Bringing light into hearts of darkness
ESTELLA Ngondu lives in a refugee camp alongside Bangui airport.
It houses 60 000 people who fled their homes after clashes between mostly Muslim Seleka rebels and a murderous militia roup known as the anti-balaka in December.
Three weeks ago, Ngondu, 19, gave birth prematurely to two boys at a hospital run by Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF.
“I lost my husband in December during the attacks,” she said. “The Seleka just killed him. I can’t go home because our house was destroyed. The Seleka took everything.”
South African clinical psychologist Gail Womersley, who works for the humanitarian aid group, said there had been an increase in premature births during the conflict because of psychological and physical stresses.
Womersley, 29, does trauma counselling for local MSF staff.
“Most fled their homes with only the clothes they were wearing, were attacked or lost family members, so there needs to be some serious stress management,” she said.
Womersley studied psychology at the University of Cape Town, specialising in sexual violence. A stint at a rape crisis centre prompted her to focus on trauma.
Since joining MSF in 2012, she has worked in Zimbabwe and in a Ukrainian prison, counselling mobsters. “These were rough guys — rapists and murderers,” she said. “It got easier once I’d learned Russian.”
Her next assignment was in South Sudan. “The women were coming into the emergency room collapsing, having seizures, but there was nothing physically wrong with them. It was all psychosomatic. Many had lost their husbands and had to marry their husbands’ brothers. It was really hard for them.”
On February 16, she arrived in the Central African Republic, stepping into a hail of bullets at Bangui airport. The NGO workers on the tarmac dropped to the ground, then ran to the airport building during a lull in firing. “It was a very bad day to arrive.”
Living in Bangui felt “surreal”, she said. She goes to work as though it is a regular job, but there are tanks in the streets and groups armed with grenades and AK47s clash in some neighbourhoods most days or nights. At the sound of shots, MSF staff hit the ground.
Stress in war zones often manifested itself physically because people tried to push traumatic events out of their minds, she said. “That’s why I focus on physical therapy, such as progressive muscle relaxation to get the blood flow going and appetite back.”
Mental techniques are also important. “You imagine you are at a place where you are at ease, replacing the traumatic images.” Practical steps, such as reintroducing structure in chaotic lives, also help.
Even though her friends and siblings are “at that age when they’re getting married”, she is not planning on settling down soon. “I love the adventure of getting on a plane any time and not knowing what awaits you,” she said.
This report was made possible in part by MSF funding