Samoans urged to deal with grief

There is a sense of optimism among Samoans displaced by the recent tsunami as a relief effort underpinned by goodwill, excellent co-ordination and the strength of Samoa's inherent social structure continues, say two Dunedin doctors back from working in the Pacific island nation.

However, the people of Samoa are not out of the woods, warn Drs Tai Sopoanga and Kim Ma'ia'i.

"Maintaining the level of co-ordination that is involved in organising the assistance required at the moment will be the thing. People are getting fatigued," said Dr Sopoanga.

And, while the strength of their extended families, communal village systems and faith had kept people going, they would still have to deal with their grief at some stage.

"People will need some sort of psychological assistance - particularly those who worked through the tsunami. A policewoman who looked after the morgue told me she can't sleep and she can't get the faces of the [dead] children out of her head."

Dr Sopoanga, a public health physician and the University of Otago Division of Sciences associate dean (Pacific), recently returned from a month in Samoa volunteering with the public health team working under the Samoan government's disaster management plan.

She worked with a team of local and international public health specialists on assessing and mapping what was needed where, in terms of water, sanitation, food and shelter.

She also helped set up communicable disease surveillance systems and assisted in health promotion.

The integration between the various teams working there was "fantastic" and meant everyone had a real sense of purpose, she said.

Dr Ma'ia'i, a GP and the head of the university's student health service, spent eight days last month working with a clinical response team.

He said there was going to be a "huge" need for people to work through their grief at some stage, but felt they would be more likely to seek such help from a pastor, rather than from psychologists who had come in from outside Samoa.

Staff of international relief organisations had said the Samoan situation was quite singular because the strength of extended family networks meant fragments of the community were not left without help, as was the case, for example, in Banda Aceh after the 2004 tsunami, he said.

"I think people coming in from outside expected refugee camps, but it was not like that. The natural social structure of Samoa worked well in this situation."

Samoan villages usually had a pastor or a village mayor to whom people turned for advice and instruction.

Few of those affected had nowhere to go and most had been taken in by extended families or other communities.

"The grace and humility of people under extreme duress - often they had lost multiple family members - was very humbling."

Dr Sopoanga said their faith was the key to an optimism in Samoa at the moment that people would get back to where they were before the tsunami and perhaps even come out of it a little better.

"In Samoa, we say our country is founded on God. We have an unwavering belief that whatever happens to us, we will get through it because we are looked after by God."

The thousands displaced from their homes were starting to rebuild their lives, with some deciding to rebuild homes by the sea, but others moving inland because of fears of another tsunami.

Many Samoans living outside the country had felt a strong need to get back to help and it was great to be there to help, but there was still much to be done, she said.

The pair were among a group of medical specialists who flew to Samoa to help in the wake of the tsunami.

Otago was the only New Zealand university to send people and Samoans were grateful for that support, Dr Sopoanga.

The generosity of the contributions and donations from Dunedin people had been overwhelming, she said.

debbie.porteous@odt.co.nz