Human rights researchers based at the University of California, Berkeley, have canvassed nearly 2,000 households in the Central African Republic, carefully documenting the devastating human impact of violence in the country.
Interviewers spent an hour or more each with 1,879 adults, gathering information about their exposure to violence, sense of security, physical well-being and mental health. The numbers are striking:
Mortality rates averaged 4.9 deaths per 1,000 people per month,
81 percent fled their homes since 2002
67 percent threatened with death
11 percent were abducted
16 percent coerced to work with armed groups
Most of respondents reported witnessing traumatic events and thereafter experiencing symptoms consistent with depression and anxiety.
The researchers seek to inform aid programs, security sector reforms to protect civilians, and accountability processes.
Yet in the midst of this devastation, the researchers found reason to be hopeful.
In “Building Peace, Seeking Justice,” they report that most respondents — 61 percent — consider the conflict to be predominantly political. “It’s not a conflict among the people,” said Vinck. “It’s a conflict among political factions fighting for power, but that can be more straightforward to resolve. It’s possible for the international community to put enough tension and pressure on the political groups to help to bring more security to the population. Once security is achieved, there is an urgent need to develop services outside of the capital city.”
94% of the respondents said they plan to vote in the next presidential elections, and most felt confident that they would be able to vote freely.
Reference: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100803174902.htm