Continuous trauma: lessons from a community shattered by apartheid, gangsterism and a tornado (the Cape Flats)

Trauma continuo: lecciones provenientes de una comunidad afectada por la segregación, el crimen organizado y un tornado (los Cape-Flats)

Manenberg and Gugulethu lie side by side; townships separated by a railway line on the wind swept Cape Flats, outside of Cape Town. Although culturally different, the consequences of past apartheid forced removals, pass laws and the present violent realities of gangsterism, are etched onto the people. In August 1999 these communities were further traumatised by a tornado. The author extended her work as a counsellor for survivors of criminal violence, to lead a project addressing the impact of the tornado.

The aim of this paper is to develop an understanding of the impact of multiple traumatic experiences within an unsafe context upon individuals and their communities, through considering the processes of presentation and intervention according to the existing theoretical material.

Whilst many people cope under circumstances of ongoing threat and multiple experiences of violence, some develop symptoms of PTSD. Other people present with severe dissociation, alienation, depression, changed attitudes and beliefs, personality changes and a foreshortened sense of future.

A lifetime experience of multiple and varied traumatic events, whilst continuing to live under continuous threat, reduce the usefulness of traditional debriefing interventions and trauma counselling. Alternative strategies that focus on empowering the individual or community by developing coping skills, gaining a sense of safety and control are vital. Communities that have survived the violence of apartheid are now plagued by criminal violence. Interventions must access and build internal coping resources to rebuild social fabric and restore hope.