Trauma victims of the earthquake get more social media attention than psychosocial support
ANJANA RAJBHANDARY
The chaos at the trauma centre of the hospital was alleviated by a number of volunteers who looked like they had just graduated high school. All visitors were stopped at the entrance and questioned before being let in.
Manoj, 23, stands next to his younger brother who has a swollen eye and a large bandage wrapped around his head.
“Doctors say he might need brain surgery if the swelling doesn’t go down,” says Manoj. “I feel guilty because he got hurt at home and I was not there.”
There is a sense of sadness attached to every bed in the room. Some patients accompanied by families and some alone, waiting for a familiar face to walk in the front door.
Manoj catches my attention again and says, “If you take a picture of my brother for the newspaper, can I be in it too?”
An overwhelming number of international media landed in Kathmandu after the earthquake and then spread to all affected areas. Media coverage has however not matched relief and aid.
"Media does help in spreading awareness but it mostly focuses on the sad stories, there should be more focus on positive stories," says Nir Prakash Giri, chairperson of Mental Health Foundation. "There is need for psychosocial support post disasters and it is being provided but there is lack of proper coordination among such organisations"
Giri added that despite the existence of a mental health network, there is not enough coordinated effort, which would make the psychosocial help more effective and available to a wider population.
On the third floor of the hospital, a nurse introduces me to Kelsang who looks seven. The nurse says Kelsang gets a lot of attention and may have trauma issues. She was lying on her side facing the wall, her hair unkempt probably because it had not been brushed since the first big earthquake.
Her young uncle who is next to her says, "Her mother passed away in the earthquake and her father works in the Gulf, don’t know when he is coming back.”
Kelsang continues to lay on her side, mute like a statue.
“She has not talked since the earthquake,” says the nurse. “She also broke her arm and doesn’t look at anyone.”
This little girl is not the only one in the ward who has lost her parent in this unfortunate disaster.
Before leaving Kelsang the nurse says, "Journalists and media come here, take a picture and get basic information on what happened to her and leave. That’s the end of it".
Krista Rajkarnikar, psychologist says, "I have noticed a high level of anxiety and numbness among people, they did witness and experience a massive loss, many will require long term care."
On the next floor, there are fewer people. A group of women lay on one side. In the other corner a man in his forties is leading a discussion about politics and principles of life. “So the baby made it to the cover of every international newspaper and is still living under a tent,” he says, “the thousands of likes and shares on Facebook mean nothing.”