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Mental trauma in Sri Lanka
AMPARA, Sri Lanka -- For many Canadians working closely on the tsunami disaster, the shock is wearing off. The mental-health fallout is just beginning. "You know what it's like when you're running on adrenaline," said a senior government source, who asked not to be named. "As soon as that first wave of activity is over, you crash. "People will need holidays. They'll need time off and, sadly, some will need trauma counselling." Embassy staff, volunteers, aid groups and now the Canadian military disaster response team are hearing and seeing things in South Asia that can leave deep mental scars. Consular staff in Phuket, Thailand, walked through a huge morgue countless times trying to help Canadian families find their loved ones. On the east coast of Sri Lanka, images of cruel suffering are seared on the minds of those who've borne witness. In Indonesia, the northern landscape is forever changed by the sheer force of the Dec. 26 waves that left 110,000 dead in that country alone. Across 11 countries, the death toll is estimated at more than 157,000. As with any calamity, there was no time to prepare mentally or otherwise. Embassy staff in Thailand fielded countless calls from frantic Canadian relatives and were initially criticized for not doing enough to help. Expatriates voluntarily spent harrowing days searching for Canadians and recovering bodies. "They've seen things you don't normally see," said the government source. "They're really going to need time to collect their thoughts and energy." In the heavily damaged region of Ampara, members of Canada's Disaster Assistance Response Team are being inundated with stories of horrific loss. Medics treating tsunami survivors are seeing the trauma first-hand: the teenage girl who hasn't spoken since her whole family was washed away; the haunted adults who stare off into space, not speaking and refusing to eat. The stress is already taking a toll on the 200 troops who are stationed here for at least six weeks.
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"Some people have headaches, some people are waking up at all hours," said Padre Jim Hardwick. "That could be jet lag. We've only been here for seven days. But I think it's part of hearing the stories. People are being impacted by what they've seen or what others are telling them." Hardwick is urging the troops to take care of themselves and to talk about the things they can't get off their minds. The disaster response team, known as DART, also brought along a social worker and mental health nurse Capt. Virginia Thomson. "You can't take in everything at once or you'll be overwhelmed," Thomson said in an interview. Part of her job in Sri Lanka involves training local people to expand the country's scant array of mental health services. Trouble is, some of the volunteers who've stepped forward to take such instruction are themselves traumatized, Thomson said. Sri Lanka, as with other countries hit by the tsunamis, faces a long recovery that in many ways hasn't yet started, she fears. "I think the worst is possibly just beginning."-Sue Baly.
American troops won't stay too long in tsunami-hit countries
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia- The United States is eager to end its military tsunami mission as soon as other countries are ready to take over, the U.S. deputy secretary of defence said Saturday. The United Nations began paying survivors in Indonesia to clear rubble. Indonesia has expressed unease with the number of foreign troops on its territory and wants them out by the end of March. "As soon as our military folks can pass these responsibilities on to other folks . . . and make sure the job gets done, we will be happy," said Paul Wolfowitz, who was visiting Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand. He also said he hopes the U.S. military's role in the relief mission will be finished well before the end of March. "I would hope that we would not be needed (in the region) as a military long before March," he said during the flight to Asia, according to a transcript of his remarks released at the Pentagon.
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Residents
of Kalmunai, Sri Lanka wait their turn to sample purified water as
Cpl Hugh Rogerson pours it into a container.
Two
boys cover their faces as they pass more body bags along the roadside
of their neighborhood in the coastal village of Banda Aceh, Indonesia
Saturday.