The Scarsdale Inquirer – Hometown newspaper of Scarsdale, New York 10583

Peter C. Alderman

Foundation in memory of a lost son brings hope and healing

By LINDA LEAVITT

It’s been 10 years since their son Peter, a 1994 graduate of Scarsdale High School, was killed in the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.

The pain of their loss has not diminished — “It’s like he died yesterday,” said Liz Alderman — but she and her husband Steve have channeled their grief into a foundation dedicated to helping victims of terrorism and mass violence.

The Peter C. Alderman Foundation trains indigenous health workers — over 1,000 from 22 countries — and establishes trauma treatment systems in post-conflict countries around the globe. Since its founding in 2003, the PCAF has treated more than 100,000 people.

Elizabeth on a site visit in Africa.

Lots of organizations provide money for medical care in Africa, the Aldermans point out, but very few address the emotional wounds inflicted by tribal warfare and violence. “More people suffer from traumatic depression than from HIV, malaria and TB combined,” said Steve, a retired physician. “You can put AIDS drugs in their hands but if they don’t care whether they live or die, they won’t take it.”

Recognizing that other cultures have their own ways of expressing and coping with trauma, the foundation trains psychiatrists to work with tribal elders as well as physicians and incorporates traditional healing practices. Cleansing ceremonies in Africa, for example, may involve stepping on unfertilized eggs, and drinking tea from ceremonial gourds. In Cambodia, where the Aldermans established their first clinic, it’s important to understand that the people somatize emotional pain, Steve explained; a headache might be treated more effectively with therapy and psychotropic drugs than with painkillers.

In addition to working with tribal leaders and healers, the foundation requires active participation from the host government. “The country must have a government that’s working,” said Liz. “We will not go into Somalia or Sudan — there’s too much unrest and craziness — but we’ve trained doctors from these areas. We will not go in unless we have a memorandum of understanding with the government. We pay the salaries of the staff and make sure the training is good; the government must provide the facility, beds and psychotropic drugs.”

The gold standard of cooperation is Uganda, where the PCAF has established four thriving clinics. The Aldermans are hoping to replicate that success in Liberia, where a PCAF clinic is set to open soon. The dynamic president of the country, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, has been successful in restoring order after 14 years of war, Steve said. “Their wars were fought in the capital and everyone saw the horrors,” said Liz. “They weren’t confined to the bush.” Right now, Liberia has “zero capacity” to help the war victims, she added; there’s only one psychiatrist in the whole country. A PCAF-trained doctor from Uganda will travel to Liberia to train workers and stay there for five years.

Next year they hope to open a PCAF clinic in Tanzania.

Among the victims of war and terror they have met, the Aldermans took particular interest in James, a former child soldier kidnapped by the Lord’s Resistance Army when he was 11 and kept in the bush for four years until he escaped and found his way to a PCAF clinic. “He was not able to talk about what happened to him,” said Liz. “He drew pictures of himself — he was always the one in a yellow shirt — yellow is a color of hope in his tribe. The pictures showed dismembered people, and a man holding a knife over the head of a boy who appeared to be bleeding or crying. They were horrifying.” Eventually a counselor was able to get James to talk about the boy in the pictures.

“After a series of treatments, he was much better and we sent him to school,” said Liz. “We paid for the school, and a place for him to live. But it was too soon. He became frustrated and turned to drinking. Now he’s back in therapy and we’re going to send him to art school.” Steve said James, like many war victims the Aldermans have seen in displaced persons camps, used to have an unsettling blank stare. “We now have picture of James with a smiling face,” said Liz.

In many cases, though, when people have been raped, tortured and witnessed the brutal killings of loved ones, happiness is too much to hope for. The clinics’ goals are more modest — to help such people be able to work and take care of their families, and in the process begin to heal.

Asked how it was possible for people to overcome the natural desire for revenge on their tormentors, Steve said the village elders try to get their people to focus on restorative justice and forgo retributive justice, but it’s hard to redirect their anger.

Liz cited research showing three things that mitigate anger and the desire for revenge — altruism, spirituality and work. “These are things that bring you outside yourself.” She knows this from personal experience. “When we started the foundation, I was able to get out of bed in the morning because I had work to do,” she said. “When you’re sitting at a computer you can’t cry — the keys get wet. I never thought I’d feel good about anything ever again, but I feel really good about people we’re helping and the people who’ve come into our lives all around the world. lt doesn’t take the pain away but allows me to function and this is what we’re trying to do for our patients.”

“What we’re doing is not just symbolic,” said Steve. “We’re making an impact by small impact every single day … We’ve been able to attract serious donors and made them partners so they stay with us. We really believe we can bring this to scale.”

Liz said the Aldermans received many calls from journalists after the death of Osama bin Laden wanting to know how they felt. “We didn’t say what they wanted us to say,” she said. She was troubled by images of Americans whooping and cheering the way some people in Arab countries did after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. “It did not put good face on America,” Liz said.

Asked if they are planning anything different on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, the couple said they will get together with Peter’s friends from high school for the annual fundraising walk on Sept. 18 in Mount Kisco, near where they now live. As Peter’s friends have married and had children, the event has evolved from a party in Manhattan to a walk in the suburbs, children welcome. The walk has raised over $70,000 each year. “It’s one of the most poignant things we do,” said Liz, who loves to see Peter’s friends, but can’t help thinking about the 10 years of life her son has missed.

The future of the foundation, she said, lies with Peter’s generation. His sister Jane Zeitz, is the administrative director, his brother Jeffrey, a doctor, is on the board, and one of his high school friends has also agreed to serve. With the donations they’ve received, the family has hired an executive director and a program director and they have a roster of professional consultants.

As the connections and assets of the PCAF grow, the Aldermans have not forgotten how it all began eight years ago in a determination to forge something positive out of the flames of 9/11 that took their son. “We need to thank supporters for believing in us when we had nothing,” said Steve.

The Aldermans’ story was featured in a documentary, “Love Hate Love,” which premiered in New York City at Tribeca Film Festival 2011 in April. The film, directed by Dana Nachman and Don Hardy (“Witch Hunt”) and executive produced by Sean Penn, follows the lives of three families torn apart by terrorism and their journeys to ensure that love triumphs over hatred. The film is being shown in the Bendheim Performing Arts Center at the JCC of Mid-Westchester Sunday, Sept. 11, at 4 p.m. Tickets at $10 are available online, www.thebendheim.org or at the box office. The film will be followed by a panel discussion.

To learn more about the Peter C. Alderman Foundation or to join the Sept. 18 walk, go to petercalderman.org.

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