War More Traumatic Than Tsunami

The long-running civil war in Sri Lanka is causing more mental health
problems and social breakdown than the catastrophic 2004 tsunami,
according to research published in the online open access publication
International Journal of Mental Health Systems.



The study, conducted by Professor Daya Somasundaram, currently at the
University of Adelaide, is based on published data and qualitative
research methods including participatory observation, key informant and
focus group interviews, highlights the importance of the family and
community in maintaining good mental health. For example, the
terrorisation of many Tamil communities and the destruction caused by the
tsunami meant many villages were abandoned and the villagers separated.
Even when people returned, the village was not the same. The old
structures and institutions were no longer functioning and the protective
environment, the social fabric, provided by the village was no longer
there.



"The natural disaster was a one off catastrophic event that left a trail
of destruction and loss," says Somasundaram, "but it did not continue to
exert a prolonged effect. As a result the severity of the collective
trauma was much less. In fact, having lived through a prolonged?  war
situation has meant that Tamil communities have learned skills and
strategies that make them better able to cope with disasters."



The ecological research study suggests that grass roots work within
communities may work best. Somasundaram found that the protocol developed
by the Transcultural Psychosocial Organization (a WHO collaborating
centre, working around the world to relieve the psychosocial problems of
people affected by internal conflict and war) was very effectively adapted
to the situation in?  northern Sri Lanka. "Community-level approaches
empower the community to look after their own problems," he says, "through
psychoeducation to transfer basic psychosocial knowledge and skills, and
through encouragement, support , affirmation and re-establishment of
traditional practices, rituals, resources and community relationships."



To combat post-disaster mental health problems Somasundaram argues that it
is helpful to consider the extent of collective traumatisation. "In the
aftermath of war communities suffer from mistrust, suspicion, silence,
brutalization, deterioration in morals and values, poor leadership,
dependency, passivity and despair. Apart from attending to the immediate
basic needs and other acute problems in the rescue and relief phases after
a major disaster, rehabilitation, reconstruction and development
strategies need to include collective-level interventions. In fact, our
experiences show that many individually oriented mental health
interventions appear to fair much better when undertaken within an overall
framework of a community strategy."




Article:
Collective trauma in northern Sri Lanka: a qualitative
psychosocial-ecological study.
Daya Somasundaram

International Journal of Mental Health Systems

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