Fire victim appeals for help to rebuild
Published:Monday | October 19, 2020 | 7:21 AMJason Cross/ Gleaner Writer
Having had her home gutted by fire set by thugs in August, Maya Robinson, a resident of Margaret Street in central Kingston, and her two children, her mother and two other relatives are now destitute as they claim no help to rebuild their lives has been forthcoming since.
Robinson shared that two tablets belonging to her eight-year-old son and four-year-old daughter were also destroyed in the blaze. Her son, who has classes online, has been hampered by the lack of a tablet.
Added to that, she shared that the boy is still traumatised after walking into his grandfather’s room to find him dead, before the fire was set.
The Gleaner had reported then, that gangsters invaded the yard where the family lived in the wee morning hours of August 10, while the occupants slept and opened the window to a room where Robinson’s father, 64-year-old Keith Robinson, was asleep. The gunmen fired multiple shots through the window into the body of the elderly man, who died in bed.
Men believed to be linked to the killers returned later that morning to set the house ablaze.
According Robinson, the family is still picking up the pieces and she is worried about her son’s future on different levels, plus she needs a place she can call home again. She has been forced to live with a sister since, but believes it is now time to move on.
“Since the fire, I have not received help of any sort from anybody. We need some help right now, furniture-wise and food-wise for the three children and the six adults. My son is getting counselling. He has online schooling now and and mi can’t afford tablet and certain things fi him do online classes. We really need some help,” she said, adding that he still undergoes counselling while having to focus on school.
Robinson shared that the boy cannot sleep at nights due to the freshness of the trauma he experienced.
Still has problems
“Him still have sleeping problems. Him get up inna di hours and him cya sleep at nights. Mi use mi phone and try mek him get certain lessons. Mi try mi best fi deh round him and mek him feel comfortable and mek him tek him mind off a certain things and try mek him happy. Bustamante Hospital call him and counsel him.”
Robinson once operated a cookshop next door to her home, but some of the equipment were damaged, including two deep fryers and a microwave. She was thrown out of businesses and is requesting help to get operations at the cookshop back on track.
Professor in Sustainable Development at the University of the West Indies, Mona, Anthony Clayton, said that children in a similar situation usually experience post-traumatic stress and develop behavioural problems.
“What often happens is that the child may appear to be OK, but they in fact, quite often, show the effect of extreme post-traumatic stress disorder for the rest of their lives. There is no question that this has a profound impact on children. They can’t form any kind of normal relationships. Their cognitive functions are often impaired.
“Quite often, if a child has to appear as a witness, there is much further trauma involved. There is emotional trauma, psychological scarring and they very often have very serious and debilitating symptoms. The deep effects of the trauma are often there for life.
“Children who witness extreme acts of violence, over 80 per cent have post-traumatic stress disorder. They just become unable to behave like normal children. They are very subdued and they won’t talk. They are very unemotional about everything. They are quite susceptible to sleep disturbances. They can’t sleep. Quite often, if they hear a loud noise, they would jump out of their sleep.”