Six months on, the 12 January earthquake continues to haunt many
Haitians who have been deeply traumatised by the unprecedented
trail of death and destruction. Many families are today still
struggling to come to terms with the loss of their loved ones.

The grief remains, but Haitians are a resilient people and hope
is returning to the lives of many with the help of church, music
and other cultural activities.

 

Heartbroken parents continue to mourn the loss of their children
and the country now has to assist tens of thousands of traumatized
orphans.

The grief of the survivors is aggravated by the fact that many
did not have the opportunity to pay their final respects as bodies
were hastily buried in mass graves in the days that followed the
quake.

The trauma suffered by many of the 1, 5 million displaced
persons currently living in camps often manifests itself by an
overpowering feeling of weariness, exhaustion and lack of appetite
and desire for life.

"Why should I work now that I have lost my precious ones and 35
years of my life," sobs Myrlaine Paul, who lost her two children
who were buried under the rubble of her house.

Yet, despite all the grieving and suffering, life has to go on
for traumatized survivors who can benefit from a degree of
psychosocial support provided by various groups and organizations,
including the IOM. 

A variety a support activities are being organized in camps,
churches, schools and other humanitarian institutions to help
survivors resume their own productive lives.

In the Champs de Mars camp, a psychosocial clinic has been set
up in the grounds of the Faculty of Ethnology, which provides daily
counselling to traumatised camp residents.

On Place Boyer in Pétion-ville, films, documentaries and
video clips are regularly played on giant screens to large
audiences. "It allows me to relax and I always feel better
afterwards," says Martine who particularly enjoyed the video
performance of Barikad Crew, a famous local hip-hop group.

 

Similarly, sporting events take place in camps for young people who
are always eager to take part. In park Sainte Thérèse
at the periphery of Petion-ville, teams of young players regularly
participate in hotly contested tournaments.

For younger children, "Plas timoun" or "The Children's Place" is
probably the best known initiative. Set up by the first lady Mme
Elisabeth Préval, "The Children's Place" allows children to
take part in recreational and educational activities. With the help
of local educators, children engage in drawing and painting,
dancing and story telling.

With funding from the Swedish International Development
Cooperation Agency (Sida), IOM has deployed multidisciplinary teams
to camps. They include psychologists, social workers and
performers.

"We've deployed several teams since March in and around
Port-au-Prince," says IOM's Jean Jeune Desrisier. "Haitian culture
is at the heart of many of our activities. This allows children and
their parents to jointly take part with a view to further the
development of the little ones."

Dancing, painting, pottery making are among recreational
activities that aim to help community members come to terms with
their trauma.

In Tabarre Issa, which recently received some 500 families who
chose to relocate from the flood prone Vallée Bourdon, an
IOM psychosocial team help parents and children develop and put in
place community support groups.

According to IOM team member Jean Mozart Feron, the trauma
suffered sometimes leads families to simply lose their means of
communicating. "This is why we pay particular attention to helping
family members to talk and express their feelings as a first step
in the healing process."

Thirty-two year old Marjorie has been attending sessions
organized by Jean Mozart and his team. She says they "offer hope in
the future even if there are things I will never be able to
forget."

Jean Jeune Desrisier says very good results have been achieved
since the launch of the programme. "Traumatized children who had
lost all self esteem have regained confidence and joie de vivre.
They talk and play and look forward to the future."

He adds that awareness, prevention and direct intervention
appear to have reduced marital violence and violence against
children.   

He adds that the rebuilding of Haiti will only be successful
once the minds of the people of Haiti have found peace.