raphael.lall@guardian.co.tt
Junior Emmanuel, whose daughter Sharday Emmanuel went missing in 2018 and who he believes is dead is enraged that these types of crimes are still being committed in T&T.
An upset and emotional Emmanuel spoke to the Sunday Guardian about the death of prison officer Nigel Jones and his six-year-old daughter who witnessed the shooting in Siparia when he was killed.
Jones’ daughter was not injured and ran off screaming as soon as her father was shot dead.
“When I saw that incident last week and other incidents where people go missing, people get killed, what comes to mind is that we live on an island and I still can’t understand why it is so difficult for the authorities to get to the bottom of killings and people are missing. It is not like we are in a big country where you could move from one state to the other like in the U.S. T&T’s authorities should get off their behinds and solve these cases,” Emmanuel said.
He said it is sad that these cases continue to happen and it is covered in the media and then they are forgotten and put on the “back burner.”
“People talk about closure but you still have a hole in your heart anytime you think of your loved ones who you lost.”
He also spoke about the scars that the prison officer’s daughter would carry out through her life knowing that she witnessed the death of her father.
“As she is so young it would affect her. I want to believe that she has loving male relatives around who will try and take the position of a father figure in her life. I would tell society that we need to start looking out for each other even more now. If you see something happening then say something. You can save a life.”
Several experts also spoke to the Sunday Guardian about the kind of effect witnessing violence can have on young children.
Psychologists Association
A statement from the Trinidad and Tobago Association of Psychologists (TTAP) said trauma can be caused, not only by experiencing violence, injury, death, and other distressing events, but also by witnessing them.
“Even those who provide physical, medical, and psychological care to people who have suffered trauma, can themselves be at risk, as a result of witnessing or hearing the harrowing accounts. Since trauma can be socially transmitted, it intersects with the technological wonder that is social media in an especially problematic way.
When people share graphic images and videos of victims of violent crimes on social media platforms, they cause real harm. The sharing is typically done without the consent of the victims, survivors, or their loved ones, and simply compounds their grief and trauma with a sense of being violated.”
TTAP also said children have long been the principal witnesses of domestic violence and homicide.
“They are also frequent witnesses of community violence, including murders. The trauma they experience is amplified when the violence is committed against their loved ones. Trauma can be manifested in a wide variety of ways. Children may have difficulty with basic life functions, such as eating or sleeping. They may develop bodily pains and symptoms with no apparent medical basis. Children may have difficulty concentrating or performing in school. They may become aggressive or excessively passive. Mood disorders such as anxiety and depression are common. They may become fascinated with death or harm, and may injure themselves or even attempt suicide.”
The statement also said at the core of many of the trauma victim’s experiences is the unwanted repetition of thoughts and emotions associated with the trauma.
“They may relive what they witnessed, over and over, in dreams or trance-like waking experiences known as flash-backs. And they are frequently triggered to remember the traumatic events by everyday things that serve as reminders – a particular sound or noise, a certain smell, a specific date, time, or place, or any other thing that coincided with witnessing the traumatic event can become a trigger to experience the event – to feel the shock and horror of the event all over again.”
The TTAP recommended that children and also adults, who experience or witness trauma such as this should be afforded immediate access to mental health care providers who have specialized training in the treatment of trauma.
“There are a number of such providers in T&T, including several members of the Trinidad and Tobago Association of Psychologists, who are well qualified to offer the support and intervention needed to help victims and witnesses of trauma heal from their emotional wounds.”
Negative impact on children
Clinical psychologist Dr Katijah Khan told the Sunday Guardian that exposure to violence can have a negative impact on children’s functioning and their psychological, socio-emotional and physical development and can lead to mental health problems.
“Unfortunately, young children are witnessing these crimes whether it is a husband killing a wife or as in the prison officer’s case, a criminal killing a parent. What kind of strategies can be developed to help young children cope who have witnessed deadly crimes? What kind of scars it leaves on these young children?”
As a solution for the negative impact on young children to be decreased, she said there needs to be a secure and ongoing relationship with a nurturing caregiver and for this caregiver to provide a sense of safety and security to help the child co-regulate their emotions or manage their stress response.
“This helps the child learn how to cope with and manage their strong and overwhelming emotions arising from the trauma and violence in healthy ways that prevent lasting harm. Being able to regulate emotions is an important skill for young children.”
She also said professional support from a psychologist or social worker can also help caregivers provide these positive, safe and nurturing experiences and environments that can counter the impact of the trauma.
Citizens union
Executive Director of Citizens Union Phillip Alexander told the Sunday Guardian that because they take their responsibility seriously as a stakeholder in society, it was their duty to reach out to Jones’ family to offer counselling.
“The trauma is expected to be high. This little girl is at a developmental stage in her life was holding her father’s hands when he was executed. That is why we volunteered. In the past, we’ve worked with Jodie Gonzales one of the top trauma specialists in the country. We put out the call to our members to raise funds immediately as trauma counselling is very expensive.”
He said the Ministry of Social Development also offered their counselling services to the family after Citizens Union offered their assistance.
He added that as long as the family is in pain, their offer of counselling to the family stands.
Alexander said the Ministry of Social Development needs to do more to provide counselling services to victims of crimes in a country with a very high crime rate.
On the topic of crime prevention, he said there are too many illegal guns on the streets and one step to reducing crime is to protect the borders and get the guns off the streets.
“Death rates from violence and murders is high. We have failed to secure the nation’s borders. That failure has allowed us to become a narco-state where illegal guns are easily available to the criminals.”