Experts: Mainers’ war worries in check

BANGOR – Concern remains high for troops and families affected by the war in Iraq, but area health care professionals and religious leaders say overwhelming fears connected to the war appear to be in check in greater Bangor.

A sense of emotional conflict has been noted by some professionals who say the continuous war coverage has produced awe and guilt for people who feel helpless to help soldiers on the front.

A statewide hot-line service for people affected by the war is logging more calls from people offering assistance to troops and their families than people seeking emotional support.

The Acadia Hospital, a facility dealing with psychiatric and addiction problems, has not seen any change in the nature of admissions this month, according to spokesman Alan Comeau.

March is typically a busy month at Acadia, Comeau said. “We haven’t seen any changes from this March to last year at the same time.”

Organizers of a telephone hot line that was started March 12 to help Mainers with war concerns reported it has been used moderately.

The “Homeland Helpline” sponsored by WCSH 6 n Portland and its sister television station, WLBZ 2 in Bangor, has been receiving an average of 35 to 50 calls each night, much less than the service received during the days following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The “Homeland Helpline” has been in service from 5 to 8 p.m. with professional counselors staffing telephones.

It was not activated this weekend, and a decision will be made Monday on whether to continue the service, said Charlene Belanger, community relations director for WCSH 6 and WLBZ 2 and Judy Horan, president and general manager of WLBZ 2.

Reactions to the war have not produced marked anxiety statewide, but the Rev. Robert Carlson, chaplain at Husson College, said he sees a growing sense of anxiety on campus as televised images of war permeate the classrooms and offices of the Bangor-based school.

His office and the Office of Student Affairs constantly air the war coverage.

“I find students stop by, they watch the news for a little bit, and they’re talking about it more in the line of ‘what can we do?”‘ Carlson said. “It brings on a feeling of helplessness.”

Conflicted feelings could have been exacerbated Saturday when a “country in external and internal conflict” was played out on two city streets, Carlson said. Motorists on the Hogan Road saw boisterous “support-our-troops” demonstrators, only to be greeted a mile away on Route 2 by demonstrators advocating peace.

“So we ask, ‘What can we do? How can we work our way out of this?’ It creates a whole new level of anxiety,” Carlson said.

The Rev. Frank Murray of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Bangor said he knows of families in the parish with loved ones who have had to go overseas as a result of the war.

Murray observed that a variation exists in how much people are allowing the war to consume their lives in terms of watching it on television.

“I, personally, am not watching it too much. I try to catch the 6 p.m. and the 11 p.m. news. I don’t think it’s healthy to watch it day in and day out,” Murray said. But, he admits, some people are fixated.

At every Mass, “We are praying for the safety of the armed services,” Murray added.

Having two Maine soldiers killed soon after the war began made people realize “this is not just a movie. Generally speaking, everybody is affected by it. Everybody senses a real level of concern. We’re all a little bit more prayerful than we were last Lent,” Murray said.