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Quake survivors still shaken by memories
By Wang Cong and Yu FeiXinhua (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-04-26 07:14
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YUSHU, Qinghai - Visions of shaking school buildings haunt the dreams of 18-year-old student Bayang.
The headmaster of an elementary school, Fu Wencai, jumps on his feet every time someone bangs a door.
They are just two survivors of the earthquake that struck Yushu on April 14.
More than 10 days after the 7.1 magnitude quake reduced most of Yushu to mere rubble, thousands still struggle with anxiety and stress.
"It is common for people to suffer from irritability, anxiety, fear, despair, guilt, numbness and confusion after such an earthquake," said Guo Yanqing, a psychological expert with the Beijing-based Peking University Sixth Hospital.
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"Each day seemed like a year after the quake," said Bayang, a senior student of the Yushu Prefecture Ethnic Middle School. Luckily, no student or teacher at the school was hurt or killed.
Bayang volunteered after the earthquake, setting up tents, helping nurses give shots and distributing relief supplies. She returned to school on April 23 as classes resumed in makeshift houses on its playground.
But nightmares keep the 18-year-old Tibetan girl awake at night.
"I dream of the earth shaking under my feet and school buildings trembling," she said.
Fu Wencai, headmaster of Yushu's Hongqi Elementary School, said counseling is a must, especially for the young.
"Although no one was hurt at our school on April 14, I'm sure fear has taken root in the kids' hearts," said Fu.
"Not just the kids, even the adults, including me, have fears. Every time I hear someone slam a car door closed, BANG, I jump on my feet fearing another earthquake," he said.
He said classes would resume at the end of this month and he would let the children play more, "so they can forget the fear," Fu said.
Shen Zhenming, vice-director of the Tangshan No 5 Hospital, who arrived in Yushu on April 20, said generally speaking about 30 to 40 percent of quake victims needed counseling.
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Quake victims receive psychological counseling in Yushu on April 18. JIANG CAI / XINHUA |
He had already provided counseling for more than 50 people at local hospitals.
"Loss of homes, families and properties, in addition to worries of ensuing aftershocks, are keeping people in fear and causing insomnia," said Shen, who is himself a survivor from the earthquake that struck Tangshan in 1976.
Many people in Sichuan province suffered from severe depression after the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008, and some even became suicidal, he said.
He said psychological counseling should focus on helping quake victims face what they lost in the quake to speak out about how they feel and pin new hopes on the future.
But Shen acknowledged it was still hard to get many quake victims into counseling due to difficulties in communication.
About 90 percent of Yushu residents are Tibetan and almost all are devout Buddhists.
"A lot of the quake victims don't speak Mandarin, making it almost impossible for us to communicate," Shen said. "Fortunately, many teenagers offered to translate."
Meanwhile, Guo Yanqing said Tibetan traditions should be respected when providing counseling to avoid inflicting further harm. "I heard in one case some doctors in Xining insisted that an injured old lady transported from the quake zone should wash her hair, but she refused," he said.
"As it turned out, it's a local tradition that when someone dies, his or her family members cannot wash their hair for the next 49 days, nor wear new clothes. Otherwise they believe the deceased won't be blessed after death," Guo said.
(China Daily 04/26/2010 page3)
