{"id":21243,"date":"2022-09-03T13:01:07","date_gmt":"2022-09-03T13:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/uncategorized\/dealing-with-the-trauma-of-displacement-in-the-gambia"},"modified":"2022-09-03T14:36:08","modified_gmt":"2022-09-03T14:36:08","slug":"dealing-with-the-trauma-of-displacement-in-the-gambia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/dealing-with-the-trauma-of-displacement-in-the-gambia","title":{"rendered":"Dealing with the trauma of displacement in The Gambia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. <\/strong><\/span>When conflict broke out in Kaddy\u2019s Senegalese village in early April, she was forced to leave her belongings behind to save her family. \u201cWe lost everything. When we left, we could not take anything with us. Our animals, our food; everything was destroyed in the fighting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Together with her husband and seven children, Kaddy fled north to The Gambia, eventually finding her way to a small village in Janack district, in an area popularly known as \u2018Foni\u2019.<\/p>\n

Having left with nothing, Kaddy and her family had to rely on the hospitality of the local community for food and shelter. \u201cWe feel like a burden to the other communities helping us,\u201d Kaddy laments. \u201cWe feel ashamed to be \u2018taken care of\u2019, but we have no choice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kaddy is among thousands of Senegalese forced to flee to The Gambia, according to the country’s National Disaster Management Agency, after fighting broke out along the Gambian-Senegalese border, in territory occupied by the separatist Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC).<\/p>\n

An additional 6,200 Gambians have been internally displaced, with another 8,500 affected in host communities \u2013 according to The Gambia\u2019s National Disaster Management Agency \u2013 by the conflict, which dates back four decades.Raising awareness of post-traumatic stress<\/p>\n

Recognizing the significant impact of the conflict on the well-being of displaced persons, the International Organization for Migration (IOM<\/a>) mobilized its expertise in providing mental health and psychosocial support. In collaboration with the Supportive Activists Foundation, IOM deployed a mobile psychosocial team \u2013 consisting of a psychologist, two social workers, an educator, and a community mobilizer \u2013 to provide direct services to the affected populations.<\/p>\n

One key approach being employed by the mobile team is psychoeducation, where volunteers meet with and engage communities to discuss mental health issues and possible signs and symptoms of stress. \u201cThe purpose is to raise awareness about the experiences of individuals who have gone through post-traumatic stress or have been negatively affected due to the change of environment brought by the crisis,\u201d said Solomon Correa, Supportive Activists Foundation Managing Director.<\/p>\n

These sessions, conducted in groups, leverage traditional sociocultural activities, such as regular attaya (tea) sessions, to facilitate discussions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are able to teach them coping mechanisms during the discussions,\u201d says Amie, a volunteer psychologist. \u201cAfter we orient them on the possible signs and symptoms of mental health problems, they are often very interested to talk with us in private.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through the psychoeducation sessions, the mobile team is able to identify people with specific mental health needs that require further attention and conduct follow-up visits or referrals, as needed.This is one of the things helping me the most in my daily life\u2019<\/p>\n

Fatou is one of many who have benefited from dedicated, one-on-one counselling sessions.<\/p>\n

A Gambian previously living in Casamance with her Senegalese husband, her whole family fled when the conflict broke out. Fatou left her home abruptly and had no time to gather any belongings, as she was preoccupied with safely evacuating her 10 children, one of whom is physically disabled. For over two months, she has been living in her uncle\u2019s compound in Janack.<\/p>\n

Fatou has resorted to small, day-to-day jobs, including offering labour on farms during harvesting to sell the produce on behalf of the farmers to make ends meet. However, the stress of providing for her family in a new environment, along with painful memories resurfaced from the shootings she witnessed, has had a negative impact on her mental well-being.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo date, this is one of the things helping me the most in my daily life,\u201d Fatou says of the psychosocial support she has received. \u201cI am really happy to talk to them [the mobile team] and share my feelings and problems without hesitation.\u201d Fatou\u2019s sessions with the mobile team have helped give her a sense of mutual solidarity with others who have been displaced: \u201cIt helps me to know we are not alone in this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Months after the outbreak of conflict, there seems to be no end in sight. \u201cWe are not sure whether it is okay for us to go back or not. Right now, we have no clue,\u201d Fatou remarks.<\/p>\n

The psychosocial support is helping the most affected cope with the drastic changes in their lives and pick up the pieces left behind. As Kaddy shares, \u201cJust being able to talk to someone alone about our problems in this crisis really encourages us. It helps us to feel a little more comfortable even though there is no certainty about the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSince participating in these sessions, I have been less worried,\u201d agrees Fatou.<\/p>\n

In a world where mental health is often put in the back seat, the work of the six-person mobile psychosocial team demonstrates the benefits of prioritizing mental health needs.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Gambia<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. When conflict broke out in Kaddy\u2019s Senegalese village in early April, she was forced to leave her belongings behind to save her family. \u201cWe lost everything. When we left, we could not take anything with us. Our animals, our food; everything was destroyed in the fighting.\u201d Together with her husband and seven […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":21242,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,7,8],"tags":[2355,2361,8199,5444,260],"class_list":["post-21243","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","category-head-lines","category-homepage-english","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-gambia","tag-dealing","tag-displacement","tag-gambia"],"yoast_head":"\nDealing with the trauma of displacement in The Gambia - Gambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When conflict broke out in Kaddy\u2019s Senegalese village in early April, she was forced to leave her belongings behind to s ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/dealing-with-the-trauma-of-displacement-in-the-gambia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dealing with the trauma of displacement in The Gambia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When conflict broke out in Kaddy\u2019s Senegalese village in early April, she was forced to leave her belongings behind to s ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/dealing-with-the-trauma-of-displacement-in-the-gambia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gambia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-09-03T13:01:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-09-03T14:36:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2022\/09\/postQueueImg_3-6313663cba56a.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1442\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/dealing-with-the-trauma-of-displacement-in-the-gambia#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/dealing-with-the-trauma-of-displacement-in-the-gambia\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Dealing with the trauma of displacement in The Gambia\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-09-03T13:01:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-09-03T14:36:08+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/dealing-with-the-trauma-of-displacement-in-the-gambia\"},\"wordCount\":808,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/dealing-with-the-trauma-of-displacement-in-the-gambia#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2022\/09\/postQueueImg_3-6313663cba56a.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Gambia\",\"Dealing\",\"displacement\",\"Gambia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\",\"head lines\",\"homepage-english\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/dealing-with-the-trauma-of-displacement-in-the-gambia#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/dealing-with-the-trauma-of-displacement-in-the-gambia\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/dealing-with-the-trauma-of-displacement-in-the-gambia\",\"name\":\"Dealing with the trauma of displacement in The Gambia - 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