Invisible wounds

It has been 20 years since the tsunami in the Indian Ocean swept away 230,000 lives and dashed the hopes of millions, on 26 December 2004. It did not take long to realise that the reconstruction could not be just material. Those people who were shouting their rage at the sea, because they had seen their loved ones die, and their dreams shatter, were also in need of psychological support. It was then that international humanitarian agencies learned their first lesson: in emergency situations, mental health is a key factor in any intervention. The response was massive but fragmented. Operators who had come from different places in the world had different approaches and got in each other’s way. The point of no return was a census that found 27 different organizations working in one rural community with only 50 families. And here was the ...