Ibuka records increased trauma cases

As the country concludes this year’s Genocide Commemoration period, emerging reports from Ibuka’s trauma counseling department indicate increased recorded cases, of traumatized survivors. Ibuka is the umbrella association of Genocide survivors.According to Adelite Mukamana, the coordinator of the trauma department, the increase has been due to emerging challenges and hardships faced by survivors. “It is absurd to find that as years go by, the trauma cases keep on increasing, but this has been significantly due to the emerging hardships facing genocide survivors such as poverty and the continuing mockery from perpetrators,” pointed out Mukamana. She also explained that this year, survivors were subjected to much stigmatization, which manifested itself though mockery and insults from the public. Between April and May 2009 alone, 3573 traumatized people from the different parts of the country, sought therapy. It also emerged that this year many other people who are not Genocide survivors got traumatized and this further increasing the number of trauma cases. Speaking to The New Times on phone, the president of Ibuka, Theodore Simburudari, revealed that he is aware that the Gacaca court proceedings had exposed many survivors to trauma. “I am aware that Gacaca courts have exposed many survivors to trauma these days but you can contact the trauma department for statistics and details,” he said. Some reports also reveal that the remorseless and scornful way suspects defend themselves in the Gacaca courts mostly in sensitive cases such as rape; many survivors have been experienced trauma attacks. Every district in Rwanda was allocated one counselor to be conducting trauma counseling and other psychological rehabilitation activities, but the ground assessments are done by psychosocial assistants who also get overwhelmed by the cases. “We have trained 360 psychosocial assistants in the whole country who we monitor and supervise. They help us identify complex cases as well as handling some clients,” said Mukamana. Ends

National

Ibuka records increased trauma cases