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Psychological trauma dogs quake-survivor children

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Frightened by an aftershock, five-year-old Ridam Bhandari (left) jumped off a three-story house on April 29 and sustained head injury. He is being treated at Om Hospital, Kathmandu.
By No Author
KATHMANDU, May 9: Ridam Bhandari, 5, survived the catastrophic earthquake of April 25 with his parents in their rented quarters at Gangahiti, Chabahil. His parents' joy knew no bounds at their son's mettle in coping with the quake and as the whole family survived.

But as aftershock persisted after April 25, his parents slept in the open ground as the top priority was to save their lives. And they failed to notice the psychological trauma their son was undergoing.


On the fourth day since the first quake, a panicked Ridam jumped from the window of a three-storied building as soon as he felt an aftershock.

"We were on the third floor at my parental home and as soon as the aftershock hit, he jumped down the window," said Rita Bhandari, his mother.

She said they looked for him in the various rooms after the tremor but couldn't find him. "Our neighbors had already rushed him to hospital," she told Republica.

On Friday morning at Om Hospital, the boy's head was tilted to the right most of the time. Sitting on his parents' laps at one of the hospital beds, he would hide his face and gesture abnormally.

"He screams Abui Abui in fear most of the time and doesn't want to leave us for even a while. We are very worried by his abnormal behavior," said Rita Bhandari in a tearful voice.

She added that he has been exhibiting a range of abnormal behavior since April 25.

The boy, who sustained head injuries, was discharged on Friday. He is one of the children who survived the catastrophic earthquake but has not been able to cope with the psychological stress.

This case illustrates the lack of awareness of the need for psychological therapy for children during times of emergency. Given the obvious problems facing children who have lost their parents such as education, shelter and other basic needs, their psychological problems tend to get neglected.

Research has shown that child survivors of earthquakes often exhibit anxiety, animosity, depression and various other sign of post-traumatic stress. However, the government's lack of a nuanced approach to such reactions of children in a post-earthquake situation may pose long-term problems for them.

Either due to the government's focus on other crushing priorities like food, shelter and water or lack of resources for dealing with post-traumatic stress and the stigma attached to psychotherapy, quake children may be forced to live with this psychological legacy.

Child psychologist Dr. Ganga Pathak said that children might continue to have Post Trauma Stress Disorder (PTSD) if they are not given proper psychological treatment.

"Quake survivor children will be suffering from congnitive, behavioral, social and emotion problems if they are not treated on time," Dr Pathak said.



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