Inside
Akora Khattak, 600 boys and 300 girls attend class in a clay-brick school
supported by Human Concerns International. They call that part of the camp
Hope Village. All of these children are considered orphans because their
fathers have been killed. The curriculum for both girls and boys consists
of literacy and job training. Girls are taught sewing and carpet making,
while the boys learn carpentry and metal working. The products they manufacture
are sold to help meet the expenses of running Hope Village.
Human Concerns International provided funding for the MU team to establish a
counseling center within the camp, which opened the first week of March. Two
Pakistani psychiatrists and a social worker have been hired.
But it wasn’t easy, team members said.
The first step often involves convincing the local mental-health workers that
they have experienced trauma themselves.
Their first response is "we have no psychological problems," said Husain,
director of the MU psychosocial trauma center.
The team frequently finds that psychological and behavioral problems caused by
trauma are not discussed and recognized for what they are - normal responses
to crisis events. Once the trainees recognize that the flashbacks, sleep problems,
depression and suicidal thoughts they are having are shared by others, they become
very interested in learning about how to deal with these symptoms, Husain explained.
At Hope Village, the team worked with 60 trainees, including 22 teachers.
" All of our classes were translated into the Pashtun language," Husain
said. "We were fortunate to have a very good interpreter, a psychiatrist
who we hired to be one of the staff of the new counseling center we established."
The Pakistani psychiatrists and social worker have a difficult task in front
of them. The MU team reported observing:
*More than 80 percent of the adults who were examined at the refugee camp outside
Peshawar exhibited signs of anxiety, depression and other mental disorders, which
often lead to child abuse. Most are prescribed psychotropic drugs.
*Young students who have lost siblings or parents to violence have a difficult
time time concentrating in school. Many are afraid to leave their homes.
*A woman in the maternity ward at a local hospital developed a psychosis after
her parents and family were killed and she was sold to another man. She had disorganized
speech and behavior.
*A former psychology teacher who was injured by a rocket reported that eight
of his 17 children had been killed.
The MU team plans to bring six to 10 of these students to Columbia this summer
for additional training.
" These students really engaged with us," said Whitaker, who conducted
a session on utilizing art as therapy.
