Not quite three years after the flood disaster here in High River, we find ourselves journeying with another town facing disaster in Alberta – Fort McMurray. While wild fires create different issues and circumstances, there is so much the same. I find myself watching the news and hearing comments of people who are being evacuated, and remember making those comments myself or hearing others in High River make those comments. I look at the people’s faces and I know the feelings: the fear, the disbelief, the pain, the deep sadness, the confusion, the frustration and the utter exhaustion.
As a community we have a good idea of what the people of Fort McMurray are going through. We remember what it is like to not know where loved ones are, what it is like to not have our medications with us or our pets or a change of clothes, what it is like to know you have to leave but not know where you are going or when you will return, what it is like to wonder whether your home and/or business will be there when you return or to know that it is already destroyed. We have been there as a community, not that long ago.
What is happening in Fort McMurray does not feel all that distant from us. There are so many connections between our two communities because of the number of people who live here and work there, or who have family who live and work in Fort McMurray.
As we listen to the news and watch the images, there are a few things I would invite us to keep in mind as people who have been through our own disaster and the resulting trauma:
- we need to protect our children (especially those under 12) as much as possible from the images and news stories. The media is offering almost continual coverage, which is necessary, but our children don’t need to see this much coverage. It is hard for them, especially the youngest, to understand that this is happening far away and that we are safe. Remember, little ears and eyes are right there paying attention to what when you are watching and listening to, even if the children appear to be playing.
- For those children & youth who experienced the flood, the images and stories of Fort McMurray may bring up again the feelings of trauma and the responses to disaster, as if we are going through it all again. That is quite natural. Be ready to give your children more hugs, more story-time, more conversation – anything that helps them feel connected, loved and safe. Accept their tears and their fears. They are real.
- Be aware of your own response to the images and media reports. We want to care for the people of Fort McMurray because we know how much the outside support meant to us. There will be many ways we can do that. We must also remember that we are people who have been traumatized by our own disaster. It is amazing to me how raw the feelings are as I watch the images, how quickly tears come to my eyes, how severely my gut wrenches as I see the images and hear the reports, how hard it is to focus on my work as I wonder what is happening in Fort McMurray. We need to be aware of those responses, be gentle with ourselves and honour the emotions we are feeling. Go slow, rest, play, find situations that remind you of the goodness of life!
- Do you find yourself fixated on the images and media reports? I’m finding that if I start watching media or checking websites to find out what is happening in Fort McMurray, I can easily become fixated on the reports. I start feeling some of what I felt in the first days after our disaster, when I was desperately trying to find information…any information. It is okay to turn off the radio & television and to close the websites. If need be, give yourself a set amount of time in which you will check the reports and then move on to something that takes your focus to a different place – your family, your work, exercise, play, community. Watching endless hours of reporting is not healthy for us; it can re-traumatize us. This is not our disaster.
(I have to say that the reporting in this situation shows that media and government have learned lessons from our disaster. The information is much more immediate, accurate and specific, though the Fort McMurray people will not likely feel it is enough at this point, understandably. There are clear instructions about how to report your whereabouts and who to contact to find out about loved ones. The 24 hour coverage on CBC radio is an anchor for those who have been evacuated. It is good to know that lessons have been learned from our experience.)
There are tears in our eyes and prayers in our hearts as we watch the evacuation, as we see the devastation and as we recognize the emotion on the faces of the people of Fort McMurray. We will each find our own way to help. We know that the road ahead of them is a long one. We know that strength comes in working together and having the support of others. We know that it is possible to choose to bring something good, something better out of the disaster. We also know that the sense of pain and loss continues and the memories of “the day” it happened are still vivid, long after the event.
We are a community shaped by disaster. We are a community which is continuing to weave back together the torn fabric of our town, slowly recovering our well-being emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually. Three years later, as we watch what is happening in Fort McMurray, we may be surprised by the intensity of the emotions and the vividness of the memories that are evoked. In 2 Corinthians 4:7-10, we hear these words:
We’ve been traumatized in every way, but not crushed.
We don’t know what to do, but we don’t despair.
We are persecuted, but know that we haven’t been left alone.
We been struck down, but not destroyed.
For we remember in our bodies the death of Jesus,
so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies.
Right now we may be feeling in our bodies and spirits once again what we felt three years ago. We are a community, a people, shaped by disaster, but also a community that can stand as a symbol of possibility, of hope and of healing following disaster.
We will each find ways to offer our support and help to the people of Fort McMurray. May we also remember to take care of ourselves and to honour the depth of what we are feeling as we watch this disaster unfold. We are not over our own trauma but together we are healing, rebuilding and restoring our community. That, in and of itself, will be helpful and hopeful for the people of Fort McMurray in the coming days.
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