Why intra family killings?

PHOTO: Please visit me for psycho-social counselling


By Elias Mhegera

A spate of intra-family killings in Tanzania whose trend borders on the fashionable has shocked observers, leaving them flabbergasted as to what has befallen the family institution.

At least ten cases related to intra family killings have been reported since July 1, 2010, fourteen days ago. Reports have been coming in from all over the country.

There have been all sorts of violence reported. Men killing their wives, mothers poisoning their kids, children killing their parents or at best choose suicide as a last resort. The coincidence of the deaths prompted The Express, to conduct a quick survey.

A doctor and lecturer at the Hubert Kairuki Memorial University (HKMU), who however, did not want his name to appear in print said that there are many factors which have contributed to this sad upsurge. He attributes this trend to the lack of psycho-social counseling centres.

The doctor asserts that many people whom we work and live with have mental illnesses. These illnesses can include diseases or conditions affecting the brain that influences the way a person thinks, feels, behaves or relates to others and his or her surroundings.

He admits that unfortunately the community in general and the government specifically has not done enough to help this group of people at their time of need.

He further adds that while the government has failed to deal with people with apparent mental illnesses, it is even more difficult to deal with those who have milder forms of mental aberrations.

“Although the symptoms of mental illness can range from mild to severe and are different depending on the type of mental illness, a person with an untreated mental illness often is unable to cope with life's daily routines and demands,” said the doctor.

He attributes the recent trend to the fact that lifestyle and intra-family conflicts are complicated by hardships in life, while there are no emergency “shock absorbers” to calm down the affected.

He elaborated that although the exact cause of most mental illnesses is not known, it is becoming clear through research that many of these conditions are caused by a combination of genetic, biological, psychological and environmental factors.

One thing is for sure, he says, mental illness is not the result of personal weakness or a character-flaw but is a multifaceted problem. For example it can be hereditary: many mental illnesses run in families.

His point of departure is that some families admit this problem and take it seriously, while other families tend to hide it because they think it might bring dishonour to the family.

“It is true that families might know the problem, but they would prefer to keep it secret. The case is the same as that of other inherited cases like sickle cell anemia. “Who is prepared in Tanzania to lose bride price simply because his daughter is an anaemic (sickler)?” questioned the doctor.

Genes contain instructions for the function of each cell in the body and are responsible for how we look, act, and think. But, just because your mother or father may have a mental illness doesn't mean you are bound to have one.

Hereditary just means that you are more likely to have the condition than if you didn't have an affected family member.

Experts believe that many mental conditions are linked to problems in multiple genes—not just one, as with many diseases—which is why a person inherits a susceptibility to mental disorder, but doesn't always develop the condition.

The doctor suggests that disorder itself occurs from the interaction of these genes and other factors—such as psychological trauma and environmental stresses—which can influence, or trigger, the illness in a person who has inherited a susceptibility to it.

“Biologically,” goes on the doctor, “some mental illnesses have been linked to an abnormal balance of special chemicals in the brain called neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters help nerve cells in the brain communicate with each other”.

He further says that if these chemicals are out of balance or are not working properly; messages may not make it to the brain correctly, leading to symptoms of mental illness. In addition, defects in or injury to certain areas of the brain also can be linked to some mental conditions.

Assistant lecturer in psychology and counselor from the University of Dar es Salaam, Chris Mauki says that it is evident that the scarcity of counseling centres is a major contributor to these sad events.

“We need special skills in order to handle desperate people in their time of mental lapse, but in most cases there are no immediate intervention, and the immediate relatives are prone to be affected if they do not know how and when to intervene,” says Mauki.

He says that due to difficulties a good number of people with whom we work and share many things are likely to undergo mild forms of mental illness. He adds that in cities like Dar es Salaam where the life is fast coupled with the heat such cases are most likely to supersede other regions.

Apart from economic hardships Mauki cites excessive aggression to be another cause of intra-killings. He says that people differ on how they tackle external confrontations to the extent that those with excessive aggression are likely to behave wildly once they are provoked.

He also considers social factors to be important due to the fact that educated people have less chance of homicidal or suicidal tendencies. This is due to the fact less-educated people tend to be affected more by prejudices, unfounded beliefs and superstitions.

Family conflicts due to fights for meagre resources like inheritance could turn out to be a real war in a family where off-springs are not well prepared to handle their future lives in the absence of parents.

From the Institute of Social Work Daud Chanila who is an assistant lecturer and the coordinator of the HIV/Aids counseling centre at the institute says homicide is a multifaceted process.

“In the first place there is close relationship between suicide and homicide, those who can kill others can just as well kill themselves at their time of mental lapses,” says the social worker-cum-counselor.

People do kill because there are no preventive measures in place and because we do not intervene in their time of need. Therefore, prolonged psychological traumas, loss of hope, and lack of intimacy could lead the victims to kill their closer relatives, siblings and even life partners.

He quotes the sociologist David Émile Durkheim to have identified intimacy as one of the basic demands just like food, shelter or water. Therefore, children from separated families are the most affected because they cannot get the double intimacy of both parents.

Single parents are always much too preoccupied by the search for daily bread which in a way denies their siblings intimacy that is after all a basic right. He claims that those who were denied intimacy in their early childhood are most likely to develop aberrant behavior in their later lives.

Moreover lifestyle, media, films or videos could create an artificial life style, leading to “copy and paste” crimes, experts assert.
END