Journalists' trauma book launched in Kenya

It contains testimonies about the journalists' harrowing experiences as well as advice on coping with trauma.

The political violence after the December 2007 elections killed nearly 1,500 people and displaced some 500,000 more. The media community in Kenya is still dealing with the consequences of this traumatising event. A trauma counselling initiative was launched in March 2008 to help journalists whose lives were shaken and turned upside down by the violence.

Among those who witnessed the most harrowing incidents were the field-based correspondents or freelancers, who produce 70% of the editorial content, in both the print and electronic media.

A media forum, the “Nairobi Round Table,” was subsequently held to identify the main needs and priorities to support the Kenyan media community. This forum found that counseling was virtually non-existent for the Kenyan journalists, especially for field-based correspondents, who don't have the personal contact and support of colleagues or editors. The forum was held in Nairobi on 12 February 2008.

As a result of the forum, 150 journalists took part in counselling, which was held in Nairobi, Nakuru, Eldoret, Kisumu and Mombasa, from March to May 2008.

Psychiatrist Sobbie A. Z. Mulindi headed the trauma counselling. In the booklet, she offers very thorough guidance to journalists, to help them deal with and better understand the psychological effects of covering traumatising events.

“Most journalists were shocked and confused about what they were doing,” Dr. Mulindi told RAP 21. Some journalists felt guilty about being partisan or getting “entangled in the mess.”

She felt that the counselling had genuinely helped the journalists, most of whom have returned to work. “During the launch of the booklet, those interviewed said they had benefited from the counselling and they can now handle future events better,” she said.

According to the booklet, one of the main recommendations from the counselling session was to urge editors to care about the well-being of their staff. William Janak, chair of the KCA explained, “The media organisations have not prepared well for any outbreak of the conflict and there in lies the challenge. They have not taken the trauma issues seriously and many editors remain traumatised or even uncaring about field based journalists.”

A common sentiment among the journalists was a feeling of a lack of support, a sense of experiencing the trauma all alone.

One journalist from the Nyanza Province explains in the booklet, “It was a time when one really needed encouragement and a feeling that somebody else was bothered about your safety. I wondered why no one had called from the news desk to ask about my well-being and general safety..My conclusion was that my bosses were more concerned about stories from me than about my personal safety and well-being.”

Janak said there are over 1,000 copies of the booklet in Nairobi, and they will be distributed to media organisations throughout Kenya, as well as to members of the KCA.

For further information, go to www.i-m-s.dk/node/735

Article published courtesy of RAP 21