Help in time of need

Issue 19 | Autumn/Winter 2007

Report: Samantha Blair

Director of the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, Professor Stephen Cordner.

More than two years after the Boxing Day Tsunami tragedy, thousands of Indonesians are still listed as missing because their bodies have not been able to be accurately identified.

Monash University experts are helping Indonesian authorities improve this grim but vital task and their work is already paying off.

In the hours and days following a disaster they are some of the key questions facing authorities, governments and the community alike: the details of exactly who has survived, been injured or killed.

It is a difficult, often traumatic, job but one which requires training and preparation.

In times of disaster, such as the Boxing Day Tsunami, the magnitude of the task can be overwhelming, something senior lecturer of the Monash Indonesian Studies Program, Basoeki Koesasi witnessed first hand.

"I was in Aceh after the tsunami and it was total devastation where local communities were forced to bury thousands of bodies which, sadly, were not identified," Mr Koesasi said.

He said disaster victim identification skills were vital in Indonesia, where natural disasters are a relatively frequent occurrence.

"One of the biggest issues facing Indonesia's emergency services is working out how to properly identify those who have died," Mr Koesasi said.

"It means a lot to families, loved ones and the culture of a community, to ensure their people are buried with dignity - and that means a formal identification."

Monash University recently joined forces with the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine and governments of Australia, Singapore and Indonesia to develop a new practical program to deal with the process of disaster victim identification.

They created a specific plan to train Indonesian emergency services personnel and communities, which culminated in a workshop recently held at Padjadjaran University Bandung, Indonesia.

Workshop participants.

Professor Stephen Cordner, Institute Director and Head of Monash University's Department of Forensic Medicine, said it focused on building their expertise.

"We've introduced more advanced training, including pathology testing; processes as simple as taking a photograph of the victim as soon as possible after the fatal event; identifying their location; labelling their belongings and, in some instances taking account of the possibility of DNA testing." Professor Cordner said in identifying the dead following a disaster, preparation is the key.

The Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) program continues to be utilised in Indonesia. Just hours after Garuda flight 737 over-shot the airport runway at Yogyakarta and exploded in a field on March 5 this year, killing more than 20 people, DVI trained support crews were quickly on the scene.

"Tragedies are incredibly difficult to deal with and many of us involved in the program had become close to some of the Australians on board that flight," Mr Koesasi said.

"We were all grief stricken by that event, but somehow knowing that we can assist in times of overwhelming sadness is a credit to the VIFM team and to those who have given of their time and compassion to help the people of Indonesia.

"It is a reality that some tragedies in Indonesia, such as the Bali bombings and Garuda crash have claimed the lives of Australians and in this way, we are assisting Australian families as well as the people of Indonesia."