Old Scars and New Wounds: Christians Comfort Lebanon's Trauma (Part 2)
(A Christian ministry is on standby in Beirut, Lebanon to offer support to those suffering the trauma of the Beirut blast on August 4th. Following is the conclusion to last week's blog, which an IDEAS Associate living in Beirut wrote for Christianity Today on September 9th, 2020.)
. . . "I wish we had a well-trained team of Christian counselors, ready to help in times of trauma, whose names are known," said Celia Khater, chief counselor at Beirut Baptist School (BBS).
"The secular world has its own organizations, but we as a Christian community do not."
After the explosion IDRAAC (the Beirut-based secular organization founded in 1997) opened a hotline, as did the American University in Beirut Medical Center. Embrace has operated an emotional support and suicide prevention hotline since 2017, in cooperation with the Ministry of Public Health. Such groups prioritize public awareness campaigns, to remove the mental health taboo from society.
"The priority for the church is to preach Christ," said Tony Skaff, pastor of Badaro Baptist Church, who believes the techniques of psychology can be helpful though they will fall short of full healing, without the gospel.
"But these secular organizations push me. I wish that we could have helped them first."
Unaware to many, there is a Christian ministry on standby.
"Sometimes there is not enough information," said Maya Saleh, trauma healing coordinator for the Bible Society of Lebanon. "But we are not unknown."
Since 2015, her team has conducted trainings through the Bible-based Trauma Healing Institute, affiliated with the American Bible Society. There are around 300 facilitators, 25 of whom have told Saleh they can be on call.
After the explosion, she offered them to several dozen churches and faith-based organizations in Beirut, to train others or to assist with healing groups. Last week, they reached 28 children in Ashrafieh, one of the neighborhoods hardest hit by the blast.
Some children had witnessed blood dripping down the faces of their loved ones.
The Strategy& assessment found 31 percent of Beirut families were "severely impacted." This included 16 percent suffering a serious injury, 7 percent forced to relocate, and 5 percent grieving the death of a relative.
But given that Lebanese have endured historic trauma, they are well prepared to minister to others. That is the hope of Resurrection Church of Beirut (RCB), and filters into their team of about 50 clean-up volunteers,37 of which received basic training in psychological first aid.
"Most people are not aware they need mental health care," said Khalaf, an RCB member. "But in cleaning their homes and giving supplies, you listen to their story and offer support.
"It is not formal, but it is therapeutic."
She explained that the signs to listen for are mood changes, restlessness, anxiety, and a desire to be left alone.
They tell people this is normal, and answer many spiritual questions.
They also gently inform of therapy options. But in most cases, Khalaf said, if people are helped in the beginning, they won't need much ongoing care.
"A meaningful response to an explosion of this volume,that brings healing to the soul,doesn't require a curriculum, but a person and a community," said Hikmat Kashouh, pastor of RCB.
"Our civil war experiences help us stand with the traumatized, as those with old scars can tend to new wounds."
Sometimes, it is the children who do the healing.
During the cooped-up months of COVID-19, evangelical satellite TV provider SAT-7 launched its Allo Marianne program. Aiming to provide a safe space for children to express their emotions, they had no idea how necessary the show would become.
After the explosion, host Marianne Awaraji encouraged viewers to draw, to ask questions, and to worship. She also asked them to pray for their friends in Beirut.
The lines were flooded with callers throughout the Arab world,praying for their friends at SAT-7.
"Our goal at SAT-7 is to always support the kids," Awaraji said.
"But now, they felt it was their turn to support us."
Back in Karantina, however, few families would still have satellite TV. And one month since the explosion, there remain far too few Lebanese therapists to meet the mental health needs.
But with the minimum training, MCC's Mayhew reminded, anyone can help.
"Emotional scars are just as serious as physical scars," she said.
"And restoring people to wholeness is part of the gospel, as people created in the image of God."
*This post is an excerpt from the original that was written and posted for Christianity Today on September 9, 2020. Click here for the original article.
About the Author: Jayson and his family are IDEAS Associates who have lived in the North Africa/Middle East region for 15 years. Click here to read other stories and articles from Jayson's work as a journalist with Christianity Today.