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Double blow for child victims

03 Jun 2019

By Tharumalee Silva Out of many still recovering from the horrors of the Easter Sunday attack, those who have little to say and nowhere to go remain the worst affected. Sri Lanka lost a total of 45 children on this fateful day, and certain chilling surveillance footage is seen with these children in heartfelt prayer, seconds before they were heartlessly massacred. While many reeling from the attacks have recovered from the initial effects of the incident, getting back to their daily routines, the same cannot be said for some children, who are yet to utter a single word. The United Nations Children’s Fund Sri Lanka (UNICEF) stated that their child protection response team identified almost 122 children and adolescents affected by this tragedy. “All of these children remain in the family environment and are supported by UNICEF through statutory services. The care and protection programme will continue until we ensure all their needs have been met. The long-term goal of this programme is to ensure that children who have lost their parents remain in the family environment and their communities (not placed in so-called “childcare centres”) to help them recover from the traumatic experiences, continue their education and skills training, receive necessary healthcare, and enable them to reach their full potential as citizens of Sri Lanka,” UNICEF said. UNICEF said that the psychosocial support of UNICEF has reached over 1,400 children and adults, across all affected communities. The support services include initial assessments, on-the-ground support (including support to immediate family needs, such as transport to the hospital), psychological first aid, counselling, and referral. “The work continues as we aim to reach over 3,900 people in the next four to six weeks. We are mindful of the presence and coordination role of the church organisations on the ground and respect their unique role. Thus, our response progresses steadily to ensure we reach all affected individuals through special interventions involving psychosocial support and counselling programmes,” they further stated. UNICEF also warned the public to not re-victimise the affected and to provide them the necessary space to heal and overcome the traumatic events. “UNICEF believes and calls all stakeholders to respect the dignity, right to privacy, and unique needs of children and families directly impacted by these tragic incidences.” Forgotten victims Giving her insight, women’s and children’s rights activist and Attorney-at-Law Dr. Nimalka Fernando stated that people often forget about the victims after the hype of the tragedy subsides. She recalled the children affected by the devastating tsunami which hit the shores of Sri Lanka in 2004 and the survivors of the 30-year civil war. “We need to think seriously about how we provide families for the children. Most of the time there is a lot of excitement immediately following a disaster, and after some time, the development of a programme of sustainable policies is forgotten soon after. This means that there are many discussions that take place that do not get translated into policy,” she said. She also said that the State must take responsibility when a tragedy occurs, whether the situation was man-made or natural. “These children are subsequently forgotten and NGOs are then looking after them. There are rarely people following up to ensure that these children are sustainably looked after,” she pointed out. She further stated that the leadership of the Government is essential, stating: “There needs to be proper coordination between the Government and the organisations capable of handling the situation. The efforts of the Catholic Church have been remarkable as they have the counselling ability and the widespread support of convents and homes. You don’t need to start a new project, just strengthen the existing one,” she said. Parliamentarian Dr. Sudarshini Fernandopulle whose electoral district – Gampaha – was one of the worst affected, voiced her thoughts regarding the status of her people. “There are many children who have lost either one parent or both parents, there are children who are injured, children who have witnessed the situation, and also the children surrounding these areas who are also traumatised,” she said. She further accused the Government of not attending to the matter efficiently “The main issue is that the support given by the Government seems to be lacking, and the help operations are mainly carried out by non-governmental and private organisations,” she said, She further accused several politicians of taking political advantage of the situation, stating: “Some people are trying to politicise the victims by holding large-scale ceremonies to distribute care packages and other items to the affected, but these victims are unable to even step out of the seclusion of their own homes. Some politicians have gone to the victim's houses and even counted the money in front of them. People are very critical about it. Speaking as a doctor and a politician of the area, this is my first-hand experience. I have been visiting them, supporting them, and trying to talk to them and come to terms with it,” she expressed Private organisations to the rescue Fernandopulle further stated that she personally visited most of the victims, and some of the victims were not in a position to seek help following the trauma. “Some private organisations have set up health services in Katuwapitiya and there are psychologists and psychiatrists working in the area voluntarily. There are centres at the Negombo Hospital and people are reluctant to go,” she further stated. She also referred to the social stigma surrounding psychological treatment, stating: “Some people don’t go to these centres due to the social stigma that surrounds it. Seeking psychological and psychiatric help is looked down on as people think society will brand them as psychiatric patients. Post-trauma psychological help is essential, some kids cannot sleep and they have no appetite, it is a very depressing situation,” she said. She further stated that the children are counselled in various ways such as art therapy, which is a modern form of therapy which uses creative techniques such as drawing, painting, colouring, etc. to aid victims in expressing themselves in an artistic manner after which the psychological and emotional undertones in their art are examined under the supervision of a credentialed art therapist. This way, victims can express themselves non-verbal, and underlying emotions come to the forefront, which should lead to a better understanding of their feelings and behaviour so they can move on to resolve deeper issues. “I know the church is doing a great service, and the people who are afraid to go to church are making efforts to overcome their fears,” she said. She also highlighted the need for a better coordinating mechanism for information sharing in providing aid for the children, stating: “There should also be a communication system as the children who live within the city limits get more than adequate support because they’re easily reachable. However, children living in suburban areas are not reachable, and therefore do not get the sufficient help they need.” Being a victim of similar trauma herself, Fernandopulle stated: “I can feel for them. I have personally gone through similar trauma. It is very hard to get back to normalcy, and I personally don’t think it’s possible, but you have to come to terms with it.” She also stressed the need for economic support for the victims, stating: “In most of the families, the main breadwinners have been injured or have lost their lives; so many children and families do not have the support they need to make ends meet,” she said. The Sunday Morning made several attempts to contact several government organisations regarding this matter. However, only the Department of Social Services was able to provide information on the plight of the affected children. The Department said that the children were given psychological help by department officials and doctors. Social Services Officer Dhammika Vardana Bandara stated that it is the system that has fallen short in collecting accurate information. “There seems to be a lapse in information distribution. We are receiving various bits of information from various sources, so we have had to collect our own information when helping the victims, which is why this is taking so long,” he said.

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