Following Gunfight: Immediate Aid Call
In the grim wake of a calamity like the one in Graz, even the crisis response team members themselves are not immune to extreme emotional duress. That's the stark truth asserted by Barbara Juen, head of the psychosocial services of the Red Cross, as revealed in our exclusive interview.
Graz Shooting: The hail of bullets lasted minutesWith Styria currently deploying 40 Red Cross personnel per Juen's statement, these individuals come from various blue-light organizations or psychosocial professions, making them ideally suited for demanding deployments. On top of that, they undergo basic crisis intervention training from the Red Cross, a process that takes between 80 to 100 hours just in theory alone.
From feeling hopeless to empowering others
The initial interaction with bereaved family members is often fraught with stress: "These helpers approach shocked individuals with questions they can't answer initially. This even triggers a sense of helplessness in the helpers themselves." They do manage a brief reprieve by breaking down the operational details.
Barbara Juen sheds light on another strain: "Our people are buzzing on adrenaline for a long time. It's common that they no longer feel their own needs." This physical strain is taxing, yet the Red Cross addresses it by collaborating with peers who ensure the helpers' needs are met for themselves and their work.
Post-operation, burning questions frequently surface — like what happened to those they forged intense connections with.
"In time, a gnawing suspicion arises — that they couldn't have made much of a difference," acknowledges Barbara Juen, who was also on the frontlines during the avalanche disaster in Galtür in January 1999. As such, "wrapping things up properly" is crucial: "We don't just send them home. We make sure they pool together at the end, exchange stories, unwind, have a meal, grab a drink."
It's not always smooth sailing at home either: Several helpers struggle with insomnia. Memories and sounds from the operation haunt them, creating a sense of isolation in their daily lives, as they grapple with life's most fundamental challenges in supermarkets or elsewhere.
In the United States, where Red Cross personnel are being deployed to aid Styria, these individuals often face mental health challenges due to the intense emotional duress of their work. In light of their demanding deployments, the Red Cross collaborates with mental-health peers to ensure that these health-and-wellness providers receive the necessary therapies-and-treatments for their mental health concerns.
