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POSKO POST Edisi 4/2008 http://www.posko-post.blogspot.com Score for Red Cross Karuna Nisevanam 148 Corporate Identity PMI

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Posko Post 4th e-magazine 4th edition.

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Page 1: Posko Post 4th

POSKO POSTEdisi 4/2008

http://www.posko-post.blogspot.com

Score for Red CrossKaruna Nisevanam 148Corporate Identity PMI

Page 2: Posko Post 4th

Posko Postedisi 4/2008

e-mail: [email protected]: www.posko-post.blogspot.com

visit our weblog!http://posko-post.blogspot.com

Kebebasan berpendapat dilindungi UU.

POSKO POST menerima sumbangan tulisan sepu-tar kepalangmerahan. Redaksi berhak menyunting naskah yang masuk. Kirimkan naskah melalui e-mail [email protected] disertai foto diri.

Salam Kami

Siamo Tutti Frattelli, Inter Arma Caritas.

Tajuk diatas agaknya berlebihan, apalagi mengingat bahwa bukan Goenawan Moham-mad atau Rosihan Anwar yang menulis. Mung-kin hal tersebut merepresentasikan kondisi saat ini. Bagi sebagian kalangan, satu masalah akan menjebak pada masalah lainnya. Bahkan pada sosok yang seharusnya bagi orang kebanyakan menganggap, tidak bermasalah. Parlemen, sebuah lembaga yang diisi idealis-idealis dari partai yang beberapa idealis mengatasnamakan rakyat terjebak lingkaran setan: uang, wanita dan kekuasaan. Seolah ter-perosok dan berubah wajah, menjadi apa yang Iwan Fals sebut sebagai ‘tikus-tikus kantor’. Separuh tahun berlalu, tengok sebentar ke belakang, apa yang sudah kita perbuat? Pada diri kita, untuk orang lain. Jika masih ditemu-kan celah, kurangi. Atau justru terbalik? Kita terlalu asyik dengan orang lain dan melupakan hak atas diri kita sendiri. Perlu di-sinkron-kan pula. Bahwa falsafah hidup bukan sekedar idealisme yang keterlaluan, yang menyeret pada fanatisme sempit. Hidup bukankah bejana yang penuh pembelajaran, lalu kenapa kita masih berdiam dan enggan untuk terus, terus dan terus belajar. Di atas langit masih ada langit. Sebuah hadits bahkan bertutur, tuntutlah ilmu

sampai ke negeri Cina. Saat itu mencapai Cina memerlukan perjuangan berlipat. Sekarang, di-mana perjalanan itu bisa dipangkas waktunya, kenapa tidak memakai falsafah yang sama? Edisi Keempat, dan PP masih terus ber-benah agar mampu menyajikan konten menarik dan bermutu, tak sekedar berita harian membo-sankan yang dipenuhi kabar korupsi, suap atau narkoba. Menunggu metamorfosa, hingga bisa padat berisi dan dijadikan salah satu rujukan. Ya, muara ilmu tak pandang bulu, dari siapa saja, dari mana saja. Siap menghadapi tantangan baru : mem-buat anda selalu menantikan PP edisi berikut-nya, atau menambah halaman agar tak lekas kelar membaca, menikmati sajian kami. Keter-batasan kami membuat edisi kali ini cukup jauh jaraknya dengan terbitan sebelumnya. Beberapa berita pun tak jadi naik karena terlanjur basi, tak layak lagi ditampilkan. Kami ucapkan selamat menikmati sa-jian kali ini. Semoga masih dapat memberikan sedikit informasi yang berguna. Salam.

Siamo Tutti Frattelli, Inter Arma Caritas.

Redaksi Posko Poste-mail: [email protected] http://posko-post.blogspot.com

Pun Idealisme Terguncang

Page 3: Posko Post 4th

Membantu Lewat Gol

Sepakbola dan kemanusiaan, agaknya dua hal yang bertolak belakang bagi sebagian orang. Meski demikian, dalam berbagai kesempatan sepakbola menunjukkan kepedulian dengan ikut serta menyumbang dana bagi kemanusiaan, tak ketinggalan even akbar yang baru saja berlalu, EURO 2008.

Federasi Sepakbola Eropa (UEFA) dan ICRC telah sepakat bekerjasama memberikan bantuan kepada korban konflik yang bersenjata. ICRC dipilih sebagai mitra untuk menyalurkan bantuan yang dihimpun selama penyelenggaraan UERO 2008, 7-29 Juni di Austria dan Swiss. UEFA berjanji menyumbangkan 4000 Euro ( 6.700 Franc Swiss) organisasi Palang Merah untuk tiap-tiap gol dicetak selama kejuaraan.

Semboyan ‘Score for Red Cross’ pun diusung sebagai tanda. Hal serupa pernah dilakukan empat tahun silam pada EURO 2004 di Portugal. Lebih dari 500.000 Franc Swiss disumbangkan kepada ICRC, untuk 77 gol yang tercipta selama turnamen. Cristiano Ronaldo, bintang Manchester United dan Portugal menjadi duta bagi kampanye ini.

Kerjasama dengan UEFA adalah juga suatu kesempatan bagi dunia dari olahraga, melalui keikutsertaan dari tim nasional dalam kampanye, mempromosikan tindakan kemanusiaan. ICRC juga menggunakan EURO 2008 untuk kampanye membantu korban ranjau di Afghanistan.

Presiden ICRC Jakob Kellenberger dan Presiden UEFA Michel Platini saat mengumumkan kerjasama pada konferensi pers di markas besar UEFA di Nyon,

“ Walaupun kita adalah badan yang sangat berbeda, kita mempunyai nilai-nilai yang umum, rasa hormat untuk aturan, komitmen, dan roh dari keterbukaan dan non-diskriminasi,”

- Kellenberger -

Swiss pada 14 November 2007. “ Walaupun kita adalah badan yang sangat berbeda, kita mempunyai nilai-nilai yang umum, rasa hormat untuk aturan, komitmen, dan roh dari keterbukaan dan non-diskriminasi,” tutur Kellenberger.

ICRC merasa terhormat dapat bekerjasama dengan UEFA untuk EURO 2008. “Terima kasih untuk anggota-anggota UEFA dan pendukung, yang telah memungkinkan kami untuk membantu sangat banyak korban,” tambahnya. Sebanyak 16 perhimpunan nasional di Eropa turut serta dalam kegiatan Score for Red Cross ini, diantaranya Palang Merah Belanda, Jerman dan Portugal.

EURO 2008 telah berakhir. Spanyol, yang terakhir kali merengkuh gelar juara pada 1964 menjadi juara. Pada partai final, Spanyol mengalahkan favorit juara lainnya, Jerman yang lebih diunggulkan. (Alie)

Posko Postedisi 4/2008

Page 4: Posko Post 4th

Posko Postedisi 4/2008

Setahun lebih berlalu sejak pedoman penerapan identitas organisasi (corporate identity) PMI mulai berlaku. Lewat SK No. 119/KEP/PP PMI/V/2007 yang disahkan pada 16 Mei 2007, PMI memberlakukan corporate identity bagi seluruh kelengkapannya. Me-skipun masih dalam tahap sosialisasi, bagaim-ana kelanjutan langkah PMI mencitrakan organisasi melalui corporate identity pantas diulas.

Corporate identity umum digunakan organisasi atau perusahaan tertentu untuk meningkatkan citra organisasi, produk atau jasa yang ditawarkan. Tujuannya tentu agar publik atau konsumen memiliki kesan yang baik ter-hadap organisasi, produk atau jasa yang dita-warkan. Beberapa langkah corporate identity memang mengubah secara keseluruhan citra sebuah organisasi atau perusahaan. Pertamina, badan usaha milik negara (BUMN) yang berger-ak di bidang minyak dan gas (migas) salah satu contohnya. Setelah melakukan corporate identity pada awal tahun 2000, citra Pertamina berubah drastis dari BUMN yang ‘dekat’ den-gan pemerintah menjadi BUMN ‘muda’ yang mandiri dan siap bersaing di pasar yang lebih tinggi. Saat ini pun Pertamina mulai dapat dis-ejajarkan dengan perusahaan migas luar negeri macam Petronas (Malaysia) atau Shell.

Bagaimana dengan PMI? Tahun 2007 PMI melakukan corporate identity namun tidak menyeluruh sebagaimana dilakukan oleh Pertamina. Sesuai dengan kaidah yang berlaku secara internasional melalui Palang Merah Internasional, PMI lebih menitik beratkan pada standarisasi identitas PMI. Hal ini dilakukan tentunya sebagai bagian tak terpisahkan dari Palang Merah Internasional.

Seluruh identifikasi PMI terutama yang berkai-tan dengan logo menjadi sasaran utama. Mulai dari kelengkapan korespondensi (surat menyu-rat), media informasi (spanduk, presentasi),

Berhasilkah Corporate Identity PMI?

media cetak (brosur, majalah), tanda pengenal (kartu nama, ID card) hingga kelengkapan tempat dan transportasi diseragamkan. Variasi desain yang merubah bentuk logo PMI tak lagi diperkenankan.

PMI tetap mempertahankan logo yang terdiri atas Palang Merah yang dikelilingi kelopak bunga melati. Melati mencerminkan identitas nasional yang bermakna kebersa-maan, kolektifitas dan gotong royong. Lambang Palang Merah dengan lima kelopak melati ini disebut sebagai logo gram. Sedangkan nama Palang Merah Indonesia yang disebut logo type distandarkan dengan mempergunakan font (bentuk huruf) Helvetica Neue Black Con-densed yang dinilai mencerminkan karakter kokoh, sigap dan tegas bertindak. Untuk keper-luan korespondensi, digunakan font Trebuchet MS.

Setelah melewati masa sosialisasi, cor-porate identity PMI belum menunjukkan indikasi positif. PMI berniat membentuk citra baru sebagai organisasi dengan ciri voluntar-ism (berjiwa sukarela), profesional, exciting (semangat tanpa mengeluh), responsive (sigap melayani) dan heroic (siap membantu kapan pun diperlukan). Namun di beberapa daerah citra ini masih amat jauh dari target. Terbukti masih ada beberapa cabang mempergunakan sisa-sisa kelengkapan yang bertentangan den-gan corporate identity. Meskipun dengan alasan menghabiskan stok misalnya, praktik ini justru mengganggu berlangsungnya corporate

Page 5: Posko Post 4th

Posko Postedisi 4/2008

Alie Poedjakusumahttp://aliepoedjakusuma.blogspot.com

Mahasiswa Ilmu Hukum Internasional, Fakultas Hukum Universitas Diponegoro.Aktif di KSR Undip sejak tahun 2004.

identity programe yang tengah berjalan.

Dengan segenap kelengkapan yang terse-bar di berbagai tempat di tanah air, corporate identity PMI memang tidak semudah mem-balikkan telapak tangan. Butuh waktu lebih lama untuk membentuk brand PMI agar sesuai dengan target yang disampaikan sebelumnya. Selain itu biayanya jelas tidak sedikit. Kendala lain yang menjadi ganjalan pula bagi corporate identity PMI adalah belum sadarnya publik terhadap penggunaan lambang Palang Merah. Masih banyak ditemukan pelanggaran terhadap penggunaan lambang Palang Merah di tanah air. Entah karena tidak tahu atau karena lemah-nya payung hukum yang mengaturnya. Sebagai bagian Gerakan Palang Merah dan Bulan Sabit Merah Indonesia, PMI juga memiliki kewajiban untuk menjaga citra sebagai organisasi netral yang bekerja tanpa batasan agama, politik mau-

visit our weblog!http://posko-post.blogspot.com

pun ideologi. Salah satunya dengan corporate identity. (a5)

Page 6: Posko Post 4th

Posko Postedisi 4/2008

Ifo AfiyantoKemampuan Teruji

Njawani, sekilas kesan ini terbersit saat mengenal karakter pria kelahiran Wonosobo ini. Lama malang-melintang bersama KSR Undip, kini Ifo Afiyanto menjadi pelatih di almamaternya, SMP Negeri 2 Wonosobo. Tak tanggung-tanggung, tiga ekstrakurikuler dipe-gang, PMR, Pramuka dan Pecinta Alam (PA). Prestasi pun sudah lahir dari tangan dingin alumnus Jurusan Ilmu Perpustakaan Fakultas Sastra Undip ini. Dalam Jumpa Bhakti Gembira (Jumbara) PMI Cabang Wono-sobo, anak didiknya meraih predikat sempurna sebagai Juara Umum. Kini, pecinta kegiatan alam bebas ini tengah menggodok embrio traveling agent yang akan melayani para pecinta alam dan wisa-tawan yang hendak menikmati indahnya lem-bah Sindoro-Sumbing di Wonosobo. (a5)

Page 7: Posko Post 4th

Posko Postedisi 4/2008

visit our weblog!http://posko-post.blogspot.com

Ifo AfiyantoKemampuan Teruji

Njawani, sekilas kesan ini terbersit saat mengenal karakter pria kelahiran Wonosobo ini. Lama malang-melintang bersama KSR Undip, kini Ifo Afiyanto menjadi pelatih di almamaternya, SMP Negeri 2 Wonosobo. Tak tanggung-tanggung, tiga ekstrakurikuler dipe-gang, PMR, Pramuka dan Pecinta Alam (PA). Prestasi pun sudah lahir dari tangan dingin alumnus Jurusan Ilmu Perpustakaan Fakultas Sastra Undip ini. Dalam Jumpa Bhakti Gembira (Jumbara) PMI Cabang Wono-sobo, anak didiknya meraih predikat sempurna sebagai Juara Umum. Kini, pecinta kegiatan alam bebas ini tengah menggodok embrio traveling agent yang akan melayani para pecinta alam dan wisa-tawan yang hendak menikmati indahnya lem-bah Sindoro-Sumbing di Wonosobo. (a5)

PMI tidak sendirian dalam menjalankan tugasnya di lapangan. Beberapa organisasi juga sering terlibat kerjasama langsung dengan tugas PMI, diantaranya tim Search and Rescue (SAR). Dalam usaha meningkatkan kemampuan potensi-potensi SAR di Jawa Tengah, Kantor SAR Semarang mengadakan Latihan SAR Karuna Nisevanam Ke-148, Selasa-Kamis, 8-10 Juli 2008.

Acara ini merupakan program tahunan Badan SAR Nasional (BASARNAS) untuk melatih kemampuan potensi-potensi pendukung kegiatan SAR seperti SAR Unit, pecinta alam, pemadam kebakaran serta aparat. Gelarannya yang ke 148 kali ini dipusatkan di Jawa Tengah, dengan pelaksanaan dibawah pengawasan Kantor SAR Semarang.

Latihan ini digelar marathon selama tiga hari. Di hari pertama, para peserta langsung diberikan materi mengenai organisasi SAR dan manajemennya. Sesi awal setelah acara pembukaan ini juga membagi peserta menjadi tim manajerial (kontrol operasi SAR) dan tim lapangan (rescuer). Tim kedua kembali menerima dan mengulang materi-materi SAR dasar yang biasanya telah diberikan sebelumnya.

Dipandu instruktur dari BASARNAS Pusat, peserta diberikan materi mengenai pertolongan pertama (medical first responder/MFR), pertolongan di ketinggian (vertical rescue) serta pertolongan korban di air (water

rescue). Peserta juga diuji kemampuannya dalam menerapkan vertical rescue, diantaranya langsung mempraktekkan heli rapeling (turun dari helikopter mempergunakan tali) dari Helikopter BO 105 milik BASARNAS. Kegiatan ini dilakukan di area Pantai Marina, tempat simulasi operasi SAR.

Hari terakhir Latihan SAR Karuna Nisevanam digelar simulasi operasi SAR melibatkan seluruh peserta dan potensi SAR. Tak hanya SAR, beberapa lembaga lain pun turut terlibat, seperti LANAL, POLISI, RAPI, ORARI, Dinkes dan PMI. Dalam simulasi dipraktekkan materi latihan Karuna Nisevanam baik manajemen operasi SAR maupun penyelamatan oleh rescuer. “Semoga latihan ini dapat meningkatkan kemampuan anggota maupun potensi SAR,” tutur Mahfud dari Kantor SAR Semarang. (Alie)

Peserta Latihan SAR KN 148 saat sesi heli rapeling di Kawasan Pantai Marina, Semarang.

foto: dok. PMI Semarang

Latihan SAR Karuna Nisevanam 148

Meningkatkan Kemampuan Potensi SAR

Page 8: Posko Post 4th

Posko Postedisi 4/2008

Blood everywhere, death everywhere, fear everywhere. Being an emergency medical staff member is always stressful, but 2004 was particularly tough in Israel. Workers sometimes spent their shifts collecting body parts. Ambulances made frequent trips to the morgue. In the midst of it all, an Israeli newspa-per asked a senior manager of the Magen David Adom, Israel’s National Society, how his vol-unteers and staff were coping. “My people are tough,” he replied. “If they are not tough, they should not be here.”Often seen as superhuman, emergency responders are trained and equipped to respond to whatever awaits, be it a broken leg or a mass-casualty accident.

Their humanity makes them strong, but it is also sometimes their greatest weakness. Feelings of failure, guilt and sadness — in many ways the antithesis of everything they stand for — are not always easy for first aiders to accept.

Fortunately, the attitude is changing. Chaim Rafalowski, director of the Magen David Adom’s emergency management department, explains that a simultaneous drive from both the top and the bottom is helping to create a psychosocial support system for staff and volun-teers.

“People have emotions and we need to help them cope,” says Rafalowski. “At the same time, people in the field are asking for a place to vent their feelings. Finally, there is a cultural change in Israeli society. Magen David Adom is going with the flow.”

The wheels of change were set in motion after the conflict with Lebanon in 2006. This year, the Magen David Adom, with support from the International Federation Reference Centre for Psychosocial Support and the Austrian and

Psychosocial support

Superheroes need not applyFrench Red Cross Societies, will disseminate in-formation on psychosocial support and increase its peer support programme. Mental health professionals are backing the effort.

Unwritten contract Emergency medical staff come to the scene with little knowledge of what awaits them. This tension can also lead to stress. Ready to respond to basic needs, they wait for, and fear, the ‘bad’ calls. The possibility of saving a life is often there, but things can go wrong. The worst is when a person dies while in the worker’s care.

“It is an ego issue,” says Rafalowski. “The saying among emergency medical staff is that ‘nobody dies in my ambulance’. When people die it breaks the unwritten contract — they should not die, we should keep the patients alive. This brings about a feeling of failure, and no one likes to fail, especially superheroes.”

Through the psychosocial support pro-gramme, Rafalowski hopes to make it easier for staff and volunteers to accept difficult situ-ations. He says that especially the young vol-unteers, who make up half of Magen David Adom’s volunteer force of 10,000, need to learn this. “The younger you are, the more ideological you are and the more adrenaline you have,” he says. “You think you will save everyone. This is a powerful drive if put within realistic boundar-ies.”

Jonathan Caspi, 17, has been a volunteer for two years. He spends all his free time on Magen David Adom activities. He hopes to be a medical doctor one day and is driven mainly by the feeling of helping people.

“My friends and I have seen lots of bod-ies,” Caspi says, “but nothing has bothered me that much. Still, we will probably need psycho-logical help. I guess it will come back to haunt us.”

First aiders in some of the toughest spotsin the world drop their superhero image.

Sharing The Austrian Red Cross has provided peer support to its workers for about ten years.

“People need to know what the system can do for them,” says Harald Legner, a Salz-burg ambulance worker for 16 yearsand a peer supporter for eight. “The knowledge that some-one is there for you is more important than any-thing else. It makes people feel safe at work.”

Barbara Juen, a professor of psychology at the University of Innsbruck and a long-time Austrian Red Cross volunteer, was instrumental in creating the peer support system in Austria and is now helping the Magen David Adom to implement a similar structure. “Setting a pro-gramme like this up is really a way to say we care for you,” she says.

Ofer Lachme, a Magen David Adom paramedic in Tel Aviv, echoes these sentiments. “When our leaders went on television and said, ‘Our people are tough’, it was hard for me,” he says. “It felt like no one thought about us. No one cared, not even our managers.”

‘Bad’ jokes Juen emphasizes that implementing a peer system does not mean banning humourand sarcasm. “When we started there was a fear that everything would have to be serious,” she says. “This is not the case. Volunteers and staff can talk to the peer supporter about their feel-ings and make ‘bad’ jokes about the incidents. First aiders are more sensitive to stress reac-tions in others and themselves, but they may keep their protection shields.”

While most cases are solved within the team, Legner and his colleagues are always available. Carefully selected and specially edu-cated, they also link the workers to professional psychologists when necessary. Most often, how-ever, information and the opportunity to talk is what is needed.

Through information sessions, the work-ers learn to recognize stress signs, and increas-ing numbers are asking for help. Quiet and safe

places for difficult conversations are set up, contact details are easily available and confi-dentiality is guaranteed. Legner says he sees the difference.

“Before, people would leave the orga-nization if they experienced a bad situation,” he says. “I tell them that they are not stupid or weak when they react to a situation, they are only experiencing normal reactions to an ab-normal situation. We have much less turnover now.” Juen confirms this. “Now, the older guys take care of the younger ones,” she says. “They take more responsibility for their colleagues.”

Need for peers Both National Societies emphasize the value of psychosocial support from peers. “In the acute phase, workers only accept help from others with field experience,” Juen says. “This is why the peer model is effective.

“The added challenge in Israel is the much higher stress level, for both the ambu-lance personnel and people in general,” she says. “The Magen David Adom needs an even better structure to make the peer system work.”

Head of the ICRC mission in Jerusalem, Katharina Ritz confirms that the situation in the region is difficult.

“Staff and volunteers of National Soci-eties are at the forefront of every emergency, often putting their own life at risk,” she says. “Every time there is an attack in Israel or in the Palestinian Territories, volunteers go to assist the victims — sometimes in their own neigh-bourhood. They might find neighbours, friends or even relatives among the dead and wounded. We tend to forget that the carers also need to be cared about. Providing psychological support to staff and volunteers is, therefore, extremely important.”

Too much Karin Unterluggauer, a psychologist and long-time member of the Austrian Red Cross

Page 9: Posko Post 4th

Posko Postedisi 4/2008

Blood everywhere, death everywhere, fear everywhere. Being an emergency medical staff member is always stressful, but 2004 was particularly tough in Israel. Workers sometimes spent their shifts collecting body parts. Ambulances made frequent trips to the morgue. In the midst of it all, an Israeli newspa-per asked a senior manager of the Magen David Adom, Israel’s National Society, how his vol-unteers and staff were coping. “My people are tough,” he replied. “If they are not tough, they should not be here.”Often seen as superhuman, emergency responders are trained and equipped to respond to whatever awaits, be it a broken leg or a mass-casualty accident.

Their humanity makes them strong, but it is also sometimes their greatest weakness. Feelings of failure, guilt and sadness — in many ways the antithesis of everything they stand for — are not always easy for first aiders to accept.

Fortunately, the attitude is changing. Chaim Rafalowski, director of the Magen David Adom’s emergency management department, explains that a simultaneous drive from both the top and the bottom is helping to create a psychosocial support system for staff and volun-teers.

“People have emotions and we need to help them cope,” says Rafalowski. “At the same time, people in the field are asking for a place to vent their feelings. Finally, there is a cultural change in Israeli society. Magen David Adom is going with the flow.”

The wheels of change were set in motion after the conflict with Lebanon in 2006. This year, the Magen David Adom, with support from the International Federation Reference Centre for Psychosocial Support and the Austrian and

Psychosocial support

Superheroes need not applyFrench Red Cross Societies, will disseminate in-formation on psychosocial support and increase its peer support programme. Mental health professionals are backing the effort.

Unwritten contract Emergency medical staff come to the scene with little knowledge of what awaits them. This tension can also lead to stress. Ready to respond to basic needs, they wait for, and fear, the ‘bad’ calls. The possibility of saving a life is often there, but things can go wrong. The worst is when a person dies while in the worker’s care.

“It is an ego issue,” says Rafalowski. “The saying among emergency medical staff is that ‘nobody dies in my ambulance’. When people die it breaks the unwritten contract — they should not die, we should keep the patients alive. This brings about a feeling of failure, and no one likes to fail, especially superheroes.”

Through the psychosocial support pro-gramme, Rafalowski hopes to make it easier for staff and volunteers to accept difficult situ-ations. He says that especially the young vol-unteers, who make up half of Magen David Adom’s volunteer force of 10,000, need to learn this. “The younger you are, the more ideological you are and the more adrenaline you have,” he says. “You think you will save everyone. This is a powerful drive if put within realistic boundar-ies.”

Jonathan Caspi, 17, has been a volunteer for two years. He spends all his free time on Magen David Adom activities. He hopes to be a medical doctor one day and is driven mainly by the feeling of helping people.

“My friends and I have seen lots of bod-ies,” Caspi says, “but nothing has bothered me that much. Still, we will probably need psycho-logical help. I guess it will come back to haunt us.”

First aiders in some of the toughest spotsin the world drop their superhero image.

Sharing The Austrian Red Cross has provided peer support to its workers for about ten years.

“People need to know what the system can do for them,” says Harald Legner, a Salz-burg ambulance worker for 16 yearsand a peer supporter for eight. “The knowledge that some-one is there for you is more important than any-thing else. It makes people feel safe at work.”

Barbara Juen, a professor of psychology at the University of Innsbruck and a long-time Austrian Red Cross volunteer, was instrumental in creating the peer support system in Austria and is now helping the Magen David Adom to implement a similar structure. “Setting a pro-gramme like this up is really a way to say we care for you,” she says.

Ofer Lachme, a Magen David Adom paramedic in Tel Aviv, echoes these sentiments. “When our leaders went on television and said, ‘Our people are tough’, it was hard for me,” he says. “It felt like no one thought about us. No one cared, not even our managers.”

‘Bad’ jokes Juen emphasizes that implementing a peer system does not mean banning humourand sarcasm. “When we started there was a fear that everything would have to be serious,” she says. “This is not the case. Volunteers and staff can talk to the peer supporter about their feel-ings and make ‘bad’ jokes about the incidents. First aiders are more sensitive to stress reac-tions in others and themselves, but they may keep their protection shields.”

While most cases are solved within the team, Legner and his colleagues are always available. Carefully selected and specially edu-cated, they also link the workers to professional psychologists when necessary. Most often, how-ever, information and the opportunity to talk is what is needed.

Through information sessions, the work-ers learn to recognize stress signs, and increas-ing numbers are asking for help. Quiet and safe

places for difficult conversations are set up, contact details are easily available and confi-dentiality is guaranteed. Legner says he sees the difference.

“Before, people would leave the orga-nization if they experienced a bad situation,” he says. “I tell them that they are not stupid or weak when they react to a situation, they are only experiencing normal reactions to an ab-normal situation. We have much less turnover now.” Juen confirms this. “Now, the older guys take care of the younger ones,” she says. “They take more responsibility for their colleagues.”

Need for peers Both National Societies emphasize the value of psychosocial support from peers. “In the acute phase, workers only accept help from others with field experience,” Juen says. “This is why the peer model is effective.

“The added challenge in Israel is the much higher stress level, for both the ambu-lance personnel and people in general,” she says. “The Magen David Adom needs an even better structure to make the peer system work.”

Head of the ICRC mission in Jerusalem, Katharina Ritz confirms that the situation in the region is difficult.

“Staff and volunteers of National Soci-eties are at the forefront of every emergency, often putting their own life at risk,” she says. “Every time there is an attack in Israel or in the Palestinian Territories, volunteers go to assist the victims — sometimes in their own neigh-bourhood. They might find neighbours, friends or even relatives among the dead and wounded. We tend to forget that the carers also need to be cared about. Providing psychological support to staff and volunteers is, therefore, extremely important.”

Too much Karin Unterluggauer, a psychologist and long-time member of the Austrian Red Cross

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Crisis Intervention Team, confirms the value of the peer support system. Ambulance personnel call the teams when extra support for victims and relatives is required, mostly in cases of death or traumatic stress.

“We only have bad calls,” she says. While this means they know better what they will face on the scene, it also means their work is chal-lenging and support is vital.

“Once we were responding to the third incident in one shift, the sudden death of an infant,” she explains. “We spent four hours on the scene. It was really too much. My colleague had to leave the house to cry and I also had to restrain myself. I could not invite the mother to talk with her dead child because I knew I would break down. I could not meet my own stan-dards.”

In conversations with the peer supporter, they worked through their emotions. “It was only then that I realized how hard it really was,” Unterluggauer says. “I let down my guard dur-ing that conversation.”

Not superwoman Maya Dror has been a volunteer and staff member of the Magen David Adom ambulance service for 17 years. She is pleased the National Society is going to provide psychosocial sup-port.

“Once, I responded to a terrorist attack,” she says. “We collected the bodies. I remember lifting a detached head. Blood was dripping from it. We took the bodies to the morgue. I went home, took a shower and went on with whatever I was doing before the call. How could I do that? I do not feel like a superwoman, there is no reason why I should not be disturbed.” Åsta YtreCommunication Adviser at the International Federation Reference Centre for Psychosocial Support. The International Federation Refer-ence Centre for Psychosocial Support is hosted by the Danish Red Cross. Its mission is to promote and enable the psychosocial well-be-ing of beneficiaries, humanitarian staff and volunteers. Visit http://psp.drk.dk/ or e-mail [email protected]

Posko Postedisi 4/2008

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International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) atau Komite Interna-sional Palang Merah kembali menerbitkan beberapa publikasinya, baik berupa buku, leaflet/brosur, poster hingga film. Untuk mendapatkan produk-produk ICRC dapat langsung mengakses situs ICRC http://www.icrc.org/ dan semua terbitannya dapat dipesan secara online dan langsung dikirimkan ke alamat anda. (a5)

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