{"id":56,"date":"2010-06-26T03:08:59","date_gmt":"2010-06-26T07:08:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/174.120.63.226\/~hrlha\/?page_id=56"},"modified":"2010-06-26T03:08:59","modified_gmt":"2010-06-26T07:08:59","slug":"publications","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.humanrightsleague.org\/?page_id=56","title":{"rendered":"Articles"},"content":{"rendered":"

COLONIAL<\/em><\/strong> <\/em><\/strong>TRAUMA, COMMUNITY RESILIENCY<\/em><\/strong> <\/em><\/strong>AND COMMUNITY \u00a0HEALTH DEVELOPMENT<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Case <\/strong>of the Oromo people in Ethiopia<\/strong><\/p>\n

Begna <\/em>F<\/em>. Dugassa \u00a0Phd<\/em><\/p>\n

INTRODUCTION<\/p>\n

In human\u00a0 history it is well known that among the many people who \u00a0have lived in highly stressful \u00a0social conditions, \u00a0most \u00a0of them are likely to die prematurely, \u00a0live in poverty, and experi- ence other \u00a0social adversities in their lives (Lang \u00a0& Dickason,<\/p>\n

1996). A few of them successfully overcome \u00a0these adversities and \u00a0are \u00a0able to\u00a0 lead \u00a0competent lives. Those \u00a0who \u00a0overcame these dif\ufb01culties are considered resilient. However, it has not been clearly understood how these individuals and communi- ties \u00a0overcame \u00a0the stress and \u00a0adversities while the others \u00a0did not. To \u00a0understand how some \u00a0communities overcome \u00a0stress and violence and lead successful lives, it is important to enquire into \u00a0the \u00a0conditions \u00a0in which the community members \u00a0lived and identify the circumstances that are common \u00a0to them and take a close look at how these groups rebuild healthy commu- nity following adversity. In addition, \u00a0one needs to look at the social \u00a0conditions \u00a0that are essential for resiliency and \u00a0if such conditions can be replicated \u00a0in other\u00a0 places and look for the building blocks of community resiliency.<\/p>\n

This \u00a0paper \u00a0has emerged \u00a0from the presentation I made in<\/p>\n

2004 in the conference of the Canadian Association for Studies in \u00a0International \u00a0Development (CASID). In this paper, \u00a0using primary and secondary \u00a0data, I take a close look to understand what those who overcome stress and trauma \u00a0have in common, and \u00a0identify \u00a0the necessary \u00a0social conditions \u00a0for resilience. In doing \u00a0so, I make an effort \u00a0to \ufb01gure \u00a0out \u00a0whether \u00a0or not \u00a0the Oromo people\u2019s healing and resiliency could be cultivated.<\/p>\n

It is well known that lived circumstances are a factor \u00a0in predicting \u00a0\u00a0 achievements.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Researchers in \u00a0 \u00a0 public \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 health<\/p>\n

identi\ufb01ed \u00a0the social determinants \u00a0of health \u00a0(Raphael, 2004; Farmer, \u00a02003) and the conditions \u00a0that help protect \u00a0people who might be at risk of develop- ing health \u00a0problems. \u00a0Our \u00a0knowledge in this area suggests \u00a0that negative life experiences \u00a0or living conditions \u00a0are linked to poor health. In the past, scien- tists had closely looked into the biological conditions that make the difference between healthy survivors and those who succumb \u00a0to diseases. They \u00a0discov- ered antibodies \u00a0for a number of disorders \u00a0(Bock & Sabin, 1997), \u00a0and were able to develop vaccinations against deadly infectious diseases. From the time of Virchows work in 1848 in Upper Silesia, a region predominantly Polish but ruled by Germany, the pathogencity of colonial power relations and unhealthy social relations has been well known (Taylor & Rieger, 1985). However, there is still a lack of understanding regarding \u00a0community healing and \u00a0resiliency processes. Recognizing \u00a0the importance of individual \u00a0and \u00a0community resil- iency or healing processes is recently capturing \u00a0the imagination \u00a0of research- \u00a0ers and policy makers.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0 vulnerability \u00a0of a community \u00a0to a given risk is a function \u00a0of its sensitivity to a potential threat and its adaptive capacities (Farmer, 1999). For \u00a0example, \u00a0it is well known that \u00a0community \u00a0social order \u00a0is central \u00a0to community \u00a0resiliency. If there was no social order, \u00a0an individual\u2019s sel\ufb01sh desire would run wild and such societies would lead disrupted \u00a0life condi- tions. To prevent \u00a0this, society has to be empowered \u00a0in order \u00a0to establish order \u00a0in the \u00a0community. However, \u00a0under \u00a0colonial \u00a0rule \u00a0where \u00a0justice \u00a0is denied, poverty follows, and when the State is organized \u00a0to oppress, \u00a0con- spire, rob and degrade, \u00a0the community \u00a0cannot \u00a0maintain \u00a0any social order and heal itself.<\/p>\n

The \u00a0study of community resiliency and healing begins with the \u2019diagno- sis\u2019 \u00a0of clear \u00a0accomplishments or \u00a0resiliency \u00a0despite \u00a0adversity \u00a0and \u00a0violence faced by a community. This paper examines resiliency conditions \u00a0in Oromia, \u00a0touching on the social and economic \u00a0problems \u00a0that the Oromo \u00a0people face. Oromia \u00a0is \u00a0environmentally prosperous, however, \u00a0war, wide spread \u00a0human right \u00a0violations \u00a0(Human Rights Watch, \u00a02006), \u00a0famine, \u00a0HIV\/AIDS, malaria epidemics and Iodine De\ufb01ciency Disorders\u00a0 (Dugassa, 2005, 2006) have rav- aged it. Part one of this paper introduces \u00a0the concept of community resiliency or the healing process, collective violence and collective rights. Under \u00a0this, I explore the necessary conditions \u00a0that are vital for individuals \u00a0and the com- munity \u00a0to overcome adversity and develop better \u00a0community health condi- tions. Part \u00a0two of this \u00a0paper \u00a0examines \u00a0the \u00a0role played \u00a0by individuals \u00a0and community resiliency in community health \u00a0development. Part three \u00a0of this paper takes a close look at the presence \u00a0or absence of resiliency conditions \u00a0in Oromia. \u00a0Capturing the experience and \u00a0the realities with which the Oromo\u00a0people \u00a0have lived for over a century, \u00a0this paper \u00a0reveals the\u00a0 social and \u00a0the economic problems and their root causes. Part four covers how and why resil- iency conditions \u00a0have been hampered in Oromia. \u00a0Here \u00a0I examine \u00a0the rela- tionship\u00a0\u00a0 between \u00a0the \u00a0long-term\u00a0 \u00a0effects \u00a0of \u00a0collective \u00a0violence \u00a0against \u00a0the Oromo \u00a0people and community resiliency. In part \ufb01ve, I discuss the ways that resiliency or healing conditions \u00a0can be cultivated. The \u00a0Oromo \u00a0people are the single largest \u00a0ethno-national group \u00a0in the \u00a0Horn \u00a0of Africa. In studying \u00a0the situation \u00a0of Oromo \u00a0people, this paper \u00a0brings of light another \u00a0dimension \u00a0for the socio-economic and health problems \u00a0such as famine, war and instability in the Horn of Africa.<\/p>\n

OBJECTIVES<\/p>\n

This \u00a0paper \u00a0has \u00a0two major \u00a0objectives. The \u00a0\ufb01rst \u00a0objective \u00a0is to explore \u00a0the known circumstances that foster resiliency and \u00a0healing which should \u00a0bring about fundamental understanding of the ways communities overcome \u00a0stress or adversity and recover from collective violence. I am hopping \u00a0that under- standing \u00a0and identifying \u00a0the social conditions \u00a0that foster or deter \u00a0resiliency would broaden \u00a0our current knowledge and thinking. The \u00a0second objective is to investigate the relationships between resiliency conditions and chronic and acute collective violence. In doing that, this paper \u00a0intends to inquire into the underlying reasons why the Oromo people\u2019s social conditions have been dete- riorating over time.<\/p>\n

THEORETICAL CONCEPTS<\/p>\n

To avoid ambiguity, I begin the study of resiliency with the introduction of theoretical concepts \u00a0of community resiliency, trauma \u00a0and collective violence. Understanding the ways collective trauma \u00a0is in\ufb02icted and raising awareness about resiliency conditions are instrumental in setting policies that would fos- ter healing and resiliency.<\/p>\n

RESILIENCY<\/p>\n

Contemporary knowledge about resilience evolved in several stages. Initially the concept \u00a0of resiliency emerged from physical and environmental science studies. In physical science, engineers \u00a0were interested \u00a0in functionality \u00a0and durability of physical bodies as they completed \u00a0a speci\ufb01c physical duty over a long \u00a0period \u00a0of \u00a0time. \u00a0For \u00a0example, \u00a0engineers \u00a0are \u00a0interested \u00a0in the \u00a0way springs \u00a0and rubber \u00a0maintain \u00a0their elasticity while doing speci\ufb01c jobs, and\u00a0they \u00a0called \u00a0this\u00a0 phenomenon resilience. \u00a0Forestry \u00a0applied \u00a0the \u00a0concept \u00a0of resilience to describe \u00a0how forests naturally recover from forest \ufb01re or log- ging. Later on the term resilience was used in human\u00a0 psychiatry. Psychiatry has been using the concept of resilience to understand how individuals over- come emotional and stressful events and lead healthy lives. Since individuals make a community, over time the term resilience came to describe the pro- tective mechanism \u00a0and process that fosters community \u00a0resilience and com- munity health development.<\/p>\n

Valentine and Feinauer (1993) \u00a0de\ufb01ned resilience as the ability to cultivate strength \u00a0or return to original form or position after being bent. According to Gordon (1995) \u00a0resilience is the ability to thrive, mature, and increase compe- tence in the face of adverse circumstances. The \u00a0Resilience Alliance (see, the resilience Alliance) \u00a0de\ufb01ned \u00a0resilience \u00a0as (a) \u00a0the \u00a0amount \u00a0of disturbances a system can absorb and still remain within the same state or domain of attrac- tion (b) the degree to which the system is capable of self-organization \u00a0(versus lack of organization \u00a0or organization \u00a0forced \u00a0by external \u00a0factors) \u00a0and (c) \u00a0the degree to which the system can build and increase the capacity for learning and adaptation.<\/p>\n

Gordon \u00a0(1995)\u00a0 has classi\ufb01ed adversities into biological abnormalities, environmental obstacles and \/or human \u00a0made\u00a0 social realities. Adverse cir- cumstances may be chronic and consistent or severe and infrequent. Increas- ing \u00a0research \u00a0from the \ufb01eld of sociology has shown that \u00a0most \u00a0people \u00a0can bounce back from stressful events, crises, and trauma and lead a successful life. The resiliency level of communities \u00a0varies according \u00a0to the social con- ditions \u00a0in \u00a0which they live. This \u00a0suggests that community \u00a0resiliency varies depending \u00a0on \u00a0the level of stress \u00a0and \u00a0types \u00a0of adversities \u00a0the community encountered and their preparedness for such events (Werner, \u00a01994).<\/p>\n

SOCIAL TRAUMA AND ADVERSITY<\/p>\n

In this paper, trauma \u00a0is a wound or injury or damage resulting from external force (s). It is known that a violent emotional \u00a0blow has a lasting effect. This means \u00a0that \u00a0trauma \u00a0could \u00a0result \u00a0from \u00a0physical wounds \u00a0or spiritual \u00a0assault. Among colonized people, social trauma\u00a0 generally results from the exercise of colonial control over them through \u00a0destructive, demoralizing, unjust, unwar- ranted and unlawful physical and epistemological violence.<\/p>\n

Trauma can \u00a0be \u00a0acute \u00a0or \u00a0chronic. Traumas can \u00a0vary\u00a0 in their \u00a0severity, acuteness \u00a0and onset duration \u00a0(Masten, 1994). \u00a0Some stresses are natural and others are socially constructed. Some stresses are short-lived \u00a0and others are chronic, either persistent or often repeated or endured. The resilience of individuals and communities depends \u00a0on the nature of these adversities. It is well known that communities better \u00a0overcome \u00a0acute, less severe adversities than chronic\u00a0 \u00a0and\u00a0 \u00a0severe \u00a0traumas.\u00a0 \u00a0Colonial\u00a0 \u00a0traumas\u00a0 \u00a0can\u00a0\u00a0 be \u00a0chronic\u00a0 \u00a0if \u00a0the communities have experienced \u00a0it for several generations or acute if it is for a short term. In terms of magnitude, the colonial trauma \u00a0that Oromo \u00a0people experience \u00a0can be categorized \u00a0as severe and \u00a0chronic \u00a0trauma. \u00a0For\u00a0 example, Abyssinians invaded Oromia \u00a0in a bloody and protracted war from 1880s to<\/p>\n

1900s \u00a0(de \u00a0Salviac, 1901\/2005) and \u00a0since \u00a0then \u00a0they \u00a0have \u00a0disregarded the rights of the Oromo people. They have employed physical force to kill, intim- idate, subdue\u00a0 and destabilize the social structures of the Oromo\u00a0 people. The Abyssinians functioned within their epistemology, thus, they did not consider that their actions were morally wrong.<\/p>\n

COLONIAL TRAUMA\u2014COLLECTIVE VIOLENCE<\/p>\n

Colonialism \u00a0is a collective violence and\u00a0 it constitutes \u00a0a long-term \u00a0physical occupation. Colonial power relations constitute \u00a0socio-economic-political relationships \u00a0in which a group \u00a0of people \u00a0effectively overruns \u00a0the political, social, economic, \u00a0cultural, \u00a0territorial\u00a0 and \u00a0ideological sovereignty \u00a0of another people. The \u00a0colonial territorial conquests \u00a0are inspired \u00a0by economic \u00a0interests and spring from a belief in racial and cultural superiority. Thus, \u00a0colonial pol- icies are designed to control political, economic, cultural and social affairs of the colonized people. Violation of the sovereignty and liberty of people, and the denial of their right to determine \u00a0their own affairs are perpetuated \u00a0at the collective level. Usually territorial\u00a0 conquests \u00a0are followed by discriminatory racist \u00a0social policies which\u00a0 promote \u00a0and \u00a0legalize racial-ethnic \u00a0inequalities. Individuals \u00a0are the ultimate \u00a0victims, when the colonized \u00a0people \u00a0are catego- rized as inferior based \u00a0on their skin color, ethnicity \u00a0and culture \u00a0and collec- tively deprived of their rights. This means colonialism and denial of collective rights is a form of collective violence. A WHO \u00a0document (2002) \u00a0de\ufb01nes col- lective violence as \u201cpolitical actions committed to advance a particular \u00a0social and political agenda \u00a0over the others\u201d. \u00a0Collective violence is committed by a group \u00a0(s) or a state (s) \u00a0against \u00a0another \u00a0distinct \u00a0group \u00a0(s). According \u00a0to a document produced by the WHO \u00a0(2002), collective violence could be physi- cal, sexual and psychological, and involve deprivation \u00a0or neglect.<\/p>\n

THE COLONIAL EXPERIENCE OF OROMO\u00a0 PEOPLE<\/p>\n

Understanding history provides us a theoretical \u00a0tool to critically glimpse the past, identify the wrong, and comprehend the need of the society and change<\/p>\n

=================================================================<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Voice against Torture \u2013 the Case of Ethiopia<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Victims of Torture are still suffering<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

No Impunity for Torturers<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Presented on;-Torture Abolition Survivors Support Coalition<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong>Survivors Week \u2013 Washington DC, 23 \u2013 29 June 2009<\/strong><\/p>\n

Presented By:- Garoma B. Wakessa\u00a0\u00a0 HRLHA Executive Director <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa\/HRLHA<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Introduction<\/span><\/p>\n

Torture survivors are uniquely strong and amazing people. They endured and survived the most unthinkable acts of physical and psychological torture and showed the strength to reclaim their right to life once again.<\/p>\n

As most of us have witnessed at different times in our lives, the vast majority are civilians who, until their incarceration and torture, had been living ordinary lives and had no relation with what they were suspected of and tortured. What happened to them left them and their loved ones in life of darkness.<\/p>\n

Even though not all survivors bear visible scars or wounds on their bodies, all of them undoubtedly have heavy wound in their minds. Psychological torture, which never leaves noticeable scars or wounds behind, is the most widespread method in secret and illegal detentions in Ethiopia. Some torturers tend to favor psychological torture simply because it is easy to deny its occurrence and escape responsibilities; as it does not leave behind any physical signs, which makes it harder to verify and document.<\/p>\n

In Ethiopia, torture survivors have no access to medical treatment. Most of them die after a while because of the lack of treatment. Another important point to note is that not all survivors are at the same level of mental state or stage of revival. Besides, there are no rehabilitation centers of torture survivors in Ethiopia. Almost all torture survivors in Ethiopia suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Symptoms include flashbacks, severe anxiety, insomnia, nightmares, depression and memory loses.<\/p>\n

It is important for journalists and human rights activists who come in contact with torture survivors to recognize their particularities and approach them with sensitivity and professionalism.<\/p>\n

The United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Tr<\/p>\n

eatment or Punishment (10 December 1984) under article 2 clearly states the absolute prohibition of torture, and requires parties to take effective measures to prevent it in any territory under its jurisdiction.<\/p>\n

Although this prohibition is absolute, “No exceptional circumstances whatsoever\u201d, countries like Ethiopia have ignored the convention and practice the intentional infliction of extreme physical suffering on some non-consenting defenseless citizens.<\/p>\n

Ethiopian Government Torture Survivors and Victims<\/span><\/p>\n