Nightmares haunt Myanmar cyclone survivors

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(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-05-02 09:41

LABUTTA, Myanmar: Monsoon rains once heralded good things for Nwe Nwe, offering relief from the stifling heat and clean water for her family in Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta.

But as the monsoon season nears, she and other survivors of Cyclone Nargis are fearful, seeing thunderstorms as a bad omen.

"Now when it rains, I rush over to the school and get my daughter. I don't want anything to happen to her," said the mother of two children aged nine and six.

A year ago as the storm slammed into the country with 240 kph winds, Nwe Nwe's family huddled in their bamboo and thatch home, praying as the roof collapsed.

"I don't go out in the rain anymore. I don't like the wind. It's scary," her nine-year-old daughter said.

Aid workers say survivors are showing higher levels of anxiety in the run-up to the May 2-3 anniversary of the cyclone, which killed nearly 140,000 people and left 2.4 million destitute.

Many saw loved ones die in front of their eyes. Stories abound of people who lost everything - a boy whose 10 siblings and parents died, a village chief who lost 37 members of his family spanning three generations.

The psychological scars are less visible than shortages of shelter or food, but no less important, aid workers say.

"Everyone was saying how resilient people of Myanmar are," Brian Agland, country director for the aid agency CARE Myanmar, said. "While that is true, there are still people who haven't gone through the process of fully grieving and understanding what happened," he said.

Almost a quarter of households in the cyclone zone have reported signs of psychosocial distress, but only 11 percent have received help, according to a recovery plan launched in February by the United Nations, the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Myanmar government.

Children, either orphaned or still living with surviving family members in makeshift shelters, are among those in need of counseling.

The UN estimates more than 2,400 primary teachers have been trained to give psychosocial support, but it is far from enough.

After more than four decades of military rule, Myanmar's rudimentary health care system has little capacity for handling trauma victims. Aid groups are trying to fill the gaps.

The International Federation of Red Cross has trained more than 600 volunteers who make regular home visits in about 600 villages to help survivors cope with their loss.

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), which has counseled 56,000 cyclone survivors, said it takes time to gain their trust and help them understand why the disaster occurred.

"Buddhists believe in Karma," said MSF psychologist Sylvia Wamser. "It was important to show that there exists another explanation, a meteorological and scientific one."

Overcoming a deeply-held fear of ghosts has been a bigger challenge for counselors.

"It was important to help them understand that nightmares after a critical incident are normal, not that your loved ones are restless souls," Wamser said.

Reuters