Iraq A State of Mind
RAINDANCE 27th LONDON FILM FESTIVAL “IRAQ – A STATE OF MIND”.
A serious look into the aftermath of atrocities in Iraq – sobering information with no suggestions of a way forward.
Haider Ahmed – Producer and Namak Khoshnaw – Producer/Director who both work for the BBC World Service together with Christopher Mitchell, Editor TV Documentaries, and other broadcasting dignatories, produced and filmed those left with serious psychological trauma especially Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after various wars and attacks on Iraq . PTSD causes sleeplessness, depression and suicidal tendencies in many sufferers. The film is essentially about the mental health issues left to victims by those taking part in the “bullying” of Iraq. I would prefer the term “psychological health” but now everyone talks mental health and believe me the issues of mental health seem to be a growing issue everywhere. The last thing we want though some of us are seeming to get – is an “us and them situation” where if more money is pumped into the health service, more people will be employed to look into these issues even in the UK. This on the surface seems good and if some of the money could be directed to it it would be good. But a question:- Could the money not be better spent making programmes about how to deal with, and avoid bad mental health and how to increase good mental health? Those who work in the services treating people need better briefing and be checked often to ensure their own health is good enough to treat others less fortunate and that they have excellent educational standards to feed their career, funded by taxpayers money in the main.
The films tells us that in Iraq there is only one psychiatrist to treat each 300,000 people affected with depressive disorders. But there is no discussion on how to improve this statistic. In the hospital we discover that admissions are being attempted on well and innocent people by enemies from a divided country and doctors refusing to admit these victims. We see people with conversion syndrome..a psychological illness which means a sufferer with mental health issues also experiences physical issues, for example not being able to walk properly or indeed talk properly. We see two boys with this condition and a woman who has experienced rape also fighting to explain her experiences in a lucid way as she can’t talk properly after all her trauma. She misses her mother but has overcome suicidal tendencies to become strong, start making clothes and helping children around her with a very strong female sewing teacher who encourages and supports her especially making her think that her mother would not like to see her down and in a losing situation. The silence of the internal struggle is also alluded to where the strong do not buckle or come forward to tell their stories. The people from Iraq who are predominantly Muslim also want to know “Why is Allah so cruel?”. A fair question to ponder.
A future film which is in the pipeline is that about the Baghdad police. The film we are writing about here was funded by the BBC . “Iraq – A State of Mind” was a relatively low budget documentary and cheaper than most – in association with the Baghdad Bureau. A lot of hard work was put into the development of the characters including Carim’s situation and also a young girl whose grandmother was told by a psychiatrist to stop putting her charge under stress by going over and over on the situation of her mother’s death. Going out to film is difficult. Only top hotels are safe and they are “covered in troops”.
So in summary – do expect a film that may make you cry but do question why there is not an intelligent attitude where the better resources for victims of the atrocities in Iraq are not being helped by an increase in professionals who can aid them back to a better life and better health.
I have long been a fringe campaigner for more coverage on radio and television about mental health. The BBC would be a great place to start where first, radio programmes could be broadcast and second TV programmes could be made to get people to tune in who feel vulnerable. And let me make it clear, that is not all of us. But it is some of us and we all know people who are unwell in our various circles. Programmes could help to discourage those with ill health from turning down a rocky road where casual drug use is an option which only seems to make things worse not only for them, but also those around them.
PONDER THINK DISCUSS.
Penny Nair Price