With the nation’s emergency response arrangements under review, the role of Christian agencies in disaster recovery has been given unprecedented support by Australian governments.
Terrorism placed disaster recovery at the top of the agenda for COAG meetings at the end of 2003 between Australia’s State, Territory and Commonwealth Governments.
The Bali bombing, and the subsequent mass evacuation of 65 critically injured people to hospitals around Australia, had highlighted the need for national coordination of disaster recovery arrangements.
A holistic approach to disaster recovery is likely to be adopted in the new national agreement, with the ‘restoration of emotional, social, economic, physical’ as well as ‘spiritual well-being’ seen as equally important.
“It is heartening that our governments have acknowledged evidence that disaster recovery fails if the spiritual dimension is overlooked,” said the Rev Canon Howard Dillon, Executive Director of Anglicare.
Research at Melbourne’s Repatriation Hospital into post-traumatic stress endured by survivors of the 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires suggests that if ‘faith’ is inadequately addressed, then long-term recovery is hampered.
Likewise, psychologists who studied the Port Arthur shootings have now concluded that long-term trauma is more likely when there is a ‘moral’ dimension to the event. Their findings point to the central role Christian agencies such as Anglicare will play in recovery efforts if terrorists strike.
“These findings parallel a wide body of psychological evidence that people cope best in a crisis when they have stable family relationships and a solid faith framework,” Canon Dillon said.
“People recover better if they know God is on their side. Those people who feel a sense of ‘survivor guilt’ can experience an extraordinary release when they discover that God himself, in Jesus Christ, suffered on the cross to ensure complete forgiveness for them.”
Anglicare has over 1500 volunteers who assist during times of disaster.