main worry is her young son’s health as she can hardly provide him enough food. A schoolmate’s thyroid gland was recently removed when cancer was diagnosed – he now has to take drugs for the rest of his life. Irina’s secret fear is that the same fate will befall her son.

Recently, she attended a Red Cross training programme for psychosocial support – the first time ever she could share her anxiety with others the same age. She discovered they had the same concerns, the same fears and the same ignorance about what exactly happened. Several participants burst into tears, but were assured this was normal and that there was nothing and nobody to blame. Irina left feeling very relieved – and convinced of the importance of such sessions. She is now actively involved, providing advice, helping and counselling those who, like her, seek a life free from fear.

Widespread anxiety was reported soon after the disaster among those living in contaminated areas. But due to a shortage of resources, it was only in February 1997 that the Red Cross initiated a psychosocial programme. Its aim is to help people resolve their anxieties and thereby restore their ability to take control of their lives again. Several thousand local people have attended lectures which provide simple, reliable and easily understandable information on radioactivity, its causes and health consequences. Some are counselled by telephone and many more are reached through newspaper articles, radio programmes and TV interviews.

Unlike most humanitarian programmes, psychosocial support does not involve highly visible relief distributions. Relying on person-to-person relationships, it may take some time before results are noticed, as better understanding slowly leads to improved quality of life. Since emotions expressed are so culturally specific, local facilitators volunteering for the Red Cross are involved from the needs-assessment stage onwards. And close cooperation with mental health professionals is critical both for training and supervising the volunteers, and to ensure the referral of more traumatized survivors to specialist care.

* false name