27 Jul 2012,
Source: Jeanette Francis, SBS
Sarim, 61, is a survivor of the Cambodian genocide, which saw millions slaughtered by the Khmer Rouge.
Sarim Chan’s house is overflowing with memories, some joyous, some unimaginably painful.
The space is small and scattered with doilies and chiffon. She often
potters about in her small, bare kitchen preparing tea for herself.
Sarim, 61, is a survivor of the Cambodian genocide, which saw millions slaughtered by the Khmer Rouge.
“My children are dead and I feel so alone. I can’t forget it because it
weighs on me,” she says, flicking through the handful of photographs she
has left of her children.
Sarim came to Australia in 2006 with her husband. She left the
relationship last year after her husband became abusive. She was placed
in community housing with one other woman, who doesn’t speak Khmer.
Often, says Sarim, they just sit in silence.
For five hours each week, Sarim leaves her home to take part in a Khmer
aged-care community group, the only one in New South Wales.
It’s the only interaction she has with her community, because she has no family in Australia.
“They take us sightseeing and give us food when I am sick. They tell me
which hospital to go to because I wouldn’t know otherwise.”
Sarim’s memories of her time in Cambodia under Pol Pot are raw. Almost
four decades later, far from healing all wounds, time has opened them up
again.
“The Pol Pot era was very, very sad. Every time I talk about it I want
to cry. I feel so bad that my children died and that I was forced to
leave them,” she says.
She recalls her suffering vividly and with emotion.
“We never had enough to eat. I tried secretly cooking something for my
children and they saw me. They took me away and cut my head with a
machete. There was blood everywhere.”
Sarim says because she lives alone she has more time to think about the past, even though it’s painful.
“I have mental health issues. I am on medication and I’ve been to the
mental health clinic several times. The doctor talks to me about
pleasant things to keep my spirits up. He asks me what the matter is and
always tries to cheer me up.”
Experts say that older survivors of such trauma are more vulnerable to
poor mental health than the general population because they are
undergoing the dual process of ageing and dealing with the past.
Karen Teshuva, from the Lincoln Centre for Health and Ageing at La Trobe
University, says when people age they tend to have more time on their
hands and that often means more time for reflection on the past.
“Life has changed and there seems to be that space now for memories that
they've managed to suppress and sort of the life review process to
happen and once that’s starts happen a lot of perhaps painful memories
can reoccur and that can trigger off all sorts of mental health
processes," she says.
“When a person gets older they need to confront a lot of the normal
transitions of ageing, such as such as declining physical ability,
possibly widowhood, retirement, changing role and the issue with ageing
survivors is that they're undergoing those changes in their lives, those
life transitions at the same time as confronting past trauma.
Jorge Aroche, CEO of the NSW Service for the Treatment and
Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors says there is insufficent
research into the issue.
“What we see is really just the top of the iceberg - there is probably a
lot more people that are suffering in silence and are experiencing this
resurgence of traumatic symptoms but not really been identified as
such,” Mr Aroche says.
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