TRAUMATIC EVENTS AND POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS AMONG IRAQI KURDISH “ANFAL” SURVIVORS
Keywords:
Traumatic, Posttraumatic stress, Anfal
Abstract
https://doi.org/10.31386/dmj.2020.4.1.8
Background: The 1988 “Anfal” military operations against Kurds of northern Iraq yielded high rates of morbidity and mortality. The present study aims to determine traumatic events experienced by “Anfal” survivors and level of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Kurdistan region of Iraq.
Methods: One hundred thirty “Anfal” survivors were selected randomly from different populations in Duhok city/ Iraqi Kurdistan. They were interviewed and assessed psychologically using Harvard Trauma Questionnaire to examine their exposure to psychological traumas and to study the posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology among them.
Results: “Anfal” survivors were exposed to various types of traumas. All respondents experienced lack of shelter, food and water and ill health without access to medical care. Witnessing murder was the most common traumatic event experienced by the participants. PTSD was found in (86.2%) of the respondents. Female gender was a significant risk factor associated with the diagnosis of PTSD.
Conclusions: “Anfal” survivors experienced multiple traumatic events with high rates of PTSD. Exposure to this disaster situation had a big impact on psychological status viewing huge needs in mental health among those survivors.
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References
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35. Lopes Cardozo B, et al. Mental health, social functioning, and disability in postwar Afghanistan. JAMA. 2004; 292: 575–84. doi: 10.1001/ jama. 292.5.575
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2. Keller AS. Torture in Abu Ghraib. Perspect Biol Med. 2006; 49: 553–69. doi: 10.1353/pbm.2006.0059
3. Bolton P, Michalopoulos L, Ahmed AMA, Murray LK, Bass J. The mental health and psychosocial problems of survivors of torture and genocide in Kurdistan, Northern Iraq: a brief qualitative study. Torture Q J Rehabil Torture VictPrev Torture. 2013; 23:1–14
4. Human Rights watch. Human rights in Iraq. Washington, DC: Middle East Watch 1990. ISBN 154-81.
5. Totten, Samuel. Dictionary of Genocide: A-L. ABC-CLIO, 2008 "Kurdish Genocide in Northern Iraq, (U.S. Response to). Well aware of the genocidal Al-Anfal campaign waged against the Kurds in northern Iraq by Iraqi president Saddam Hussein." p 252
6. Black G. Human Rights Watch, Middle East Watch. Genocide in Iraq: the Anfal campaign against the Kurds. 1993; Pp: 312–13. ISBN 978-1-56432-108-4
7. Ahmad A and Mohamad K. The socioemotional development of orphans in orphanages and traditional foster care in Iraq Kurdistan. Child Abuse and Neglect 1996; 20(12): 1164-1173
8. Kelly J. The Anfal trail against Saddam Hussein. Journal of Genocide Research 2007; 9(2): 235-42.
9. Human Rights watch. The Anfal campaign in Iraq Kurdistan 1993. ISBN 0-300-05757-1.
10. Ahmad A, Mohamed H and Ameen N. A 26–month follow–up of posttraumatic stress symptoms in children after the mass–escape tragedy in Iraqi Kurdistan. Nordic Journal of Psychiatry. 1998; 52: 357–366
11. Joost R. The 1988 Anfal Campaign in Iraq Kurdistan 2008. ISBN-1961-9898.
12. Ahmad A. Symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder among displaced Kurdistan children in Iraq, victims of man-made disaster after the gulf war. Nordic Journal of Psychiatry. 1992; 46(5): 315-319
13. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. (5th edition). Washington DC. 2013; 271–280
14. Halepota AA, Wasif SA. Harvard Trauma Questionnaire Urdu translation: the only cross-culturally validated screening instrument for the assessment of trauma and torture and their sequelae. J Pak Med Assoc 2001; 51: 285-90.
15. Mollica RF, Caspi-Yavin Y, Bollini P, Truong T, Tor S, Lavelle J. The Harvard Trauma Questionnaire. Validating a cross-cultural instrument for measuring torture, trauma, and posttraumatic stress disorder in Indochinese refugees. J NervMent Dis. 1992 ;180(2):111-6
16. Mollica RF, McDonald LS, Massagli MP, Silove DM. Measuring trauma, measuring torture. Cambridge MA: Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma, 2004.
17. Shannon PJ, Wieling E, McCleary JS, Becher E. Exploring the mental health effects of political trauma with newly arrived refugees. Qualitative Health Res. 2015; 25(4):443-57
18. Obilom R, Thacher T. Posttraumatic stress disorder following ethno-religious conflict in Jos, Nigeria. J Interpers Violence 2008; 23(8): 1108–1910
19. Bayard R, Kaducu FO, John B, Thomas O, Egbert S. Factors associated with post-traumatic stress disorder and depression amongst internally displaced persons in northern Uganda. BMC Psychiatry. 2008; 8: 38.
20. Taiwo LS, Abdulaziz M, Samuel A, Joseph I, William N. E, Oluwatosin A. Psycho-Trauma, Psychosocial Adjustment, and Symptomatic Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder among Internally Displaced Persons in Kaduna, Northwestern Nigeria. Front Psychiatry. 2014; 5: 127
21. Shameran SY, Jonathan MM, Elise B, Maral M, Yaser M, Hanan D et al. Psychological trauma and help seeking behaviour amongst resettled Iraqi refugees in attending English tuition classes in Australia. Int J Ment Health Syst. 2015; 9: 5.
22. Nittmann C, Franke B, Augustin C, and Püschel K. Criminology and victimology of rape in context with war-like conflicts using the example of the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. Archive for Kriminologie. 2012; 230(1-2):1-12
23. Espié E, Gaboulaud V, Baubet T, Casas G, Mouchenik Y, Yun O, Grais R, and Moro M. Trauma-related psychological disorders among Palestinian children and adults in Gaza and West Bank, 2005-2008. International Journal of Mental Health Systems. 2009; 23:3
24. Rieder H. and Elbert T. Rwanda - lasting imprints of genocide: trauma, mental health and psychosocial conditions in survivors, former prisoners and their children. Conflict and Health Journal. 2013; 7(1):6.
25. Richard N, Prudence W, Blake T, Saori Y, Julia A, and Tasha S. Post-traumatic stress reactions among Rwandan children and adolescents in the early aftermath of genocide. International Journal of Epidemiology. 2009; 38(4): 1033-1045
26. Schweitzer RD, Brough M, Vromans L, Asic-Kobe M. Mental health of newly arrived Burmese refugees in Australia: contributions of pre-migration and post-migration experience. Aust NZJ Psychiatry. 2011; 45 (4): 299-307
27. Marshall GN, Schell TL, Elliott MN, Berthold SM, Chun CA. Mental health of Cambodian refugees 2 decades after resettlement in the United States. JAMA. 2005; 294(5): 571-9
28. William B. Quandt. Human Rights Watch/ Middle East. Iraqi's Crimes of Genocide. The Anfal Campaign against the Kurds. 1996.
29. Sugerman DE, Hyder AA, Nasir K. Child and young adult injuries among long-term Afghan refugees. Int J InjContrSaf Promot. 2005; 12(3):177-82
30. Green BL, Goodman LA, Krupnick JL, Corcoran CB, Petty RM, Stockton P et al. Outcomes of single versus multiple trauma exposure in a screening sample. J Trauma Stress. 2000; 13: 271- 86.
31. Ahmed A, Sofi A, Sundelin-Wahlsten V, and von Knoring A. Post-traumatic stress disorder after the military operation "Anfal" in Iraqi Kurdistan. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 2000; 9: 235-243
32. Weine S, Becker D, McGlashan T, Laub D, Lazrove S, Vojvoda D, and Hyman L. Psychiatric consequences of "ethnic cleansing": clinical assessments and trauma testimonies of newly resettled Bosnian refugees.The American Journal of Psychiatry. 1995; 152(4): 536-42
33. Steel Z, Chey T, Silove D, Marnane C, Bryant R, and van O. Association of torture and other potentially traumatic events with mental health outcomes among populations exposed to mass conflict and displacement: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA. 2009; 302(5):537-49
34. de Jong J, Komproe I, Van O, El Masri M, Araya M, Khaled N, van De Put W, and Somasundaram D. Lifetime events and posttraumatic stress disorder in 4 postconflict settings. JAMA. 2001; 286(5):555-62
35. Lopes Cardozo B, et al. Mental health, social functioning, and disability in postwar Afghanistan. JAMA. 2004; 292: 575–84. doi: 10.1001/ jama. 292.5.575
36. Sabin M, et al. Factors associated with poor mental health among Guatemalan refugees living in Mexico 20 years after civil conflict. JAMA. 2003; 290: 635–42. doi: 10.1001/jama.290.5.635
37. Vojvoda D, Weine S, McGlashan T, Becker D, and Southwick S. Posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms in Bosnian refugees 3 1/2 years after resettlement. Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development. 2008; 45(3): 421-6
38. Xu J, Song X. Posttraumatic stress disorder among survivors of the Wenchuan earthquake 1 year after: prevalence and risk factors. Compr Psychiatry. 2011; 52: 431–437. doi: 10.1016/j.comppsych.2010.08.002
Published
2020-08-15
How to Cite
HASHIM TAHA, P., & MOHAMED HASSAN ABDURRAHMAN, S. (2020). TRAUMATIC EVENTS AND POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS AMONG IRAQI KURDISH “ANFAL” SURVIVORS. Duhok Medical Journal, 14(1), 77-91. Retrieved from https://dmj.uod.ac/index.php/dmj/article/view/120
Section
Articles
