Reference :
V-F-CR-F-03086-N
Date :
16/02/2021
Title :
Central African Republic : children traumatized by violence confront their fear and anger
Duration :
00:07:53
Editor :
SECK, Mouhamadou Birom
Confidentiality level :
public
Publication restrictions :
publication without restrictions
Production company :
ICRC
ICRC producer :
SECK, Mouhamadou Birom
Description :
The latest clashes in the Central African Republic began in December 2020. They involve armed groups and government forces and have forced over 180,000 people to flee their homes, seeking a semblance of safety.
Some are living in camps for displaced persons near the town of Kaga-Bandoro. But whether they have just arrived or been here for months – or even years – everybody in these camps shares the same painful experiences.
The stories of pillaging, rape and summary execution are endless, and they are all similar. We hear them from men and women, and also from children who, like their parents, are in real need of psychological support.
In addition to losing their familiar surroundings, many of these children have been deeply affected by what they have experienced or witnessed. Many have lost family or friends.
In a country where psychiatric services are virtually non-existent (there is only one psychiatrist practising in the whole of the Central African Republic), and the health system suffers from chronic under-funding, traditional healers, marabouts and shamans are the usual option when it comes to treating psychological trauma. Parents turn to these practitioners when their child suffers from nightmares or from images they cannot shake off, when deep depression makes them avoid their friends, or when they faint for reasons their families cannot understand.
Since 2014, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) mental health specialists in the Kaga-Bandoro region have been in dialogue with traditional healers and parents, to convince them that the traditional approach and “modern” treatment can be complementary. Healers are now sending children to the ICRC, either immediately – without taking action themselves – or when a child’s condition fails to improve despite their rituals.
In all cases, the aim is to make the child better, while respecting everyone’s beliefs. When the parents give their consent, the ICRC’s therapists can get to work.
By replying to a questionnaire, parents provide the information needed to assess the psychological state of their child. Psychological support is provided once a week in the camps for displaced persons, with the aid of Central African Red Cross volunteers, either in groups or with individual children.
Therapists use stories, drawing, breathing exercises or simply the spoken word during individual sessions at Kaga-Bandoro Hospital.
Parents are always involved in the therapy. The ICRC sets up an oral contract with them, enabling its therapists to monitor the child’s progress. On average, therapy lasts three months. Over 550 children in the three camps for displaced persons at Kaga-Bandoro underwent therapy in 2020.
The needs remain enormous, with the result that none of the children affected by the most recent displacements have been able to receive psychological support so far. But the results are encouraging. Parents living in the town are starting to contact the ICRC, asking the organization to treat their children.
ICRC president Peter Maurer was in Kaga-Bandoro on 11 February to see the results of the mental health programme for himself. “When we started thinking about a more holistic approach to health problems, we began talking about psychological problems, the kinds of mental health problem that people are exposed to during war. I’m very encouraged to see that the first programmes are now under way. Because it’s true that in the past, we perhaps paid too much attention to the physical aspect. We saw the physical wounds and we treated them. But we didn’t see the invisible.”
The ICRC hopes that the Central African government will be able to start providing adequate mental health services in the not too distant future, if stability and development replace violence. So that Central African society – children and adults alike – can finally overcome its deep psychological traumas.
French title :
Central African Republic : children traumatized by violence confront their fear and anger
Colour/B&W :
colour
SD/HD :
HD
Resolution :
1920 x 1080
Aspect ratio :
16/9
Original material/format :
H264
Best material/format available :
ProRes 422
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