Cak Fu

I. Introduction.

It is not deniable that during disasters happen some survivors becoming disabled. At the time of struggle to save their life some of them can be lose parts of their body (leg, arm, etc) and also psychologically may suffer from trauma. Particularly for disabled victims –people who become disabled during the disaster-, they are not only physically injury but also deals with psychological problem as well as social problem which are a consequence of their disabilities.

Sometimes the disabled victims more suffer from social problem than their disabilities itself. In the traditional communities they couldn’t be accepted fully by the society and their family as other able body. The society views disabled people as an invaluable person who is less capability and dependent. This view affects psychologically to disabled victims who become lose self confidence and self-esteem and it becomes a barrier of them to participate in the social activities. Shortly, disabled victims challenge a harder challenge in the society then other survivors after the disaster.

This paper explains the life condition of people who become disabled during the disaster. What they feel internally (psychologically) to be disabled will be elaborated with the social perception towards disabled people. As a case study, this paper will be based on Indonesia context which is most affected by the biggest tsunami disaster 2004 and culturally the society still has negative perception toward disability and disabled people.

II. Disabled People in Indonesia.

Indonesia is the biggest country in South East Asia region with 203.5 million populations. The prevalence of disabled people was 1.46 million equal with 0.74 percent of total population. This number contrasts with WHO estimation that estimated one of ten persons is disabled people. In addition female disabled people population is higher than male disabled people. However, they are still facing both structural and social discrimination in participating to the social activities.

The structural discrimination is that the government policies lack of disability awareness. Public facilities in Indonesia are becoming a problem for disabled people, in term of availability, space, and safety. Almost all public facilities are not accessible for disabled people and without providing special access for wheelchair.

This condition becomes worse by existing of social discrimination toward disabled people. Social perception of disability is the main barrier for disabled people to move forward in the social participation. Most of Indonesian people, especially in the rural area, have negative perception to the disabled people. There are some myths and stereotypes which stigmatized to the disabled people.

Culturally, some people believe that disability is a curse or punishment from God of sin committed by the disabled person or her/his parents. This social stigma not only affects psychologically to behavior of disabled people but also the attitude of society towards them. Disabled people in Indonesia are generally not encouraged to develop personally themselves and feel inferior when socializing with other people. Moreover, they are not considered a valuable member of society and as a result they live as a marginal group in the society.

III. Disabled People in the Society.

A. The Definition of Disability

It is still debatable among the social scientists to distinguish who should be called as disabled person. Some sociologists have a definition on disability which is related to the medical term, while the others prefer to use a social term on disability. The medical term is related to physically impairment of the person which is caused by sickness.
A person who is recognized as being disabled is basically one who is unable to help him or herself practically (lame, crippled, amputated) or is constrained in his or her activities by one or another disabling condition (blindness, deformity, epilepsy or others).(Talle:1995).

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization definition of disability is based on the model of the International Classification of Diseases. The disability is defined as any loss or abnormality of psychological, physiological, or anatomical structure or function.(WHO:1980) Disability has been defined as biological or physical impairment that limits major life activities like walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, and performing manual tasks. (White: 1990:197-198) Thus, disability in medical term is an impairment which is understood as any restriction or lack of ability to perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being (Allen & Allen: 1995).

The disability studies have led us to move forwards in looking at the disability from medical term to social term. Socially, the disability was constructed by the society by prescribing of standard for functional independence, capabilities, and social reciprocity. When people’s functioning or biological composition is not within the realm of these standards, they are assumed to be inferior and are subject to a decrease in inclusion of society.( Hahn :1998). The term of disability itself has been constructed by society when the concept of normal body and ideal body emerged in nineteen century. The idea is when there are some people do not fit with the average of normal body either physical or psychological, they are considered as abnormal body or disabled body.

B. Social Stigmas on Disabled People

Bodily difference has for centuries determined social structures by defining certain bodies as the norm, and defining those which fall outside the norm as ‘Other’; with the degree of ‘Otherness’ being defined by the degree of variation from the norm. In doing this, we have created an artificial ‘paradigm of humanity’ into which some of us fit neatly, and others fit very badly. (Clapton and Fitzgerald :1998).Then when the outsider is present, people start to create the evidence of attribution for the outsider should be by putting categories that already exist in the society. This cultural cognitive process is used as foundation to create a stigma on certain group of people. In this way disabled people are stigmatized to be a certain group together with several kinds of specific characteristics.

Disabled people are stigmatized based on their differences from the normally people use to be. The process of creating stigma is based on human differences as E. Goffman (1963) states that stigma is equivalent to undesired differentness. While what is considered as undesired depend on the social context in which it is defined by the majority group. From this point, it can be seen that stigma is close related to the possessing power or the dominant group that can determine which group of people are desired or undesired.

Stigma is generally accepted to be an “attribute that is deeply discrediting” that reduces the bearer “from a whole and usual person to a tainted, discounted one” (Goffman 1963). Link and Phelan (2001) describe stigma as occurring when four interrelated components—distinguishing and labeling differences; associating human differences with negative attributes; separating ‘us’ from ‘them’; and status loss and discrimination—converge in the context of social, economic, and political power. Stigmatization often leads to discrimination, which refers to any form of distinction, exclusion, or restriction affecting a person by virtue of a personal characteristic (Gilmore and Somerville 1994). So, stigmatization is a dynamic process that arises from the perception that there has been a violation of a set of shared attitudes, beliefs, and values. These can lead to prejudicial thoughts, behaviors, and/or actions on the part of governments, communities, employers, health care providers, coworkers, friends, and families.

IV. Disabled Victims and Psychological Effect of Disaster

Person who becomes disabled during the disaster experiences such new psychological phenomena. Depression is the first psychological experience when the disabled victims release that a part of their body has already changed. Depression is a normal and usually transitory reaction to life’s hassles—minor failures, disappointment, disruption. (Ghotlib and Hammen : 1992). Ghotlib and Hammen also explain that sometimes depression is completed by other negative mood condition such as negative thoughts and feeling about oneself and pessimism about the future, physical experiences of low energy, as well as reduced feelings of pleasure and motivation. Becoming a normal body, as explained above, is idealized by every person to be an asset to encourage his or her self-esteem and self-confidence in the social interaction. In contrast, becoming disabled is a disappointment or pity that can result on reducing the self-confidence of the persons.
Depression which is the first psychological reaction of disabled victims in the disaster later on leads to a changed personality. The negative social perception have affected to the way disabled person looks at her or him self. Disabled victims are feeling inferior, shame, and may hopeless because it is constructed by the society that disability is a devaluated condition. As a results, this condition influences to her or his self confidence where self-confidence can be seen as the product or result of one’s past experience. It is related to one’s value system, to one’s system of strategies to deal with solving real-life problems, to knowledge of self, to one’s general outlook. (Rothchild: 1970). Meanwhile, Indonesian society still has negative perception in looking at the disabled person. People with disabilities are more often considered an embarrassment. In certain community, disability is believed as punishment from the God. Therefore, this perception develops into the main barrier faced by people who become disabled during the disaster.

V. Encourage the Disabled Victims

Disabled victims of disaster are more suffering from the social treatment rather than their disability. This circumstance is beyond from humanitarian assistance issue which is only focusing on helping vulnerability groups such as women and children. It is not clear whether the disabled people and disabled victims are considered as vulnerable group in Humanitarian Assistance issue. As discussed in this paper that disabled victims experience a complex situation regarding their physical impairment and changed their psychological aspect. Therefore, special assistance is needed to encourage the disabled victims.

Giving the psychological aids to encourage the disabled victims is recommended even under adverse conditions or circumstances besides providing the material aids such as food, water, and other basic needs. Certainly, it consumes more energy for humanitarian workers, however psychological support to the victims must be provided. There are some activities that can be advised to support psychologically to disabled victims based on their disability. Disaster can produces a wide variety of disability. Some people may be lose their arm, leg, visual, or even psychological function. These different levels of impairment produce different type of social and psychological experience. (Eiesland: 1994). The dissimilar experiences of disabled victims should be accommodated as a reference for humanitarian worker who provides psychological help to disabled victims. In addition, should be assumed that each person has different characteristic. So, each of them may need different treatment in helping to encourage psychologically to be included in the community.

Generally, the first aid which is necessary given to disabled victims is minimizing the physical barriers by providing special facilities. However, suffering from physical barrier indirectly influence psychologically to the person. As example, before getting disabled he or she was able to taking care his or her self and now after become disabled the person is only waiting for help from the others. This condition results on the feeling invaluable and inferior of the person. Adjusting to a new condition for disabled victims is time needed and minimizing physical barrier for them also lead to minimizing psychological suffer. Providing psychological support can be the second assistance to encourage disabled victims. The changed psychological condition which is experienced by disabled victims need to be minimized so that it doesn’t lead to the serious psychological disorder. It may be difficult to provide psychological counseling center in the refugee camp. The alternative solution that can be rational is provisioning to humanitarian workers regarding disabled victims awareness. Due to the psychological condition of disabled victims is more sensitive than the other personals feeling, therefore in this situation humanitarian workers play an important role in supporting them. Empathic individuals are aware and sensitive to others’ difficulties (Davis:1996). As mediators, introspectiveness and empathy must be correlated with our outcomes, but existing literature provides little direct evidence on that matter. Theory and some related research, however, offer grounds for expecting associations among introspectiveness, empathy, and our outcomes. Self theory suggests that socio emotional exchanges and appraisals shape the self-concept (Rosenberg, 1992). Presenting to be friend of and pay attention to disabled victims is required for humanitarian field workers in order to encourage self- confidence of disabled victims. By encouraging their self confidence, expectantly the disabled victims can participate fully in the social activities after the disaster.

VI. Conclusion

Indian Tsunami disaster has created the most sorrow in the world, especially Aceh which is the nearest area to epicenter. Thousands of people dead and hundred thousand of survivors are living in refugee camp. The disaster also has resulted on a number of disabled victims who injured during the time of struggle to save their life. The disabled victims face a different experience among the other survivor as they suffer from such psychological condition which is a consequence of their disability. The negative social perception on disability in traditional societies is responsible in creating a psychological affliction of disabled victims. Therefore, the special treatments to them are recommended to decrease their suffering. The humanitarian agents should aware with the disabled victims’ condition and set up a specific program to encourage them.[cak fu @2005]

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