Chinese survivors struggle with post-quake trauma
MIANYANG, China (Reuters) - First they survived a calamitous earthquake. Now they must survive the trauma.
In a country where mental health issues have traditionally been hidden away and not talked about, teams are rushing to the earthquake-struck southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan to provide help to traumatized survivors.
May 12's 7.9 magnitude tremor, which may have killed 50,000 people, has left hundreds of thousands of others injured, homeless and orphaned.
"We are facing a tremendous challenge. We will be going to schools to help children," Wang Yi, a pediatric psychologist at a government hospital in provincial capital Chengdu said in a meeting with a group of Hong Kong social workers.
"But we also need help. This is the first time we have faced a disaster of such magnitude," Wang added. "Teachers also need help. They are victims. They have suffered loss of relatives. We have just been given an assignment to calm the teachers down."
A number of non-government organizations have quickly offered help, including classes for volunteers who have had training in psychology and counseling.
"We have to encourage children to externalize their grief. There are activities that teachers can organize, such as painting and writing, to allow them to express their feelings," said Johnston Huang, director of voluntary services development centre at the United International College in Beijing.
STICK FIGURES
At a sports stadium in Mianyang city housing more than 20,000 survivors, dozens of children sketch their dream homes and schools on white drawing paper wrapped around two giant columns -- symbols of comfort they suddenly lost a week ago.
On one panel are hundreds of pieces of brightly colored paper scrawled with the writings of these young victims, which give a hint of their broken inner worlds.
"I am thinking of my teacher Deng and teacher Mei," wrote a child who signed off as Yang Jia. "I hope everyone can rebuild their own homes."
At Mianyang's Jiujiang Stadium, a group of volunteers from Chongqing put up empty posters on two giant columns over the weekend, and then encouraged young refugees to draw and write whatever they wanted.
One poignant sketch by a 7-year-old girl showed a two-dimensional school, followed dramatically by its collapse and scores of stick figures running away.
Some stick figures were shown lying down and boxed in by squares -- or buried under slabs of concrete. Next to them were tents, adorned with the medic cross.
"Many children have seen and experienced a lot and they are using their drawings to tell their grief because they can't articulate their feelings," said Liu Yanling from the Chongqing Southwest University's Mental Health Research Centre.
Posted on the wall were also notes from children expressing their wishes.
"Grandpa, I hope you will come back a little earlier. I am very well. Please be very happy yourself. I am very well and I have been behaving myself. You must come back and look for me," wrote another child.
"This wall shows everyone how strong the children can be and this strength is infectious. It can encourage and support other survivors," Liu told Reuters.
Nearby, one of Liu's colleagues knelt and placed her cheek against the face of a little girl as she whispered words of comfort into the ears of the child, who was sketching a house. In all this time, the girl never spoke a word.
GRIEF TOUCHES EVERYONE
Though many managed to get away with barely a scratch on their bodies, few can escape the psychological trauma, social workers warn.
At least one hospital in Chengdu admitted adult survivors who suffered nervous breakdowns in the past week, with some complaining of being pursued by unknown attackers or murderers.
"It is when their lives are more settled and after living arrangements are in place that emotional problems will surface suddenly. Most people only begin to grapple with their emotional states three to nine months after a tragedy," said Terence Chen, president of the Hong Kong group Social Workers Across Borders.
"We have seen cases where people can't even talk about a disaster three to four years after it has passed," he said, adding that the sheer weight of the collective psychological trauma has yet to unfold from China's quake.
He warned volunteers to be fully and mentally prepared.
"When someone cries in front of you and tells you her parents or children are dead and begs you to help, what can you do? If you are not mentally prepared and detached enough, you can face a mental breakdown yourself, let alone be able to help," Chan said.
