In this article from “The Thought Field”, Vol. 15, Issue 1, Ing. Alvaro Hernandez, TFT-Dx, describes the devastation from flooding in 2007 in Tabasco and Chiapas, Mexico–and the relief given through TFT by many generous practitioners and trainers, sponsored by the ATFT Foundation:
Climatic changes are affecting many Countries, and some of these changes are causing a tragedy for many people, especially the poor and needy.
Tabasco is a state rich in natural resources; it has the largest rivers in Mexico, beautiful large forest and rich oil fields. Its population of about 2,200,000 people is integrated with people from different social and economical levels, but most of them are poor.
At the end of this year, an extraordinary rainy season caused the big dams that hold the water from the mountains to produce electricity, to overfill. It was necessary to release the dams in such massive amounts of water that not only the small communities downstream, but also the City of Villahermosa (surrounded by the Grijalva and the Carrizal rivers), were flooded.
The total affected people was about 1,200,000 persons, more than half of the population, both rich and poor people were affected. This time the flooding in Villahermosa was such that downtown, the level of the water reached more than 3 meters.
People used to say: “one tragedy does not come alone”. Unfortunately, this time that was right. In the neighboring state, the State of Chiapas, the excessive rain caused a big hill to collapse and fall down into the Grijalva river that also feeds the Tabasco dams, clogging the flow of the river, and disappearing on the fall. Small communities were covered with thousands of tons of soil and rocks.
A large amount of work has to be done to move millions of cubic meters of rock and soil to allow the water to flow again on the way to the sea. This second tragedy caused people to be afraid and many to panic because once the river is unclogged, it can overfill the dams again and cause new flooding.
The magnitude of this tragedy has required National and International people and institutions to bring help to Tabasco and Chiapas. Some of the affected people are al- ready receiving assistance, however, as the access to small communities is still affected, help has not been able to reach them.
As the water receded and health problems arose, a big campaign against infections was implemented. Hepatitis, Dengue Fever, Malaria, Tetanus, Flu, stomach sickness and others are a real danger (again the problem is to reach the small populations in areas of difficult access).
In the city of Villahermosa, after people were allowed to leave the shelters, many of them found all their property and their schools and working places destroyed. Many also could not find family members.
A new big and collective issue is showing up now–the people need psychological help to relieve their traumas, fears and panic.
REQUEST FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL HELP
Soon requests for psychological help began arriving at the ATFT Foundation. Jenny Edwards, Maria Eulalia Perez Porrúa, Nora Baladerian, Suzanne Connolly, Roger and Joanne Callahan, and many others received these messages.
Shortly thereafter, the ATFT Foundation received a formal invitation from Caritas of Tabasco to come and help.
The original idea was to prepare a team to be able to go to Tabasco early next year, but the situation there required immediate attention. Suzanne Connolly and Joanne Callahan started working on the possibility to form and finance the cost of a Trauma Relief Team of Spanish speaking TFT therapists able to go there.
A local TFT-Dx trained practitioner, Raquel Lobo, contacted by Maria Eulalia Perez Porrua, offered to provide local support and logistics in Villahermosa. The new deployment dates were Dec. 10 to Dec. 15, 2007.
A TEAM WAS FORMED
A team was formed with two engineers and therapists (TFT-Dx trained) from Mexico City: Victor Manuel Eguiluz and myself, Alvaro Hernandez, and a group of local people from Tabasco: Raquel Lobo (TFT-Dx), Lia Cervantes, Lupita Canto (TFT-Dx), Lolita Camacho (TFT-Dx), Cecilia Garcia (TFT-Dx), Ofelia Hinojosa (TFT-Dx), Ma Reyna Suarez, Marilin Diaz, Rosita Romellon and 83 more local volunteers willing to be trained and help with TFT.
The first step after our arrival was to train the volunteers and actualize the trained ones.
With the help of Victor Manuel Eguiluz and the local TFT trained people, I gave an official TFT Algorithm Level course to the 83 volunteers.
Unfortunately, Raquel Lobo had to return to Monterrey because her father went to the hospital. Before leaving, she had to move all the furniture and accessories from the first floor to the second floor of her house to be prepared in case a new flooding happened (the red alarm was on). The local support for our team was then supplied by Lia Cervantes.
THE ALGORITHM LEVEL TRAINING IN TABASCO
The course was given in a local church auditorium (Parroquia Del Espiritu Santo), kindly provided by Fr. Denis Ochoa.
Financed by the ATFT Foundation, the manuals, certificates and materials in Spanish were prepared and the training started as usual. The group was enthusiastic.
At the end of the first day, something unusual happened. One of the trainees was assaulted and robbed on her way back home. The next day when she arrived at the training, she was crying and asking for help.
This tragedy gave me the opportunity to treat her with TFT in front of the group and bring her SUD from 10 to 1, but a new aspect from this trauma arrived–the fear that her daughters would be affected because her pictures and address were in her stolen hand bag.
The problem this time required more than algorithms. I treated her in private using Diagnostic Level TFT. After correcting reversals, treating her for toxins and using collarbone breathing, her SUD went from 10 to 1.
The training was a success and the people were very happy for the opportunity to learn TFT. The comments and evaluations were excellent and they were ready to start helping friends, families, neighbors and the affected people in Tabasco.
At the end of the training, Lia Cervantes organized small groups of people living nearby to start providing help to the affected ones.
One of the trainees, a physician by the name of Dr Raymundo Cadena, was affected by the flooding and he lost all his medical tools and equipment. At the training he asked a lot of questions, and had the opportunity to treat and be treated. By the end of the training, he was totally convinced of TFT.
He has a radio program and invited Victor Manuel and myself to his program to give help by radio in the local station XEVT. He explained to his audience that TFT is the most incredible therapy that he has ever known.
Victor Manuel filmed and recorded the one-hour radio program. After the program, we had dinner with him. It was a nice experience to see how TFT is accepted by professional physicians, and to give therapy to a radio audience of traumatized people.
HELPING TRAUMATIZED PEOPLE
The next activity was to help traumatized people in the poor communities. The help was provided in local churches. This activity was planned and coordinated by Raquel Lobo and Lia Cervantes, and in each community a responsible contact person was named.
Lia Cervantes and Sister Martina were in charge of the first one, “Comunidad Bosques de Saloya”. We gave group help to more than 60 people and then individual help to special cases or to the ones who required it because their SUD did not come down. After the help was provided, a sandwich was offered to everybody.
Maria Reyna Suarez was in charge of the second community, but in the church another activity was taking place–the distribution of help that had arrived (food and water)—so we could not work at that time.
In the same place where the training was given, help was offered to affected people, and a small group came and were successfully helped.
Finally, Marilin Diaz and Rosita Rosellon were in charge of one of the more affected areas, MANGA III in the Santa Teresita church and MANGA II in the Corpus Christy church. In both cases, we had many people who, with the help of the new TFT algorithm trainees, were able to experience relief.
Special attention was given to the children. In the Santa Teresita Church, the priest suspended his mass to allow us to keep working. The people were so happy with TFT that they give us a big applause before leaving 2 hours later than the time projected. This was one of the most rewarding experiences.
A lot more work still needs to be done. We have not been to the shelters, where thousands of people are. New teams need to be sent to coordinate the help of the new trained volunteers and to be able to reach more traumatized people.
It was a pleasure for me to be part of the organization and the first team of the ATFT Foundation Trauma Relief Committee sent to Tabasco.