Hidden horror - Children scarred by Tivoli incursion

Anastasia Cunningham, Senior Gleaner Writer

ALMOST a year later, the nightmares still have not ended for 12-year-old Timmy(not real name). The images are still clear as the day it happened.

The door to his home was kicked in and a young man was dragged out, forced to his knees in the pool of dirty water in the middle of the street, and shot in his head. Timmy jumped at the loud bang as he saw pieces of flesh fly through the air before the young man fell to the ground, his crimson-red blood colouring the brown, muddy water.

Now, each day the nightmares give way to intense anger. Timmy's dream was always to become a soldier. Not again. Those dreams have now been shattered.

This is just one of many horrifying stories child psychiatrists and psychologists working in west Kingston deal with everyday.

Studies conducted revealed that more than 50 per cent of the children were greatly affected, while 20 per cent now suffer from acute trauma.

"They have nightmares, flashbacks, wet their beds, and have declined in academic performance," said child psychiatrist Dr Ganesh Shetty.

"They have serious behavioural problems and the boys, especially, are very disruptive in school and home."

During his weekly clinic at the Denham Town Health Centre, Shetty and his team have an enormous task of helping these children overcome their fears.

"I see a lot of disillusionment in them. They believe that no one is going to help them, that they are forgotten," said Shetty.

The parent factor is also a big hindrance. Shetty said a lot of the parents do not have the time to take them to the clinic. They are also caught up in the day-to-day things of life, trying to survive, which they consider more important.

"Once the child isn't bleeding or have broken bones, to them the child is perfectly fine. They really don't see mental health as an issue or important, and some of them are really living in denial. They are also quite sceptic and paranoid. Many resent the intrusion into their lives," Shetty told The Sunday Gleaner.

Also challenging is the stigma associated with mental-health issues. UNICEF Jamaica representative Robert Fuderich said it was important for a public-education campaign to reduce the stigma associated with mental health in order for parents to see that their children need help.

Not just children affected

Fern McFarlane, assistant chief education officer in educational planning in the Ministry of Education, added that it was equally important that everyone realise that what happened in Tivoli Gardens did not just affect children in that community.

"One parent from an upper St Andrew community called to get help for her son. He saw the news and became so terrified that he did not want to leave his house nor wanted his mother to leave the house. He felt something bad was going to happen if they went outside," McFarlane said.

Shetty said the children in west Kingston see violence so often, it has become their reality and they have developed a numbing approach as their coping mechanism.

"People think they are desensitised to death and violence because they see it everyday, but the truth is, it does affect them. On the inside, they are so terrified and scared, which manifest themselves in different ways. Once you break through that, they just cry like a baby," said the child psychiatrist.

Fuderich believes that to achieve real success, there needs to be social intervention to alleviate the violence in the communities that have become a reality for the children.

UNICEF's child protection specialist, Janet Cupidon Quallo, said the rights of the child must be protected at all cost. "We must do whatever is necessary to mitigate the trauma they will go through in emergencies and disasters," she said.

Name changed

anastasia.cunningham@gleanerjm.com