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Psychosocial aspects of the Tsunami Disaster
What you can do to support children in disaster areas
§ For children, being able to trust at least one adult who can take care of them can pull them through stressful times. Therefore, helping children to maintain relationships with a family member or known person is very important.
§ It is not always the event that can have a psychological and emotional impact on the child, but the lack of emotional support, separation from parents or family, taken out of familiar context and community, and grief and distress of parents and adults in the aftermath of the disaster event.
§ Do not remove or separate children from family members. Do not separate siblings. If family members are missing try to keep the child with someone he/she knows and trusts and support that caregiver and child.
§ Identify informal care systems that exist in the community (relatives or neighbours taking care of children), and find out if traditional care systems have been affected by crises/disaster.
§ Moving a child from such informal care arrangements provided by the community or other family members could bring additional distress. A child should be moved only if the assessment shows that the child is suffering from emotional or physical abuse, exploitative labour, neglect, poor care or abandonment from these new care givers.
§ Provide economic, social and emotional support to these informal arrangements so that the child can remain in familiar surroundings and within relationships that they trust.
§ Children should be informed of care arrangements and be consulted in decision-making processes about their care.
§ Be honest and open about the disaster. Don’t be afraid to say, “I don’t know” and keep discussions about the their experiences open and honest.
§ In cases of children being separated from family members or siblings collect as much information as possible from the child, from the people the child was found with, and relatives/friends/school teachers. Give this information to groups documenting and working on missing people. If possible take a photograph of the child and attach to the file.
§ It is important to document all possible information as soon as the child is found. Please register separated children with relevant government authorities such as child probation offers, local police stations, divisional secretariats, etc. Record the following information: Name and pet name(whatever the child remembers), Age, Sex, Address or Village name, Names of family members, relatives (in the area and outside the area), friends and neighbours, Name of school, occupation of parents, where the child is located currently and where he/she may be moved.
§ Show the child to adults and children from the area that may recognise him/her before moving the child anywhere.
§ Establish a location where adults can also provide information about missing children and maintain detailed database on this.
§ If children are being moved for some unavoidable reason provide children with identity tags (with the above information), provide drivers of vehicles transporting children with rosters of names and other details of children, register children in location they are being moved from and give clear information about where they are being moved to. At all times, attempt to keep children close to their homes or at least within the town or district.
§ Try to involve older children and adolescents in activities carried out in the camp/displaced community – such as distributing goods, documenting information, caring for younger children etc.
§ All notices and information provided should be in simple language so that a child of 12 years can understand and follow it.
§ Be sensitive to special needs or adolescent girl children, such as menstruation, special clothing and undergarments, toilet facilities and safety.
§ Try to maintain a daily routine (however basic such as regular eating and sleeping times) for the child as much as possible.
§ If someone comes to claim a child, make sure that the child is able to identify the person. In all cases, take down information (ID number, address, contact details) of the person claiming the child prior to handing the child over. Remember that some people may be trying to take advantage of the situation to exploit such vulnerable children.
§ Anxiety, crying, sleeplessness, sadness, anger, restlessness, withdrawal, being very active, grief, shock, emotional numbness or expression is part of any normal human response to extremely stressful or dangerous situations.
§ Important: These are normal and expected reactions from children and should not be treated as a major psychological trauma or pathological reactions needing professional help.
§ Respect children’s responses and allow them time and opportunities to express them in a way that they are comfortable with.
§ Attend to immediate needs of the children and be supportive.
§ Be sensitive to children with special needs, such as children with disabilities.
§ Be kind, calm, and attempt to explain everything that is being done, even if you are not sure that they understand you.
Reference: Separated Children: Care and Protection of Children in Emergencies A Field Guide. Save the Children Federation 2004
This document has been drafted by the Psychosocial Support Programme of the IWTHI Trust. Please send in your comments and feedback to pspcp@eol.lk. If you have any concerns or clarifications, please call 011 4516408 or 0777423445.
31st December 2004
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