Issue 4, March 2009

There has been an enormous response to the Victorian bushfire disaster over the past 5 weeks. The Australian community has responded by reaching out to support those affected by the bushfires in every way that they can.

The communities and people affected by the bushfires are all facing difficult and varied circumstances and emotions and this has meant that providing a response to these communities has been complex. The diversity of challenges is highlighted by the concern that the recent heavy rains could result in flooding in some bushfire affected areas. Many people have been displaced and are still experiencing some sense of shock, while others have been able to start to make plans for their lives after the bushfires. Recognising the many different pathways people may take to deal with their experiences is crucial.

One of the important developments for children has been the re-opening of schools, providing them with some return to normalcy as well as the support of their peers and teachers. However, teachers and other school staff are now not only faced with how they can respond to their own feelings of grief and loss, but also how they can respond to their students feelings, emotions and behaviours.

We know that in the early phase of disasters there is great rallying of support - the disaster is reported in the newspapers and those affected feel the concern and the compassion directed towards them. But it is now, over the coming weeks and months, that the ongoing challenges of the aftermath will be progressively felt. These range from the recognition of the difficulties in rebuilding one’s home, one’s life, one’s community; the challenges facing many children with new and different school settings; the challenges of the triggers and reminders reactivating memories and traumatic experiences, and renewing the reminders of grief.

This is a time when the good will is still there and resources are there to support recovery – and yet the complexity and the stress of accessing resources can bring a new set of frustrations. People may be hesitant to seek help because they feel fortunate to have survived or that others are so much worse off. Sometimes people feel abandoned, because everyone seems to be focussed on the next crisis or even some seemingly “trivial” incident is on the front pages. Children will be particularly sensitive to such reverberations of ongoing concern and uncertainty and will need reassurance about love and continuity in their care. This is difficult when parents themselves might feel despairing about the next problems they and their families face, the next resources they need to find;and when they may feel that they themselves need comforting too.

In the coming months it is very important that children, young people, and their families, know that support from the many government and other agencies involved, and from within their own communities will be there “for the long haul” and “for as long as it takes”; that the great resilience and strength that people have will be supported along their various journeys of recovery.