[psych-hr] Healing the minds and bodies of Zimbabwe

DIGITAL FREEDOM NETWORK: Human rights and cyber-rights news

Healing the minds and bodies of Zimbabwe
by Shravanti Reddy, Digital Freedom Network

http://dfn.org/news/zimbabwe/reeler.htm

(July 25, 2002) An early interest in law, a distaste for injustice, a love 
for psychology and the situation in Zimbabwe have given Anthony Reeler the 
perspective on politics and human rights that led to his co-founding of 
Amani Trust in Harare, Zimbabwe. Reeler currently serves as director of the 
organization, which provides community-based medical and psychological 
assistance to victims of organized violence and torture.

To recognize Reeler's work, the Minnesota-based Center for Victims of 
Torture presented him with the Eclipse Award at a ceremony in Washington, 
DC this past June.

Reeler was honored this year with the Eclipse Award for assisting victims 
of violence in Zimbabwe. (Photo courtesy of The Center for Victims of Torture)

An organization dedicated to the healing of torture victims and ending 
government sponsored torture, CVT created the Eclipse Award in 2001 to 
focus attention on individuals doing extraordinary work for torture victims.

A symbol of going toward darkness into light, an eclipse appropriately 
describes Reeler's work at Amani Trust. "People like Tony Reeler who risk 
so much to provide hope and bring creativity and innovation to the 
treatment of torture victims, stimulate others to act by example," said 
Douglas Johnson, Executive Director of CVT, in an interview with the 
Digital Freedom Network.

A colleague of Mr. Reeler's for the past 10 years, Johnson said of Reeler's 
work, "It is a long dedication and a competent one. He has built this 
organization and created important links in civil society that have really 
helped people to understand and become involved in this issue."

Indeed, Mr. Reeler's life and dedication to his work are exemplary. The 
many hats he wears include that of an academic, a clinical psychologist, a 
human rights activist, a father and husband, and a nature enthusiast. He 
has documented violence, assisted victims, and spoken out against 
atrocities committed by the Zimbabwean government for the past 12 years. As 
the political and economic situation in Zimbabwe continue to deteriorate 
his work has become even more important.

Amani Trust: Providing peace and security for victims of torture

Reeler's interest in the issue of healing and the rehabilitation of 
thousands of Zimbabweans came from the therapy work he did in the 1980s. "I 
saw a fair number of ex-soldiers and South African exiles during that time, 
as well as having contact through my academic life with a large number of 
South Africans working on the problems of violence in their own country," 
he explained to the Digital Freedom Network in an interview.
Amani's goal is for former victims of torture to become self-sufficient and 
empowered to advocate for their own cause.

Amani, the Kiswahili word for peace and security, provides a good 
description of the goals of Amani Trust, which started as a loose 
initiative that grew out of a regional conference on violence. Their work 
includes clinical care, training, documentation, and reporting on 
incidences of violence and various aspects of torture. In addition, they 
work with victims so that they can become self-sufficient and empowered to 
advocate for their own cause.

Reeler quickly realized that "Amani was filling a big gap in Zimbabwe, and 
that there was a definite need to help torture survivors." Although he had 
planned to resign in 2000, the increasing level of violence and insecurity 
in Zimbabwe that began that year convinced him to stay on.

"There seems to be reluctance to accept that massive torture is taking 
place. It has been down played in the light of relatively few deaths. 
Actually, the small number of deaths are an indication of a very 
sophisticated terror campaign and this should be taken more seriously in 
view of the plethora of reports on gross human rights violations in 
Zimbabwe," he pointed out.

Over the past two years he has guided Amani through the challenges of 
protecting and treating Zimbabweans in a new era of extreme political 
repression. They have expanded their programs and have implemented creative 
solutions for the protection of potential torture victims in 'safehouses'.

Safe houses

"Safe houses" are considered a new initiative in the prevention and 
treatment of torture victims and was one of the factors in CVT's decision 
to choose Reeler and Amani Trust for the Eclipse Award. "The safe houses 
grew out of a program to assist victims testifying before the Zimbabwe high 
court in the petitions after the general election in 2000," commented 
Reeler. These individuals were being attacked both before and after their 
testimonies and they needed a safe place to stay while in Harare.

In 2001, the program continued to expand and more safe houses were created 
in response to the increase in violence and intimidation leading up to the 
presidential elections in March 2002. The safe houses became a haven for 
victims to receive treatment and care and a place where those who are at 
high-risk of being targeted can avoid attacks.

The program eventually attracted the government's attention whose 
subsequent threats and slander of Reeler and Amani Trust were not 
unexpected. "We are under no illusion that we are regarded very negatively 
by the government, and take seriously the view frequently expressed that we 
will be the first to be closed down," he said.
Amani's innovative "safe houses" have protected high-risk victims of being 
targeted for attacks.

Amani Trust has issued statements in the press refuting the outrageous 
accusations against them. These include an article from the government 
newspaper in January stating that they were "funding covert operations," 
against the Zimbabwe African National Union Popular Front (ZANU-PF) and 
that they were using their funds to commit acts of torture, rather than 
treating torture victims. Amani Trust is also filing a civil defamation 
suit against the State-owned press. He pointed out that, "in general, we 
know that we are breaking the law and doing a good job in helping people 
who have been criminally attacked, and ignore the stupid statements made 
about us."

Reeler also clarified that although they, "were forced to scale down the 
safe houses and relocate most of the victims, the major reason was that we 
could not guarantee the safety of the residents against attacks by the 
militia rather than unwelcome attention from the State security agencies."

The safe houses have continued to exist and serve as a model for others. 
Johnson of CVT commented that, "the safe houses are an important innovation 
that other people around the world will look at."

Psychology in exile

Born in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, Reeler's path to clinical psychology seems 
to have been one of chance and circumstance.

Originally a law student at University College of Rhodesia where he 
received an LLB (Bachelor of Laws), he described himself as a mediocre 
student. "I spent a good deal of time playing sports and trying to 
understand my very disturbed country." The 1970s were a time of war in 
Rhodesia. Black nationalists, led by Mugabe, fought a war of independence 
against Ian Smith's white minority government. In an attempt to prevent 
black majority rule, they declared unilateral independence from Britain in 
1965.

The independence war lasted over 10 years, and it was during this time that 
Reeler went into exile in England to escape the compulsory conscription of 
white boys into Ian Smith's army. "The only way to get in was to study, 
that is where psychology came in," he explains, " I went to the University 
of Exeter and this was the first time I really loved studying. Psychology 
suddenly seemed to be what I had been looking for all my life and I threw 
heart and soul into it."
Reeler's doctoral studies in clinical psychology allowed him to marry 
activism and research.

He received a BA (Bachelor of Arts) in 1976 earned himself a Commonwealth 
Scholarship. In that same year he married his wife of 26 years, an 
ecologist named Beverley. He went on to study Clinical Psychology at the 
University of Leeds where he earned an MSc (Master of Science) in Clinical 
Psychology in 1978. It was here that Reeler declared, "I learned skills 
that allowed me to marry activism and research." Thus, while he said 
clinical psychology was a 'default' choice, he was quick to explain that, 
"it is one I don't regret making."

After graduation, he returned to Africa as an academic teaching psychology 
at the University of Malawi and eventually back to his homeland now called 
Zimbabwe and no longer at war. He taught psychiatry at the University of 
Zimbabwe for almost ten years before he resigned in 1991 and subsequently 
became the Director of Amani Trust.

The path to human rights activism

A descendent of Hugenot refugees that settled in Cape Town, South Africa in 
1765, Reeler's hatred of injustice has a family history.

Not only did his ancestors flee Catholic persecution in France, but his 
parents also left South Africa for Zimbabwe in protest of the Nationalist 
Government that came to power in 1949. They did not agree with the policy 
of apartheid and the injustice committed in South Africa left an early and 
indelible impression on Reeler.

"I come from a very political background," he explained, "My mother has 
always been active in the areas of politics and social justice, and so from 
a very early age I was exposed to political issues, which, in Rhodesia, 
were definitely human rights issues."

When asked who he sees as leaders in the field of human rights, Reeler 
admitted that he "has a soft spot for Ghandi and his demand for 
non-violence," but he was also quick to add that, "it is hard to single 
people out because some have done things on a large scale whilst others 
have just been so heroic in their own lives." One person he does list as a 
source of inspiration is Dr Inge Genefke, the founder of the International 
Rehabilitation of Torture Victims (IRCT) in Denmark. "She more than anyone, 
has put the medical care of torture survivors on the map. She is so 
determined to get things done that she provides a wonderful model of caring 
and persistence," he said.

Reeler's own activism began as a trade unionist and Secretary of the 
Association of University teachers in the late 1980's. He was increasingly 
drawn into the struggle against a one-party state and its attempt to 
control the University. Ultimately, it was the passage of the University 
Amendment Act of 1991 that Reeler credits as the turning point in his 
career. The Act curtailed academic freedom and restricted the independence 
of universities by making them subject to government influence. He resigned 
his post in protest and he recalls that this was the moment that "forced 
him to become an activist and to confront the reality that the Mugabe 
government was really a violent one and that they violated human rights."

Torture in Zimbabwe

There has been a history of torture and violence in post-colonial Zimbabwe. 
The latest period of violence began in 2000 with the invasion of 
white-owned farms and attacks on white farmers, their families, and members 
and supporters of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). The MDC, 
created in 1999, provided the first real challenge to the one-party state 
under President Robert Mugabe and ZANU-PF.

Government violence against opposition members, supporters and the media 
intensified before the parliamentary elections in 2000, in which MDC 
members where able to secure one-third of the seats. The repression has 
continued since then with individuals physically and psychologically 
assaulted by police and militia forces and the so-called 'war veterans'.

Violence peaked again before and after the March 2002 presidential 
elections in which Mugabe claimed victory over MDC candidate Morgan 
Tsvangirai. The MDC contested the results citing political intimidation and 
corrupt balloting procedure.

While violence may have subsided to some degree since the presidential 
elections in March, there is still cause for alarm. In June, there were 66 
incidents of torture and 8 incidents of arson and malicious injury to 
property. This month 11 journalists have already been arrested. Amnesty 
International has reported thousands of incidences of torture and at least 
50 politically motivated killings since 2000.

Furthermore, a recent statement by Amani Trust noted that youth militias 
have increased the severity of physical assaults and used more 
sophisticated methods than in the past. They believe that this is a strong 
indication that they have received training in torture techniques.

Additionally, a recent report by OCHA on the emergence of Internally 
Displaced People (IDPs) in Zimbabwe, an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 are 
considered victims of political violence. Many have remained 'underground' 
in order to escape further persecution.

So much that needs to be done

How to volunteer

The NGO Network Alliance Project has an excellent Web site that gives a 
good overview of Zimbabwean NGOs and their contact information for those 
interested in volunteering. It also contains up to date information on the 
situation in Zimbabwe, including monthly reports on torture and e-activism.

Although Amani Trust does accept volunteers, the situation is precarious 
and may not be the best time. Mr. Reeler suggested a number of ways that 
accepts volunteers, although Mr. Reeler suggests that due to the current 
volatile situation, it is not the best time to volunteer there.

Zimbabwe faces a number of other problems that have been compounded by 
political violence and government corruption. In addition to one of the 
highest rates of HIV/AIDS rates in the world, Zimbabwe is facing an eminent 
food crisis that is estimated to affect some 6 million people. Zimbabwe has 
been receiving food aid and various organizations have been running feeding 
centers in the areas most heavily affected. However, Mugabe has managed to 
use even this to punish opposition members, their families and their 
supporters by denying them food aid. There have been several reports that 
people are being forced to show their ZANU-PF card before they are able to 
receive food.

International censure against Mugabe has been lukewarm, despite the 
well-documented human rights violations concerning the physical and 
psychological intimidation of opposition party members and elections that 
were clearly flawed.

Although the situation is bleak, Reeler urges individuals to take action. 
"Pressurize your political representatives to ensure that Zimbabwe stays on 
the agenda, " he said. "Perhaps the most important single thing that could 
be done would be to put pressure on the regional leaders in Southern Africa 
to adhere to their own regional standards and get them to insist that 
Zimbabwe adheres to the same standards. Zimbabweans merely need to have the 
acceptance that their demands are valid in order for them to resolve these 
situation themselves."

But until that time comes, Reeler will continue his work in an unassuming 
manner and with tireless dedication. "Many times I have wondered what it 
might be like to go into the field of ethology or work on the problems of 
the environment, or to have the time to write more," pondered Reeler, " but 
I guess it is not possible to leave when there is so much that needs to be 
done."


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