Trauma takes toll on Tivoli children

Anastasia Cunningham, Senior Gleaner Writer

The May 2010 west Kingston incursion took a psychological toll on residents of the area, members of the security forces and even media personnel who covered the mayhem.

But perhaps the persons worst affected were the children, according child psychologists.

Of all the horrors they had been through in their short lives, this was the worst. Endless gunfire. Loud explosions that sounded like bombs. Friends, relatives and neighbours dying in front of them - a nightmare their young minds could have never imagined.

One year later, the children say the flashbacks and nightmares won't go away, no matter how hard they try. And many are wondering, will they ever do?

Child psychologists believe that no one will ever fully appreciate the impact of that psychological experience on those children.

In fact, studies revealed that 10 to 30 per cent of the children in Tivoli Gardens, as many as 600, were greatly affected and might have developed or are developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that will require ongoing intervention.

Following the incursion, various agencies attempted intervention programmes, especially geared at the children. However, not much was achieved because of limited resources, and for the most part their psychological well-being was not adequately addressed.

In effort to better determine the impact of the incursion on the children and form a more collaborative approach, a child crisis research project was commissioned by the Child Development Agency.

Conducted by consultant Ruel Cooke, the project found that one in five children from the directly affected communities - Tivoli Gardens and Denham Town - had PTSD. The study identified 422 children suffering from acute trauma and in need of specialist treatment.

Special approach

The need for an effective approach to implement the recommendations of the extensive report led to the formation of the Critical Incident Management Alliance, which includes several agencies, psychiatrists and psychologists. Among them were child psychiatrist Dr Ganesh Shetty and his team from the Kingston and St Andrew Health Department. They have been working with the affected children in west Kingston since December 2010.

According to Shetty, to date, of the almost 600 children between the ages of eight and 16 in need of serious intervention, they have only managed to see 30.

He said the trauma had a deeper impact on those in the younger age group.

Shetty noted that based on the overwhelming effect the event had on them and the level of trauma described in counselling sessions, the medical team has not started to penetrate the first level of the psychological barrier.

"We can break through it. The scars can be healed, but it will take a lot of time, effort and patience. We must try and do everything we can to heal those scars. The failure will come if we do nothing about it."

Citing the toughest cases as those who lost close relatives, Shetty added, "Many children are resilient, some will adapt, while others will develop various coping mechanisms to deal with what they are going through.

"Some developed a superman exterior, some became very numb, while others kept breaking down. Over time, we started getting through to them."

Among the symptoms discovered were learning impairment, intrusive thoughts, recurrent nightmares, flashbacks, sleeplessness, anger, moodiness, social withdrawal, acting out, violent behaviour, drug abuse, poor emotional control and unpredictable behaviour.

Shetty stated that to have any real results, the intervention must not only be sustained, but it has to be comprehensive, addressing the social, physical, spiritual and psychological aspects.

"It is difficult to help a child in a fragmented fashion," he added.

Argued Shetty: "Whether we want to accept it or not, intervention is essential for the greater good of the society at large. If we don't seek to steer them in the right direction from now to become productive citizens, they will grow up to be foot soldiers for criminals and criminals themselves, preying on the society."

Tale of despair

He shared a story he was told of a teen who held up a taxi driver and told him to give him all he had because he did not plan to live beyond age 21, so he had to get all he could from now.

"That is the level of hopelessness many of these children feel. They have become so desperate, some are carrying out varying levels of crime and violence. They need reassurance that there is hope, that their life expectancy is not short, that they have value and they belong somewhere," said Shetty, who conducts the clinic once a week at the Denham Town Primary School.

Despite the horror of what they experienced last May, the psychiatrist said violence was, in fact, a reality for most of these children even before the police-military incursion.

Shetty said approximately 1,000 children were suffering from mental-health issues brought on by violence in their communities long before May 2010. This had led to a deep-seated low self-esteem and paranoia, suspicious of anyone, even those wanting to help.

anastasia.cunningham@gleanerjm.com