WORKING IN TRAUMA ZONES REVEALS COMMON THREADS
This is the third of a four-part series on getting to know the local people and their cultures as I travel around the world.
By far the biggest opportunity I have had for getting to know people from different cultures has been my work with the International Center for Psychosocial Trauma. Under the leadership of child psychiatrist Ashad Husain, the center trains teachers, physicians and mental health workers to treat trauma victims. This means we go into areas of the world where there has been armed strife or a natural disaster.
I meets with Russian police psychologists in Moscow for a question and answer session about the Russian Mafia.
My first contact with this group was the summer of 1995, when 30 physicians and teachers came from Bosnia for a month long "Training the Trainer" program in Columbia. I got to know several members of the group, whom I was to meet again in 1996 when I made a trip with the team to Sarajevo.
The team was housed with local families, suffered the cold and lack of electricity with them and heard their stories. Two other professionals and I stayed with Nafija, a widow of 72, her daughter, Aida, and grandson Meersa. Because Nafija spoke no English and we spoke no Bosnian, we communicated with hand motions and facial expressions. When we checked with Aida, who spoke good English, we were amazed at how much was understood.
Aida had been the victim of an explosion in her office. In our conversations she described symptoms of post-traumatic stress: bad dreams, hyper-alertness and lack of energy. We heard similar stories from others who had been there during the siege. These conversations were a bonding experience. Return trips seeming like homecomings, as I found out what happened since the last visit and saw how children had grown.
In trauma zones, the people were eager to explain to us what had happened and how they’d handled it. Often we worked with translators. A note from my first trip to Bosnia: "Shala, a physician, did simultaneous translations. This is something that impresses me very much. I would talk quietly to her, and she would speak loudly to the trainees. When students would make comments, sometimes at great length, Shala would speak quietly into my ear."
In Pakistan, because of Husain’s contacts and the fact that most educated Pakistanis speak English, I was able to have many meaningful conversations. I particularly remember some interesting discussions of population control with Tariq Sohail, head of a medical school in Karachi, who had been minister of health under Benazir Bhutto.
Traveling with the team, I also met people in Italy, India, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Indonesia, Palestine, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, England and Turkey. At the same time I worked with people from Chechnya, Afghanistan and assorted republics of the former Soviet Union.
I have several kinds of interaction with the program participants. First, I get acquainted with members of the group because I need volunteers to help me demonstrate therapeutic methods in front of a group. Second, I need people to interview so I can write stories for the Tribune. Frequently their stories are told anonymously because to share information is often dangerous. Third, it is satisfying just to share experiences with natives of another culture to find out how they feel and what they believe.
Occasionally we have worked with groups that have participants from different countries. In Russia there were even people who were or had been at war with each other. Getting them to share what they were experiencing in terms of trauma reactions showed they had much in common with each other. After sharing those reactions they reported that these people felt like old friends. Because we have been in so many areas with traumatized people, we have earned credibility that makes it easier for program participants to share with us.
Although talking with people in trauma zones can be a sad experience, I feel these contacts have enriched my life and given me a deeper appreciation of how alike we are at a deep emotional level.
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