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| Case studies |
| Case 1: ‘Now I can work in the fields without any problem, I don’t have those constant headaches and nightmares.’ |
“I was 21 years old then when I was approached by 10 policemen who said they needed to ask me a few questions. They took me and my friends to the nearest police custody. I had no political inclination but they charged me with supporting the Maoist party. Every night from 12 o clock midnight to 2 o clock in the morning they would torture us.
They dipped my body in water, except my face, and smashed nettles all over it, they put chili powder up my nose and used plastic pipes to beat me all over my body, it hurt a lot when they beat me on my soles (falanga). They laid us down on the floor and under the weight of four policemen rolled bamboo over our legs.
They deprived all of us of water and food and spat on the little we had. They threatened to kill us and our entire families. I was extremely humiliated and felt scared all the time.”
CVICT met Mr. R. 13 years after he was tortured. He had experience headaches every day for the last 12 years, had constant pains in his leg, was unable to sleep and experienced nightmares. He was afraid, angry, forgetful and constantly re-experienced the torture.
CVICT examined him physically and psychologically. Physically he was fine but he had moderate levels of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). CVICT treated him through various therapy sessions at the Rehabilitation Centre in Kathmandu and within one week he was showing an improvement. With the nightmares decreasing he was able to sleep well, he described feeling fresher and the headaches decreased. Other symptoms continued to persist.
A treatment package was designed that allowed Mr. R. to return home to Kalikot without having to stop treatment. He was provided with anger management and relaxation techniques to practice at home.
One month later Mr. R. was delighted with the changes that CVICT had enabled him to experience. Without his illness affecting every part of his life Ratna is able to work in the fields and make a living.
CVICT continued to see Mr. R. bi-monthly for 12 months, once his recovery was complete he was discharged to continue his life without any symptoms of PTSD.
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| Case 2: ‘If I still had pains all over my body, if I still had sleepless nights from being tortured, I probably wouldn’t have married and started a new life’ |
“I was 14 years old when 50 police men grabbed me from my home in Surkhet Bazaar; they charged me with supporting the Maoists and kept me in custody for 34 days.
For 34 days they blind folded me and beat me all over with pipes and sticks, even on my genitals. They forced me to lie on my chest while they rolled bamboo from the top to the bottom. I screamed and asked them to stop but they threatened to kill me, they used disgusting language and forced me to lay totally naked on the floor. They didn’t let me see my family members nor give me adequate food and water. They did not even give me medicines for pain. The worst was when they would come many a times at night and not let me sleep.
Eventually they transferred me to prison where I was incarcerated for 8 years, 8 years of life wasted without any reason. At the jail the torture was occasional but bearable. However, the pain from the 34 days of torture did not subside and I started feeling worse. I felt as if my life held no meaning.
When I was released in 2000, it was the happiest day of my life but I was unable to find any work. I couldn’t even work in the fields with the same energy I had before.
Another torture victim, who was receiving services at CVICT, informed me that they could provide treatment. At the beginning I was skeptical, but once I reached the centre, the counselors and doctors treated me well.
At the centre
At the CVICT centre, counselors took Ms.B’s full history, including physical and psychological examinations. They revealed high levels of anxiety. She had headaches, pain in the soles of her feet, entire body ache, eye ache, joint pain, sleepless nights, inability to think clearly, paranoia, dizziness and disrupted menses.
CVICT started psychosocial therapies and subsequently sent her to specialists in gynaecology and ophthalmology. Psychosocial therapies revealed high levels of anxiety that needed psychiatrist advice. So she was also referred to a consultant psychiatrist who started her on low doses of anti anxiety medications.
Her blood investigations revealed extremely low haemoglobin levels and appropriate was treatment provided. Other relevant investigations and ultrasound reports were normal.
Five months later Ms. B was showing considerable improvement and over the course of the next year she was weaned off the anti anxiety medications. After two years of treatment and full withdrawal of her medications she got married to the man who had referred her to CVICT. Her husband is also a torture victim who was treated at CVICT.
Ms. B and her husband take care of their fields where they are making a good living. |
| Case 3: ’My husband would have killed himself, if it was not for CVICT’ |
According to Mr. R’s wife, he was caught by police officers while trying to get vegetables during a curfew. He was taken to a closed room where ten police officers brutally beat him using the butts of the guns, their boots and hands. They kept saying he was a Maoist and he should be killed.
After this one day of severe torture, he was sent back to his home where his family tended to his wounds. After a week, he stopped talking to everybody; he started crawling in a corner of his house and started walking alone mumbling. He slept more than what is normally required.
Two years after he first began to experience the symptoms he was seen by CVICT in 2008. He was apathetic, extremely restless, suspicious, sleepy, would not talk to anyone and he could not say what was wrong. According to his wife, he would sometimes shout that the police were coming and would try to hide.
He was immediately referred to consultant psychiatrist who diagnosed him with depressive illness and started him on medication. The client refused to take any medications.
After further discussion, it was decided to keep him in a mental institution until he agreed to take the medication.
A month after admission, he started to recover and began taking medications himself, under observation of his wife.
He slowly started telling the counselor how he was tortured by 10 police personnel until he fainted and had no memories for the next two years after the incident.
He is still taking medication and has started working in an NGO in Kapilvastu. After two and a half years of treatment and therapy with CVICT, he was eventually discharged and is continuing treatment with a psychiatrist by himself. He and his wife have been told to come to CVICT for advice if he re-experiences any symptoms.
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Case 4: My son became psychotic after torture by the police; I would have lost everything if they had killed him’
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A 14 year old boy from Khotang who had always been aggressive by nature became angry one day because a neighbors’ cow had entered his yard and started feasting on the vegetation.
His intense anger led him to kill the cow, which is considered sacred in Nepal. Killing a cow automatically leads to 10 years in prison. It is regarded as similar to killing a human.
The neighbor complained to the police who subsequently went to his school and arrested him.
He was kept in detention for 7 days and tortured every single day
When CVICT saw him on the 17th February 2009 through a counselor in the district, he had only just got out of prison after 6 years and 15 days.
Traumatized, he could not speak to the counselor or the doctor. According to his father he walked around anywhere at any time, he could not reply to questions and talked nonsense, he had sleepless nights, often sleep walking and breaking doors and windows. He could also become violent at times.
Due to the severity of his problem, the history of torture could not be elicited from the client. The father was well aware that his son was tortured in detention everyday and in prison once in a while. His psychological problems started while he was in prison. The reason he was sent home in six years instead of ten was due to his psychological problems.
His history and a short examination revealed that he was suffering from ‘mania’ and was immediately sent to the psychiatry department of the Teaching hospital, where he was admitted. He escaped from the hospital and was found in the centre of the city, he was re-admitted under close observation and prescribed appropriate medications.
After eight days in the psychiatric department he had made considerable improvement and was discharged.
At CVICT, he received relaxation exercise, psycho education, family counseling and medical counseling for a week until he started to recover and act normally.
He was seen bi-monthly at the CVICT centre and is still receiving follow up and taking medication.
As he is uneducated, he works in the fields, tending to cattle, growing crops etc. According to his father, his son has fully recovered.
He is still taking a low dose of medication and will continue to come to CVICT for 1 more year whilst he is weaned off his medications. |
| Case 5 : ‘Now I can speak properly on the radio, and feel energized to work every day.’
‘None of the treatments I tried before worked, but your advice and therapies have helped a lot.’ |
“One day during the war I was dragged outside my house by a group of Maoists who accused me giving information to the army, which I had never done.
They took me to their camp. For five days, they would come during the night and beat me randomly all over my body. They treated me live a slave, I was made to wash to wash their dishes and laundry. They threatened to kill me and family if I tried to escape.
I stayed in the Maoist camp for months. I was too scared to leave in case they killed me or my family. I was only tortured occasionally, but I was exhausted. We moved from place to place and I always had to carry heavy loads of weapons, tents and food.
The exhaustion began to make me ill. I could not sleep and when I did I had nightmares, my heart would beat uncontrollably, I had headaches and would get tingling sensations on both my legs.
After three months, I pleaded with the Maoists to let me go. I was weak and no use to them so they let me return home.
When I returned home, the army already knew about my time with the Maoists. They thought I was one of them so began to interrogate me for information. They beat me all over my body, urinated on me and even made small cuts on my body which they would pour chili powder into. I saw people killed right next to me.
Luckily my family came to my rescue. They pleased with the army to let me go. Eventually the village leader came and told them I wasn’t Maoists, after that they let me go. That village leader was murdered the next year by the Maoists.
I thought it was over but my problems started getting worse and worse. I became ever more fearful, my wife and children took me for various treatments but nothing worked. I even tried Ayurvedic treatment but it didn’t work.
A person I met in a village nearby told me about CVICT. He told me that they can cure you. I came to CVICT through his reference.”
At CVICT
When Mr. D visited CVICT’s, he was immediately diagnosed as a client with anxiety disorder. The severity of his symptoms meant he could not be treated with psychological counseling alone. He was referred to a consultant psychiatrist for further treatment. Alongside medications he received individual and family counseling, began relaxation exercises and in eight days time he started to recover and was sent home with follow-up appointments and a list of do and don’ts. CVICT conducted a number of physical tests all of which came back normal. Mr. D was surprised as he believed he had worms in his blood. The counselors explained to him that psychological illness can manifest as physical illness and this was what he had experienced.
After a month, he came back to the centre with fewer problems. His symptoms will take years to completely heal. His medication will be adjusted after a year as per the treatment guidelines and he will continue with 4-5 days of counseling sessions every two-three months.
CVICT continue to work with Mr. D and we hope to discharge him in December 2011 when he will continue to take low doses of medication. Mr. D has started working in the FM station and feels refreshed all day.
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