Nigeria: 'Boko Haram caused trauma' becoming unbearable

Inhabitants of North-eastern Nigeria live in trauma following repeated attacks by Boko Haram militants.

The conflict has led to the death of at least 20.000 people since the beginning of the insurgency in 2009.

Some 2.6 million people have fled their homes and others have witnessed the gruesome massacre of their close ones.

Several women and girls have been abducted and many children, now orphans, do not even know where to find their parents.

Some of those fleeing the Boko Haram militants have resorted to the consumption of drugs, claiming that drug consumption calms anxiety and pain. The drug trafficking is facilitated by a porous border and a faulty judicial system.

Apart from psychiatric hospitals, NGO’s provide support in many camps especially for internally displaced persons. Women and victims of sexual assault and forced marriages easily open up to the representatives of the NGO’s.

Nearly 1.5 million people fleeing Boko Haram have found refuge in the city of Maiduguri.

Doctors fear that those who have been able to cope with the trauma could go back to the same situation when they return home.