Tweet
PRESS RELEASE
Mental Health Outreach to Tsunami survivors
Association for Disaster & Mass Trauma Studies
185 East 85th Street, NY NY 10028
Tel: 201-941-2266
Email: [email protected]
Southeast Asian Tsunami: Response, Relief & Recovery
United Nations Association of the United States of America and the
Business Council for the United Nations
13 January 2005
Dr. Anie Kalayjian
This panel presentation began with Chair Al Branel introducing the moderator
Suzanne Nossel, former Senior Advisor to Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke at
the US Mission to the UN, who in TURN introduced The Ambassador Bernard
Goonatilleke, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations.
The Ambassador first pointed out how Sri Lanka was not prepared for this
devastation, since the last earthquake and tsunami occurred in 1883. The
Ambassador then began highlighting the extent of the devastation in Sri
Lanka alone, by sharing the following facts:
* 30,800 dead and 6,380 missing totaling around 37,000.
* 441,000 people displaced.
* 89,000 houses totally damaged and 41,000 partially damaged.
* 19,630 fishing vessels totally destroyed which is 66% of the total
fishing industry.
* 7,560 fisherman are dead and another 7,686 missing.
* 90,000 of those fisherman's families have been displaced.
* Overall, 1.5 billion dollars needed to reconstruct Sri Lanka.
As of January 13, the following responses have been received by Sri
Lanka:
Immediately after the devastation the local government assisted the
communities until foreign aid came into the country. There was a rapid
response from India which was also affected. Ten thousand Indians died in
the devastation. Indians provided hospital assistance, rescue and medical
needs; Maldives also provided shipments of food and medical personnel.
Japan has pledged 500 million dollars, the United States pledged 350 million
dollars, and the European Union all together pledged about 2 billion
dollars. The need is great, since over 100 million dollars is needed JUST
to the fishing industry recover. In addition to governments, many NGO's,
religious organizations, and other concerned people are campaigning to
collect funds and do what they can. One remaining fear is that these
countries who pledged to give funds for relief efforts will not come
through.
"It is a heartwarming experience to receive all the pledges and support from
around the world" stated the Ambassador. The Ambassador then moved on to
focus on the recovery effort's goals both short and long term. The short
term goals are to:
1. Shelter the people.
2. Provide food and clean water.
3. Ensure adequate sanitation.
4. Provide medical assistance.
The need for food is immense since the demand is to feed close to half a
million people three times a day for every day to come.
Long term goals are to:
1. Build houses and find different land to build on since the shore
will no longer be appropriate for safe housing.
2. Reconstruct the infrastructure.
3. Preparation and tsunami detection.
The Ambassador shared the following fears that the international community
needs to address.
1. Fear that images of Dec 26 will go off the screen and be forgotten.
2. Fear that the pledges don'T come around as promised.
3. Fear that the warning system will not be in place. This could have
avoided the problem. UNESCO reported 2 years ago that an early warning
system would have cost $30 million, but thought it was too much to spend.
On January 18, the UN General Assembly will meet to come up with a
resolution regarding this devastation and its impact and recovery. Most
importantly, there will be a special Representative designated to be in
charge of these countries impacted by the tsunami.
Vanessa Tobin, Chief of the Water, Environment and Sanitation
Division of UNICEF,
made her presentation next highlighting how UNICEF is helping the relief
process. UNICEF with its partners has pledged 45 Million dollars to support
these countries in clean water supplies. UNICEF established water and
sanitation fund with THE Clinton Foundation and other partners SUCH as
OXFAM. Ms. Tobin focused on the other countries that wERE not covered by
the Ambassador and added the following facts:
* 106,000 dead in Indonesia, over 20 districts are affected.
* 5,00 dead in Taiwan, and many displaced.
* 21,000 people displaced in Moldavia.
In Indonesia, the UNICEF is working with CDC of Atlanta, getting health and
water
teams out to assess THE water quality situation and monitor. The goal is to
supply 15 Liters of water per person per day. The immediate need is to get
the sanitation to the camps where the displaced people are living. UNICEF
is also putting efforts on emergency preparedness. It is important to be
mindful that the displaced population is weak emotionally and physically.
They have not been eating balanced meals, havE NOT HAD their own
environments to rest and sleep IN, and are exposed to many diseases and are
susceptible to infection.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and others have warned that
those countries affected by the tsunami may not recover for a decade. With
the death toll expected to surpass 180,000, another 1.8 million individuals
are now in desperate need of food, according to UN emergency Relief
Coordinator Jan Egeland. The UN and all relief agencies are concerned BY
the enormity of the crisis, the anticipated respiratory and water-borne
disease expected to abound, and the amount of time it will take to get basic
services in afflicted countries up and running.
In the Q&A period Dr. Kalayjian thanked the speakers and asked
what has been done to address mental health and psychological needs of the
surviving community, and shared how the immune system gets suppressed when
one experiences mass trauma. SHE ALSO shared her efforts in mobilizing
professional psychologistS & psychiatrists to go to the impacted countries
and help train the trainers, and assist the community's healing process.
The Ambassador agreed that this was necessary and that the governments
acknowledge the need for psychological assistance. HE encouraged her to get
in touch with the NGO's already in those countries, and TO be mindful of the
language barrier.
For those mental health professionals who are interested in
volunteering their time to help the surviving communities kindly contact Dr.
Kalayjian at E-mail: [email protected], and pHone: 201 941-2266. For those
wishing to donate money to the project of the Mental Health Outreach to
Tsunami survivors, kindly send your tax deductible check to Association for
Disaster & Mass Trauma Studies, and send it to Dr. Kalayjian at 185 East
85th Street, NY NY 10028
Mental Health Outreach to Tsunami survivors
Association for Disaster & Mass Trauma Studies
185 East 85th Street, NY NY 10028
Tel: 201-941-2266
Email: [email protected]
Southeast Asian Tsunami: Response, Relief & Recovery
United Nations Association of the United States of America and the
Business Council for the United Nations
13 January 2005
Dr. Anie Kalayjian
This panel presentation began with Chair Al Branel introducing the moderator
Suzanne Nossel, former Senior Advisor to Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke at
the US Mission to the UN, who in TURN introduced The Ambassador Bernard
Goonatilleke, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations.
The Ambassador first pointed out how Sri Lanka was not prepared for this
devastation, since the last earthquake and tsunami occurred in 1883. The
Ambassador then began highlighting the extent of the devastation in Sri
Lanka alone, by sharing the following facts:
* 30,800 dead and 6,380 missing totaling around 37,000.
* 441,000 people displaced.
* 89,000 houses totally damaged and 41,000 partially damaged.
* 19,630 fishing vessels totally destroyed which is 66% of the total
fishing industry.
* 7,560 fisherman are dead and another 7,686 missing.
* 90,000 of those fisherman's families have been displaced.
* Overall, 1.5 billion dollars needed to reconstruct Sri Lanka.
As of January 13, the following responses have been received by Sri
Lanka:
Immediately after the devastation the local government assisted the
communities until foreign aid came into the country. There was a rapid
response from India which was also affected. Ten thousand Indians died in
the devastation. Indians provided hospital assistance, rescue and medical
needs; Maldives also provided shipments of food and medical personnel.
Japan has pledged 500 million dollars, the United States pledged 350 million
dollars, and the European Union all together pledged about 2 billion
dollars. The need is great, since over 100 million dollars is needed JUST
to the fishing industry recover. In addition to governments, many NGO's,
religious organizations, and other concerned people are campaigning to
collect funds and do what they can. One remaining fear is that these
countries who pledged to give funds for relief efforts will not come
through.
"It is a heartwarming experience to receive all the pledges and support from
around the world" stated the Ambassador. The Ambassador then moved on to
focus on the recovery effort's goals both short and long term. The short
term goals are to:
1. Shelter the people.
2. Provide food and clean water.
3. Ensure adequate sanitation.
4. Provide medical assistance.
The need for food is immense since the demand is to feed close to half a
million people three times a day for every day to come.
Long term goals are to:
1. Build houses and find different land to build on since the shore
will no longer be appropriate for safe housing.
2. Reconstruct the infrastructure.
3. Preparation and tsunami detection.
The Ambassador shared the following fears that the international community
needs to address.
1. Fear that images of Dec 26 will go off the screen and be forgotten.
2. Fear that the pledges don'T come around as promised.
3. Fear that the warning system will not be in place. This could have
avoided the problem. UNESCO reported 2 years ago that an early warning
system would have cost $30 million, but thought it was too much to spend.
On January 18, the UN General Assembly will meet to come up with a
resolution regarding this devastation and its impact and recovery. Most
importantly, there will be a special Representative designated to be in
charge of these countries impacted by the tsunami.
Vanessa Tobin, Chief of the Water, Environment and Sanitation
Division of UNICEF,
made her presentation next highlighting how UNICEF is helping the relief
process. UNICEF with its partners has pledged 45 Million dollars to support
these countries in clean water supplies. UNICEF established water and
sanitation fund with THE Clinton Foundation and other partners SUCH as
OXFAM. Ms. Tobin focused on the other countries that wERE not covered by
the Ambassador and added the following facts:
* 106,000 dead in Indonesia, over 20 districts are affected.
* 5,00 dead in Taiwan, and many displaced.
* 21,000 people displaced in Moldavia.
In Indonesia, the UNICEF is working with CDC of Atlanta, getting health and
water
teams out to assess THE water quality situation and monitor. The goal is to
supply 15 Liters of water per person per day. The immediate need is to get
the sanitation to the camps where the displaced people are living. UNICEF
is also putting efforts on emergency preparedness. It is important to be
mindful that the displaced population is weak emotionally and physically.
They have not been eating balanced meals, havE NOT HAD their own
environments to rest and sleep IN, and are exposed to many diseases and are
susceptible to infection.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and others have warned that
those countries affected by the tsunami may not recover for a decade. With
the death toll expected to surpass 180,000, another 1.8 million individuals
are now in desperate need of food, according to UN emergency Relief
Coordinator Jan Egeland. The UN and all relief agencies are concerned BY
the enormity of the crisis, the anticipated respiratory and water-borne
disease expected to abound, and the amount of time it will take to get basic
services in afflicted countries up and running.
In the Q&A period Dr. Kalayjian thanked the speakers and asked
what has been done to address mental health and psychological needs of the
surviving community, and shared how the immune system gets suppressed when
one experiences mass trauma. SHE ALSO shared her efforts in mobilizing
professional psychologistS & psychiatrists to go to the impacted countries
and help train the trainers, and assist the community's healing process.
The Ambassador agreed that this was necessary and that the governments
acknowledge the need for psychological assistance. HE encouraged her to get
in touch with the NGO's already in those countries, and TO be mindful of the
language barrier.
For those mental health professionals who are interested in
volunteering their time to help the surviving communities kindly contact Dr.
Kalayjian at E-mail: [email protected], and pHone: 201 941-2266. For those
wishing to donate money to the project of the Mental Health Outreach to
Tsunami survivors, kindly send your tax deductible check to Association for
Disaster & Mass Trauma Studies, and send it to Dr. Kalayjian at 185 East
85th Street, NY NY 10028