Recovering from Maria

COREY CONNELLY

Since Hurricane Maria ravaged Dominica, three weeks ago, its been a slow and painful recovery for the Caribbean island of just 72,000.

In fact, officials estimate the island’s physical rehabilitation alone could take years and run into billions of dollars. And while the extent of devastation has obstructed relief efforts, there exists a broader concern - the future of Dominica’s citizens, particularly its young people.

According to activist and executive director of the Dispute Resolution Centre Elizabeth Solomon efforts to rehabilitate the island are still very difficult.

Although she has not experienced first hand, the feelings of despair and powerlessness being faced by many Dominicans, Solomon said she learnt young people were a priority concern.

“There is concern about their reaction and their medium and long term opportunities and the fear is that they might get more involved in reactionary and anti-social behaviour if they don’t have opportunities for employment and are not included in the recovery process. So, I think that is an important area,” she told Sunday Newsday.

Solomon added: “The task now is to make sure there is a course for the government and others to do the right thing in response to the issues that were identified.”

She suggested that a specialised, interventionist mechanism be established from within the region to address the psychological fallout from the hurricane.

“It will need to have a conflict-prevention type strategy to be able to mitigate against all of this second wave of psychological trauma, anger and helplessness.”

“If the region can help first, it is going to be much more long-lasting. Even if there are well-meaning initiatives from outside, they must be channelled through the region so that they are not just strategies that do not have the right kind of impact or understand the context.”

Solomon said she has recommended such a strategy to the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States.

“They are very much on board with ensuring Dominica recovers in a sustainable way.”

Solomon said she was pleased to see that a local trauma team, led by behaviour change specialist Wendell De Leon, had gone to Dominica to do an assessment “because that is very important to recognise that people really have to recover emotionally.”

“Working with people on the ground is very important in trying to develop responses to deal with what they have identified.

The trauma unit spent two weeks on the island working alongside a Dominican trauma team, headed by psychiatrist Dr Griffin Benjamin. De Leon reported that since the storm’s passage, many people have turned to alcohol for solace after losing their properties and loved ones. Others, he said, were experiencing strained marital relationships. For clinical psychologist Dr Peter Weller, such outcomes are par for the course.

He said, though, in the aftermath of a natural disaster, the first order of business should be some kind of psychological first aid to provide comfort.

“There should not be any heavy counselling. All that is required at that stage is a listening ear and helping hand,” he said, adding that most people are disoriented after such an ordeal. Weller said when leaders are suffering, as in the case of Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerritt, it makes matters worse.

“Psychological first aid is a good starting point because. Retraumatisation is not what is needed.”

However, he said while priority is given to safety and shelter, the psychological effects may be sidelined. Weller said there were many dimensions to the healing process, one of which involved a short term coping mechanism to engender some semblance of order.

“Some people can do this better than others possibly because of personal resources and their own personality,” Weller said.

The problem with this, Weller said, is that it can sometimes mask more severe and long term effects.

“Some people will be retraumatised from previous experiences and suffer from PTSD (Post Trauma Stress Disorder). So, there is a long term psychological process.”

Weller said one of the most traumatic experiences one can encounter after a hurricane is losing one’s possessions or family heirlooms.

“They not only represent memorabilia of past times and people but they also represent stability and security.

“This reinforces the sense of helplessness and hopelessness especially when this has happened to whole communities.”

Weller said, though, while some things are important to some people, it may not be to others “so we need to be sensitive to these differences and not dismiss it.”

In addition, he said periods of grief will vary for different people.

Weller said coordination in managing relief efforts on the ground will be critical.

“I am told that this is already a challenge. We have seen looting and criminality, which are survival behaviours but are also a psychological response.”

He said for law enforcement personnel who may want a zero tolerance policy on looting and other criminal conduct, the reality is that some security officers may also be related to the marauders.

“So it is hard for them to keep those boundaries.”

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