Source: Special Correspondent in Bougainville
As an issue of concern in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, trauma alone is as delicate but paramount a priority as reconciliation. The region has been undergoing gradual progress towards recovery in different sectors of economy, infrastructure and governance. However, the pain and suffering of the 10 year crisis are too scaring to be erased in the mind of the individual; however the individual may think he or she can contain the pains and scars of the bloody war, trauma always has a way of letting out. Effects of trauma can be passed on from parent to child through the child’s upbringing, and the effects of it are obvious today in Bougainville and throughout the region.
The effects of not addressing trauma is as real as it can get, and the spillover effects can be seen in Buka, Arawa and Buin towns and many other centres throughout the region. Men and youth both male and females turning to alcoholism, however, this is one of the many symptoms. Men are also more inclined to hold onto their guns for reasons relating to the crisis. Women and their children who came through the experience of the crisis are very much as affected as those who participated in it. The witnessing or participating in horrendous acts during the crisis will continue to have an enduring effect on those who went through such ordeals.
The addressing of trauma in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville still needs adequate redress. Trauma is as serious as the need for continual reconciliations because the effect of it ultimately carries over into other sectors if it is not adequately addressed.
No doubt the health sector of the region, though with limited funding, is serving its purpose in providing health services, and also making health services accessible in the rural areas. However, with a population that has gone through a traumatic experience of the 10 year war, the government and donors should also consider the importance to address trauma alongside health service delivery.
This in turn takes a process to treat trauma, it is through trained counseling. The intention of counseling is to help the patient accept the experience and to move on. Either, victim or perpetrator, it is always a painful experience for the patient to reveal their deep seated experiences or encounters. It is a matter of making the person talk it through, which is by far the hardest thing to do. And by allowing one to have the liberty to express themselves verbally, they will begin to release their fears, frustrations or worries. That is a form of remedy in itself, however; most often these are overlooked because there many people think it is not relevant.
Men in Bougainville often respond to reasons why they turn to booze is to let out their frustrations, worries and anger. This is because people tend to hold onto those worries, problems and it becomes like a sore in the mind, gradually getting bigger as the person keeps holding onto it. It will come to a point breaking point where the person will have to let it out, and it will always not be a good alternative, and results in creating more problems.
Some of the many alcohol outlets that serve the large number of alcoholics in Arawa. There are as many beer outlets in Arawa as retail stores.
The cause for need to address trauma in the region is to help those many men and women come out of the psychological incarceration and enable them to be active participants of Bougainville’s future. As the region continues its struggle towards that desired destiny of statehood, it will be needed that complementary to this is a mentally healthy and capable population that can bring Bougainville into the future. There is no quick fix to this if leaders are serious in getting Bougainville on its feet.