Briefly describe the trauma experienced by the survivor in the video you selected. Using the Triage Assessment Form as a guide, explain the affective, behavioral, and cognitive responses of the survivor on the video that you selected. Apply the developmen

PSYCH 16740 Disaster, Crisis and Trauma Week 3 – The After-Effects of Trauma

Adriana – A Survivor of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide Page 1

Winged Words Transcription ∞ http://dropbox.yousendit.com/wingedwords

ADRIANA: I grew up in a small village outside of Kigali, Rwanda and I come from a very poor family. My father had died when I was very young, leaving my mother to raise me and seven other siblings. And growing up was very difficult because often we couldn't find food or shelter and we had to rely on relatives and family friends for help. When I was a young girl, my mother was attacked by the local militia who offered to help the family after my father's death. Three men raped her and she was told not to tell anyone or her family would be harmed. She was never the same since then and I lived in constant fear that something like that would happen to me. But I never could have imagined how it would be like. When I was almost 20 it was when the killings, it was then that the killings in Rwanda began. I had hoped that my children, husband and I would be safe in our own village but the Interahamwe militia came for us because we Tutsi. I didn't understand it. Tutsi, Hutu – I didn't see any difference. They killed my husband. Then I grabbed my two children and ran but I was separated from them and I never found them. I think about my family every day. Sometimes I wish I had even died along with him. It seemed like a miracle when I was able to come to the US in 1995. I had befriended one of the American volunteers at the refugee camp who had taken great pity on my story and petitioned for me to come to the US saying that I'm better off here and I would have a better chance of finding my family. But then leaving my home, my refugee camp at the home country was very difficult because I felt very guilty for having escaped all this destruction and violence that had taken place. But yet I couldn't forget what I had left behind. I felt full of guilt at leaving my children. I did not even know if they were alive or if they were dead or buried in mass graves. I tried to move on with my life. So many new things I had to get used to besides the language, the food, the streets, and all the cars everywhere and all the noises in the streets. These things made it all alien to me.

PSYCH 16740 Disaster, Crisis and Trauma Week 3 – The After-Effects of Trauma

Adriana – A Survivor of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide Page 2

Winged Words Transcription ∞ http://dropbox.yousendit.com/wingedwords

Then I joined a church and some of the members helped me settle in. But still after working and living here for years, I realized that something was still very wrong. I've always had these terrible nightmares about that night when those men came and took my children and killed my husband. And I thought that having these dreams was something normal. For instance, sometimes in the dreams, I dream and I see a tall militia man walking towards me and my family, and then he tells his fellow soldiers, “Let me show you what we do to these cockroaches.” And then he takes his machete and strikes towards me and then I awaken screaming. And then the other times in the dreams when I dream of being forced down in the refugee camp by the soldiers. The worst dream is when I see my husband and children. Then I try to run towards them. I run and run but I cannot reach them. What scared me about these dreams also is that they didn't always happen at night. Sometimes, when I'm walking down the street, I see a man wearing a green army jacket and I go back to that night. I think it was him when he killed John Paul. I forget where I am. People see me and they think I'm easily scared, they think I'm crazy. Well, I suppose now I've gotten used to these things. It's been 13 years since it happened. But then every now and then when I'm watching television, I see a movie or a commercial that reminds me of all the killings that I have seen, and there's nothing I can do but cry. I even heard there's a movie about Rwanda that has come out but I'm too afraid to go see it. The strange thing is that I can't even remember a lot of details about all these killings, how I escaped it, or how long it took me to get to the refugee camp. And yet I'm haunted by all these things that I cannot remember. For example, sometimes when I see a knife, I start to shake. I tremble. And it takes me forever to calm down. And other times I see a man walking towards me and I know deep down inside of me that I have to keep away from him. People laugh at me because they say I'm easily scared. But you tell me –

PSYCH 16740 Disaster, Crisis and Trauma Week 3 – The After-Effects of Trauma

Adriana – A Survivor of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide Page 3

Winged Words Transcription ∞ http://dropbox.yousendit.com/wingedwords

how can you not be easily scared when all these happened. I try to go on with my day-to-day activities and sometimes I'm forced to do a whole bunch of things to not have to remember what happened to me. But every now and then, these memories keep popping in my mind, but it's gotten just a little easier over the years. Some of my friends at church have told me and encouraged me to try to date and meet new people – but then I can't. I feel like nobody understands. And the minister also at my church has recently referred me to a counselor whom we've met a few times and she's helping me to make sense of all these loses and also be able to move on with my life.