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Gibson Mhaka
THE story of an 11-year-boy from Bulawayo who died after an Upper Six pupil lost control of a vehicle he was driving and rammed into a shop and some vending stalls in Cowdray Park suburb made sad reading.

Menzele Siziba, who was in Grade Six at Tategulu Primary School in the same suburb, was buying bread at a tuck-shop near their home when a vehicle that was being driven by Fredrick Dube veered off the road and came straight at him, subsequently knocking him down.

Fredrick was coming from dropping his mother and siblings at Cowdray Park Catholic Church when the vehicle, a red Ford Ranger, rammed into an Econet shop and some vending stalls, injuring two people before it came to a halt.

It was reported that he failed to negotiate a curve and in the process of trying to avoid ramming into a house, he ended up driving towards the vending stalls.

What made the story more heart-rending were reports that when the accident occurred, Fredrick was writing his final A-Level examinations at a city high school.

Speaking at the scene, his tearful father Melusi Dube emotionally bared his soul saying he was afraid that his son was not going to cope with the examination pressure as he was reportedly in a state of shock.

There were also fears that Menzele’s mother and some of the vendors who also witnessed the event would suffer severe psychological distress, in particular post-traumatic stress disorder if they didn’t receive some emotional and psychological support.

Their chilling case is, however, not an isolated incident but also a widespread indication of how road accident survivors are at a high risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse or stress-related mental health conditions if they do not quickly receive counselling. Survivors can feel disconnected from the rest of the world if they do not receive counselling.

According to psychological assessments, post-traumatic stress disorder involves problems such as anxiety, tearfulness, short-temper and difficulties in sleeping and these are some of the challenges that road traffic accident victims or survivors of road crashes can stay with for a long time if they didn’t receive trauma support or counselling on time.

Just like survivors of gender-based violence who have safe houses across the country where they are being temporarily accommodated while receiving counselling and their cases being handled by the police or courts, there is also need to have such supportive environments for survivors of road crashes where they would be provided with clinical management.

This is so because road traffic accident victims, just like survivors of gender-based violence, also suffer from different types of injuries and disabilities, which can affect their quality of life or making it difficult for them to return to normal life.

According to the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe (TSCZ), the principal agent in promoting traffic safety in the country, an average of 30 000 people are injured on Zimbabwean roads annually.

Although access to training and supportive facilities like strong therapeutic, nursing and social support, and the possibility to participate in self-care activities is essential for reintegration to community for road accident victims, counselling is regarded as the best as it provides space to talk about ongoing feelings of anxiety, anger, withdrawal or whatever else is happening to the survivor.

Indeed researchers agree that counselling helps road accident victims to find coping strategies for some difficulties and explore ways to help them move forward through the trauma process.

Renowned counsellor, Bay Whitaker, in her study titled: Road Traffic Accidents: How Counselling Can Help, outlined some benefits which road traffic victims can get from counselling.

“There is overwhelming research evidence to show that trauma victims benefit from talking about their experience, how they felt, how they feel, and what it has meant for them. Unfortunately, they may be reluctant to talk to friends about the accident for various reasons because sometimes they think that their friends have already heard enough about it.

“Road traffic victims often fear that talking about what has happened might make them feel weepy or angry — so they avoid the topic with friends and family because they don’t want to burden them with these emotions.

“Counselling can, however, make a huge difference to those suffering the emotional aftermath of a road traffic accident. A counselling session provides a safe space to talk about the continuing feelings of panic, short-temperedness, withdrawal or whatever else is happening for the survivor,” observed Whitaker.

She further said counselling can also help accident survivors understand that what they would be going through was normal.

Supporting Whitaker, community health worker, Duduzile Mhlanga, said counselling provides information to the road traffic victim on what trauma is and how it works on the brain and nervous system.

“Although, everybody responds to trauma slightly differently, there are general patterns that people tend to follow. A counsellor can provide information on what trauma is and how it works on the brain and nervous system. Trauma usually lead to feelings of isolation and a sense of losing control and victims sometimes turn to alcohol or other drugs as they attempt to get rid of the memories,” said Mhlanga.

She also outlined symptoms of emotional trauma experiences by accident victims which include grief reactions, intrusive thoughts, flashbacks or nightmares, sudden floods of emotions or images related to the traumatic event.

From the above two experts’ observations there are no doubts that since road accident belongs to one of the categories of traumatic events, and can cause posttraumatic stress disorder, there is a need by the government to set up the Road Trauma Support Team that would provides free counselling and support for people who have been affected by road trauma, whether directly or indirectly.

Asked what should be done to help road accident victims to overcome trauma, psychologist, Tapiwa Sikwila, who suggested the need by the Government to set up road trauma support facilities also acknowledged that the major problem with traumatic shock if it remained unhealed was that it becomes “locked” in both the body and mind of the survivor.

“When this happens, the traumatised person either feels like they are re-experiencing frightening emotions, sensations and memories from the past, shuts down emotionally, or goes back and forth between both states.

“In this situation, your mind can’t tell the difference between the past, when the trauma occurred, and the present — when the threat is over. So trauma can cause the sufferer to feel like the original trauma — such as an accident is happening in the present moment, long after the trauma has ended. This causes serious disruptions to a person’s ability to feel in control of their emotions and life, and keeps the sufferer stuck in reliving the pain.

“It is my wish that the government through the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare sets up road trauma support facilities that would be equipped with counselling facilities designed to help accident victims,” said Mr Sikwila.

He insisted that it was an important move since post-traumatic stress disorder can lead to painful memories of the event revisiting the victims at any time, forcing them to relive the experience.