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Fighting war might be easier on the head than peacekeeping, says a Halifax military psychiatrist who recently returned from Afghanistan.
Canadian troops are now involved in combat operations in the volatile southern province of Kandahar.
"In some ways, combat is psychologically better for people, for soldiers, because you’re not as helpless as you are as a peacekeeper," said Maj. Rakesh Jetly, the psychiatrist in charge of the Canadian Forces Trauma Centre in Halifax.
"As a peacekeeper, you have to sort of stand there as a passive witness to terrible things that are happening."
Maj. Jetly returned to Halifax recently after spending two months with a mental health team treating coalition soldiers and civilians in Kandahar.
In 1994, he served as a doctor with Canadian troops deployed to Rwanda. The central African country’s bloody genocide of more than 800,000 members of the Tutsi ethnic minority and politically moderate Hutus, orchestrated by Hutu extremists, is widely seen as one of the worst humanitarian disasters of recent times.
"When we were in Rwanda, you were trying to help people, but then there were so many rules in place and so many things that you can’t do, that you start to feel unhealthy," he said.
Canadian troops are now involved in combat operations in the volatile southern province of Kandahar.
"In some ways, combat is psychologically better for people, for soldiers, because you’re not as helpless as you are as a peacekeeper," said Maj. Rakesh Jetly, the psychiatrist in charge of the Canadian Forces Trauma Centre in Halifax.
"As a peacekeeper, you have to sort of stand there as a passive witness to terrible things that are happening."
Maj. Jetly returned to Halifax recently after spending two months with a mental health team treating coalition soldiers and civilians in Kandahar.
In 1994, he served as a doctor with Canadian troops deployed to Rwanda. The central African country’s bloody genocide of more than 800,000 members of the Tutsi ethnic minority and politically moderate Hutus, orchestrated by Hutu extremists, is widely seen as one of the worst humanitarian disasters of recent times.
"When we were in Rwanda, you were trying to help people, but then there were so many rules in place and so many things that you can’t do, that you start to feel unhealthy," he said.
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Låter ganska vettigt, men vad vet jag? Vad tycker ni som har varit ute på mission?
Ps. Är inte säker om jag har postat detta i rätt forum... blågul får gärna flytta tråden om det så behövs Ds.
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