In the aftermath of the late December post-election violence in Kenya a series of trauma counseling and trainings led by International Media Support (IMS) have been provided around the country to assist journalists, and especially freelancers, in coping with the past, covering the present, and preparing for the future. RAP 21 received exclusive insights from journalists participating in the trainings as well as from individuals leading them.
At the height of the violence, journalists and photographers treaded dangerously around uprooted ethnic conflicts and a messy political standoff that tore the country into a violent rift. Contract journalists were especially vulnerable in that they lacked the fraternity provided by a newsroom.
In early April as rioting again convulsed the streets of Kibera and Kisumu in Kenya amid faltering peace plans, journalists were only reminded of the horrors they witnessed on the frontlines in the post-election violence a few months earlier. Though, if the bedeviled peace plans continue to inflame more backlash and rioting journalists will hopefully now be more equipped to safely and appropriately provide people with conflict sensitive journalism.
In the beginning of January, IMS along with ARTICLE 19, and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) carried out a media assessment mission in the country to evaluate the state of the media and to identify crucial areas in need of improvement. The most imminent threat found was lack of protection and the consequent trauma inflicted on journalists, photographers, and cameramen. In response, a series of trainings and trauma counseling sessions have been provided to more than one hundred media practitioners.
During IMS’s trauma counseling numerous journalists recounted endless stories of bloodshed. Evans Kanini, freelance journalist with the People Daily, in Eldoret relayed to IMS: “When the results of the election were declared, clashes broke out immediately in Eldoret. It was hell. Shops were looted, houses were burnt down, and people were hacked down and killed. There was blood everywhere. I was constantly in the frontline of the events and was one of the first journalists to arrive to the church in Kiambaa, where 40 people, mainly women and children, had been locked up and burned to death.” Such experiences were a first to Kenyan journalists who had never witnessed such violence within their country’s borders.
Kanini continued that amounting to inexperience was the problem of isolation, “Today, I still struggle with the trauma that has haunted me since I covered the gruesome events. I feel sad and painful - and deeply embarrassed watching my own countrymen turn against each other like they did in the weeks after the election. I have not been offered any help from my newspaper. Employers do not care about freelancers. You are exposed to danger and they do not even care how you survive in the field.”
IMS reported that only few journalists were and are covered by any insurance. Freelancers especially, were left without a support system as they covered the unprecedented violence with just a pen and paper in hand. Nearly 70 percent of the content in all media outlets comes from mostly poorly paid freelancers with no contractual protection. IMS stressed that “reporters were not provided with the basic safety gear such as means of transportation, telecommunications and other kinds of backup.”
In response, IMS funded five safety-training sessions for 60 media practitioners in three locations in the country. The trainings aimed at boosting self-reliance and awareness. Journalists learned how to deal with victims and how to address rioters to better understand patterns of conflict and how to safeguard their own personal safety.
Ayub Ouma Ojwang, freelance cameraman for K24 and KTN, Nairobi, also shared his experience: “I was sent to the Kibera slum on December 30 to cover the events there. Fighting had already broken out. Bullets were being shot, tear gas, people throwing stones. We had to spend the night there to get more shots. We came out the next day by foot - there was no way we could get out with a vehicle. We handed in the footage and were sent on to the Mathare slum in the northern part of Nairobi. At this point, residents had created a no go zone. We were taken in there by some security people. This is where I saw these things happening. Women and children being dragged out of the houses and raped. Hands being chopped off. I filmed these scenes. At first, I felt good, because I knew that I was taking some exclusive shots, which would boost my business as a freelancer. But then I realized that maybe I went too far. I was taking shots of bodies hoping that they would be shown on national and international television. But I exposed my countrymen and I really feel sorry for that. There is a time, when money comes second and I feel very guilty for having taken this footage.”
Ojwang is similar to many journalists who were caught between ethics and business. This was also rampant among higher positions in the industry. An anonymous journalist relayed, “on the ground, we tried to do our jobs properly without any bias. But when our stories were handed to the editors, the entire meaning may just have changed. Or the story may simply not have been printed.”
To assist in leveraging content quality, IMS also coordinated and funded a conflict sensitive journalism workshop for 25 journalists in Nairobi that was carried out by the Media & Democracy Group. Three Kenyan journalist unions and associations identified a target group to teach them how to cover conflict in a solid and honest way that opens dialogue rather than promoting further retaliation.
In response to the training Mathews Ndanyi, a general reporter for Kiss FM in Eldoret said, “We have learned which words to apply when writing our stories. This is very important. At times, I would also use those harsh words such as militia men, massacre and ethnic cleansing without realizing the implications. Now I know better.” During the violence, Ndanyi was often scared of reporting because of threats he was receiving. “Somebody would call and say: I heard your report; it was not good for us. We want you to stop reporting or we will deal with you...that happened 6-7 times.”
The Nairobi Round Table Recommendations that followed the assessment mission revealed that, “journalists and media practitioners are traumatized but are lacking counseling to deal with the post-violence trauma and the self denial.” Dealing with such traumatic accounts will be a long-term process that has already begun in Kenya.
IMS along with their Kenyan counterparts, the Kenya Association of Photographers, Illustrators and Designers (KAPIDE) and Kenya Correspondents’ Association (KCA) are currently providing trauma counseling for 150 of the most vulnerable media practitioners in the country. The last session will be on 15 April.
Leading Kenyan psychiatrist and expert in crisis disaster management, Dr. Sobbi Mulindi is heading the trauma counseling in five of the worst hit areas of the country. The counseling is especially reaching out to the many freelancers who are not catered to by a supportive newsroom. Journalist Evans Kanini is one such freelancer grateful for the support being given to him now, “If it was not for this opportunity, I would not have had access to counseling and found a forum to express my feelings.”
The fractured image of Kenya following the elections will have a long-lasting impression in the minds of the journalists and the industry at large. George K’Ouma, the secretary general of KAPIDE, told RAP 21 that the repercussions of covering the conflict has been manifesting in substance abuse amongst journalists. Some, he said, are also considering leaving the profession in light of intimidation and little support.
Today, the future of journalism in Kenya lies heavily within continuing trainings, counseling, and multilateral dialogue. While journalists now cope with lingering images of horror, the industry at large needs to work on its image in society as well. To this end, IMS hopes to secure more funding to extend their presence in media leveraging activities in Kenya.
Photo courtesy of IMS