It is believed that there will be an increasing level of mental health problems among peacekeepers returning from active duty in crisis areas. There is a special telephone support help line for these servicemen, but it is not expected to meet their needs in future. A questionnaire is now being circulated to identify the need for help in dealing with problems.
Nearly 40,000 Finns have served in peacekeeping missions, including Ari-Vesa Savolainen, who did two tours in Lebanon as a medic. It was no holiday in the sun.
"I must say that I had nightmares about some of the situations probably still one and a half to two years after returning," Savolainen says.
He had not only the support of his comrades, but also of his wife who lived close to where he was stationed.
"It took a lot to understand it, to understand something about where I had not been, since I couldn't go into the operations area," explains Ari-Vesa's wife, Leila.
Many believe that peacekeepers' experiences can only really be understood by someone who has been through something similar. This is the starting point for the 24-hour-a-day help line operated by the Union of Finnish Peacekeepers. However, it is thought that the help line alone will no longer be enough.
"There should be gatherings and such close by after someone comes back home, and follow-ups on how the boys are doing," Ari-Vesa Savolainen says.
This matter was the focus of a psycho-social peer group symposium held in Kuopio on Saturday. A questionnaire is now being planned for distribution to all returning peacekeepers. The intention is to find those who do need help.
"It is expected that the need for support will increase and this is part of preparations. We must also be prepared for the fact that these especially traumatic experiences in peacekeeping, roadside bombs, and such, can later produce difficult psychological problems," points out Professor Jukka Leskinen of the National Defence College.
