With the beginning of the new school semester, several students in south Jeddah schools remain traumatized by what they saw and experienced when the disastrous Nov. 25 floods hit their part of the city. Students who show symptoms of a lack of security resulting from the fear generated by the loss of their relatives and the destruction of their homes and schools, showed little desire to return to schools during the first few weeks of the semester. Dr. Maha Hariri, Counselor at Ilaf Center and member of the “psychological support and security family team” campaign, who has treated those affected by the flood trauma, said many different psychological cases have been noticed since the beginning of the second semester. A seven-year-old student has developed strong fear as a result of the Black Wednesday floods and she refuses to go to school. “The girl is scared and screams and cries all the time,” Dr. Hariri said. As part of the therapy applied to children psychologically affected by the floods, Dr. Hariri uses painting as a way of exploring what the children want to say in an indirect way. By allowing children to paint pictures, Dr. Hariri discovered that some were painting trees and houses with sharp corners indicating the fear and shock generated by the flood disaster. Dr. Hariri explained that children with psychological flood-related problems should receive special treatment from school, the community, and especially from their parents in order to overcome their fears. “Psychological specialists have conducted several sessions with the parents to teach them how to renew their relations with their children,” said Dr. Hariri. “Schools also have a huge impact on the child's attitude which is why we guide teachers to create different ideas to encourage children to come to schools again and to regain their trust, “ she added. Students who have returned to school for the second semester miss the friends with whom they used to study and play. Some of these friends were lost in the floods while others who lost their homes have moved to other parts of the city. Abdullah Al-Mutairi, a 15-year-old intermediate student, has moved to northern Jeddah until his family receives enough flood compensation money to rebuild their house. Abdullah, however, still remembers his school and his friends in Quwaizah, especially the ones who died in the floods. “I feel very sad when I think about losing my friends which is why I don't want to go back to the same school again,” he said. Students affected by the loss of family members and friends require psychological treatment in order to accept the sudden changes that have happened in their lives. Dr. Zahra Al-Mobie, a counselor at Ilaf Center and a campaign member, described the problems that students face after returning to school. Students who lost their relatives or friends are dealing with psychological pain and continual suffering, especially if they lost their sisters or brothers, she said. In the same way, parents who lost their children in the floods are now suffering with the start of the new semester as they watch other children go to school. Three months have passed since Black Wednesday, but parents still remember their children and how they filled their lives with joy and laughter. Abdullah Dakhel Al-Sulami, who lost all his family members (his wife, three sons, and two daughters), to this day cannot accept what happened to him and is till afflicted with pain. “Three months may be long time for many people, but for me I remember everything as if the disaster had happened yesterday,” Al-Sulami told Saudi Gazette. “That is why I have moved out of the area in order to escape the psychological problems,” he said. “I am trying to help my family (my mother and my sisters) forget this tragic event, especially as they saw my wife and children die in front of their eyes while I was away from home,” he added. One daughter remains with Menwer Al-Jehani who lost three others in the floods. He is striving to overcome the crisis so that his surviving daughter can lead a normal life. “I feel the spirit of my three girls everywhere. When I am at home, I remember how much they filled my life with joy,” he said. “No words can express my sorrow and sadness, but I have to try to get over this psychological shock in order to let my surviving daughter live a normal life,” he added.
