invisible scars

There's a profound set of videos on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder on the Washington Post website. The images and voices attempts to draw attention to the invisible scars --- the men and women, children and families affected forever by the making of war.

From the Washington Post article:

Little Relief on Ward 53
At Walter Reed, Care for Soldiers Struggling With War's Mental Trauma Is Undermined by Doctor Shortages and Unfocused Methods
By Anne Hull and Dana Priest
Washington Post Staff Writers

Every month, 20 to 40 soldiers are evacuated from Iraq because of mental problems, according to the Army. Most are sent to Walter Reed along with other war-wounded. For amputees, the nation's top Army hospital offers state-of-the-art prosthetics and physical rehab programs, and soon, a new $10 million amputee center with a rappelling wall and virtual reality center.

Nothing so gleaming exists for soldiers with diagnoses of post-traumatic stress disorder, who in the Army alone outnumber all of the war's amputees by 43 to 1. The Army has no PTSD center at Walter Reed, and its psychiatric treatment is weak compared with the best PTSD programs the government offers. Instead of receiving focused attention, soldiers with combat-stress disorders are mixed in with psych patients who have issues ranging from schizophrenia to marital strife.

Even though Walter Reed maintains the largest psychiatric department in the Army, it lacks enough psychiatrists and clinicians to properly treat the growing number of soldiers returning with combat stress. Earlier this year, the head of psychiatry sent out an "SOS" memo desperately seeking more clinical help.

Let's pray that this horrible war is be brought to an end and that we may more fully live into the nonviolent vision of Jesus and Biblical prophets like Micah and Isaiah. May we beat our swords into plowshares, and our spears into pruning hooks, may we no longer make war. May all those who have been wounded in body and mind be given the very best care and may the tools and money used for making war be used for healing and peace.