Nation Must Have Period of Healing – Semaj

There needs to be a collective period of internal cleansing and purging on the part of all Jamaicans as the nation recovers from the recent unrest in sections of West Kingston, Psychologist Dr. Leahcim Semaj, has said.
“Every single one of us has to play his/her part. (We need to ask), what can we do in our own little way to make Jamaica a better place,” Dr. Semaj said in an interview with JIS News today (May 31).
He added that internal cleansing on the part of those who helped to create the problem must be at the centre of the healing process, as anything else, will be purely cosmetic.
He noted that “we can do all we want as a people to just hope and wish for healing, but if the persons who (have) actively, consciously and historically created the trauma that we (are now experiencing) in Jamaica, don’t demonstrate a public and consistent commitment to heal the nation and help us to create this new social order, then any attempt at healing is equivalent to putting a band aid on a wound that requires 50 stitches.”
The Psychologist pointed out that this is the first time in the recent history of Jamaica that the collective voice of the people has spoken, calling out for a new social order. “This is the first time we see that the state, the military and the police are committed to a new social order and that they will now target all other communities that harbour criminals,” he said.
He continued: “(The people are saying) ‘we want, we demand a new social order’ and anyone, who doesn’t listen, doesn’t hear and doesn’t understand that, is not a part of the future of Jamaica.”
According to Dr. Semaj the process of confession and internal cleansing must involve the children, who are the future of the nation. He said the activities of the joint military/police operation in West Kingston will undoubtedly have a traumatic and lasting effect on many children.
“There are (some), who will actually go through a period of regression, where they will experience feelings of helplessness and they will need their trust and their faith restored,” he advised.
He said these children will need a context in which they can work through their fears and anxiety and for them to clearly see a way forward – a way out. “They need to know that this is not something that is going to happen to them every day,” he said.
Dr. Semaj said it is the responsibility of parents, guidance counsellors and the media to honestly explain to the nation’s children what took place, but it is going to take the effort of everyone to ensure that something like this never happens to them again. “There is no easy, short, quick fix,” he maintained.