Traumatic Stress in South Africa by Debbie Kaminer & Gillian Eagle

Author:Debbie Kaminer & Gillian Eagle [Kaminer, Debbie & Eagle, Gillian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Political Science, General, Psychology
ISBN: 9781868148363
Google: wjZjDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: NYU Press
Published: 2010-10-01T03:32:38+00:00

Community Interventions, Rituals And Memorials

A chapter covering traumatic stress treatment and intervention in South Africa would not be complete without some discussion of community-level interventions. While the subject of community interventions could comprise a chapter on its own, this sub-section provides some orientation to this level of input. Some aspects of community-level interventions have been discussed in the earlier section on group interventions, particularly the psychosocial aspects of such intervention. Wilderness therapy aimed at selected participants from communities in conflict could also be understood as a community intervention in some respects. However, it is important to recognise that some trauma interventions are targeted at large groups of people forming communities of various kinds, rather than at individually traumatised people within such groups. The indirect effects of traumatisation on the social networks of direct victims have been recognised, as has the fact that traumatic events often tear apart the social fabric of communities. Interventions are usually designed to collectively mark and mourn what has been lost and to recreate some sense of social cohesion.

Meintjes95 describes such a community intervention project aimed at healing the trauma of communities affected by the extreme political violence that took place between African National Congress (ANC) and Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) supporters in the period leading up to the first democratic elections in 1994. She documents the difficulties encountered in entering and gaining credibility in such communities in the face of very high levels of mistrust. She also describes the necessarily multi-faceted nature of such intervention, including occupational skills development, inter-group mediation, and psychoeducation, in addition to holding groups that were overtly therapeutic in orientation. It is apparent that a range of community practice skills is necessary for effective trauma intervention in such situations.

In addition to its other objectives, the South African TRC was intended partly as a trauma healing intervention at the level of communities and the nation as a whole. ‘Despite its shortcomings, the process served as a public acknowledgement of the political and social nature of the context in which atrocities were committed and individuals traumatised, and an impetus to create a new future in which racial conflicts would no longer result in tragic and needless conflict. The significance of the TRC as a social process towards healing has been widely acknowledged.’96 At a social level, in keeping with aspects of individual trauma therapy, it was hoped that the surfacing of difficult, painful and horrific material would allow for collective catharsis and avoidance of suppression and repression of historical atrocities. This idea was complemented by an expectation of public and collective censure and apology as grounds for potential reconciliation. There have been numerous evaluations of aspects of the TRC with mixed findings about its ostensible strengths and weaknesses.97 Nevertheless, as a model for reconciliation in previously conflict ridden societies, it has been drawn upon to inform similar processes in countries such as Northern Ireland, Rwanda and Sierra Leone. The TRC epitomises a societal level trauma intervention.

One of the outcomes of the TRC was restitution of both a material and symbolic nature.

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