CHINA> Regional
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CHINA> Regional
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Citizens call for psychological assistance after riot
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-07-15 23:51 "YOU ARE NOT ALONE" "Studies show that man-made disasters can lead to stronger and longer mental trauma on people than natural disasters. I think all the people in Urumqi need psychological intervention," said Meng Xinzhen, a physician with Zhang's psychological health center. Shortly after an 8.0-magnitude earthquake jolted the southwestern Sichuan Province in May 2008, the Ministry of Health sent psychological assistance teams to the rescue operation, the first such move in China.
In addition, the Xinjiang People's Radio Station opened a hotline to offer psychological assistance to all citizens who needed help. "Apart from the local experts, we invited five psychologists from Shanghai to join the service, because Urumqi apparently does not have enough psychological professionals," said Zhang Yi, who supervises the hotline program. Meng suggested that those who were stressed should learn to vent their negative emotions and pour out their sufferings. "This can be done by yelling, painting, singing, playing a ball game or doing something beneficial to others to divert their attention," she said. "But drugs and alcohol are not advisable." Meng called on the public to show love and care to others and advised the injured to help each other shake off the post-riot depression. "For the government's part, it must secure a safe and stable social environment to reassure the residents and boost their confidence in life. "I just want to tell whoever is suffering mental distress: you are not alone," she said. Xinjiang's TVs and radios are continuously playing songs, light music and poems that carry the theme of love, unity and hope. One of the most popular songs in Xinjiang is "One Family", sung by nearly 30 singers from different ethnic groups in the region and heard constantly on TV, taxis and in Urumqi's streets. Its lyric goes as follows: "We are all from one family, whose name is China. As family members we don't distinguish 'us' from 'them'. We help each other through thick and thin, and love prevails in times of peril...We are one family and therefore we love each other so."
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