Contributing to a better world
Interview with the founder of War Trauma Foundation
Maurits Cohen founded the War Trauma Foundation (WTF) in 1997, the predecessor of what is now called ARQ International. As a survivor of the war, it became his mission to exchange knowledge on psychosocial support for all those who have lost loved ones and have been driven from home and hearth.
People who have lost, often fear losing it again
Maurits Cohen says: “Around 1995, I sat in front of the TV and watched the images of the war in the Balkans in shock. The tremendous misery. The stream of refugees. What was happening there was too terrible for words. And if you’ve ever experienced war, you also know what war can do to people. As a Jewish child, I myself had survived the war in hiding. And I know that many war victims still suffer from the loss of that time. People who have lost a lot in a war, often fear losing it again. A war past can also be translated into a love for your children, a love that is fraught with fear. This can affect the lives of those children.”
Training local people in psychosocial support
Maurits Cohen continues: “I thought material help would come. But above all, psychological support is also needed for those who have lost loved ones and have been driven from home and hearth. In the Netherlands, we have a lot of knowledge about psychotrauma. And we have people who can develop and deliver training together with the locals, tailored to the specific culture in a country. For example, I founded the War Trauma Foundation to train people locally embedded in a war zone – teachers, nurses and social workers. Through training, they can learn to recognise psychotrauma. They can provide initial support and refer people if there is insufficient improvement.
"The idea that we would be suitable to give mental support to people in war zones ourselves is outdated."
The aim was to make people embedded in local society intermediaries between our psychosocial aid methods and the local people themselves. The idea that we – who know neither the language nor the culture – would be suitable to provide mental support to people in war zones ourselves is outdated. The training could also vary enormously by country. In Congo or Burundi, a different approach was needed to that in Kosovo or the Palestinian territories. Because we worked in Europe, but also in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.”
Relinde Reiffers, MHPSS advisor at ARQ International, adds: “Conflict affects the social structure of a society. Often, people no longer trust each other, causing all kinds of problems. In Burundi, narrative theatre proved helpful. Portraying problems and possible solutions in theatre form created room for dialogue and rebuilding trust in society.”
Never known peace
Maurits Cohen: “We started working on the West Bank around 2006 near Bethlehem. We trained the staff of dozens of schools in recognising psychotrauma, providing basic help and referral. Even adults have never known peace there. Children grow up with violence from both sides. In the project, we also had to spend time on financial control. That was sometimes necessary. At the same time, figures are often formalistic in the Netherlands. By arriving on site, we gained a little more understanding of the circumstances.
Currently, the situation is terrible in Israel and the West Bank. It worries me. Fortunately, there is now also protest from within Israel, which is still peaceful. With a more extreme policy, dissenting voices are apparently spurred into action sooner. That is the good news.”
International training through the Intervention journal
Tineke Pronk, former deputy director of WTF and Cohen’s partner: “A major activity of the War Trauma Foundation was publishing Intervention journal. In it, we explicitly offered a platform to people who may not have had a Western academic education behind them but who could report valuable experiences about their work in war zones. We reached more than 200 centres worldwide with Intervention. The effect was that we could train our readers in psychosocial support for psychotrauma through the journal, often without sending people from here to war zones.”
“Conflict affects the social structure of a society.”
Foresight
Relinde Reiffers: “I started as an intern at WTF, and now I continue the work with the others at ARQ International. Maurits Cohen and Tineke Pronk have been incredibly inspiring. If Maurits believed in something, he went for it 100 per cent. Tineke was indispensable for fundraising and financial accountability.
Maurits Cohen had foresight. Intervention celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. It is still a perfect journal in which writers who don’t come from the global north also find a platform. Precisely them! Today, Intervention primarily appears digitally and is open access. This means that anyone, anywhere in the world, can access it for free.
He also saw it well with regard to psychosocial help in conflict areas. With the War Trauma Foundation, we had to knock on doors to get support for our work. Today, almost all NGOs attach great importance to providing Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) to people affected by war and disasters.”
“People can go through very disturbing events, but fortunately not everyone gets traumatised."
Contribute to a better world
Relinde Reiffers: “Much of what Maurits Cohen started, we still do with ARQ International. What has changed is that nowadays, people talk about psychotrauma in a more nuanced way. It used to be said that all those affected by the war were traumatised. Nowadays, we know that people can go through very disturbing events, but fortunately, not everyone gets traumatised.”
Maurits Cohen: “I completely agree with you! At the time, I was working in Israel on a study among Jews who had experienced World War II in the Netherlands. Of the 240 people interviewed, we found that 20% were traumatised.”
Tineke Pronk: “Trauma can also lead to better noticing what’s wrong and feeling a strong inner motivation to do something about it. You see it more often: people who came out of the Second World War and had a certain drive.”
Relinde Reiffers: “It is precisely this resilience that makes me so happy in this work. Some people can go through the most terrible things and want to contribute to a better world.”
Annual review 2022
This interview is part of the annual review 2022. Through interviews with scientists, practitioners, clients and patients, a kaleidoscopic picture emerges of the multifaceted organisation that ARQ has become.