WIDOWED BY AIR .....RE-TRAUMATIZED BY MEDIA

Kenya has in the recent past experience a lot of deaths and injuries following air crashes. we have had cases where all passenger on board have died, some escaped the jaws of death with minor injuries, while others burnt beyond recognition. Just this month, on the 10th , Kenya lost a cabinet minister, his assistant and four others(among them one woman) this was yet another sad moment in the Kenyan history, that came on the same date and month as the one that happened in 2011(where a cabinet minister and assistant died). the government announced 3 days of national mourning. it was the most difficult moment for the head of state, and government colleagues...not forgetting the families that lost their loved ones.

But one thing that came out very clearly.....was a voice that was not considered was wife to one government official who indicated that the manner in which information about the incident was relayed. As a mother, she felt let down by the media since the children learnt of the information on the television screens. One important message i got from her was how media should care about communicating such delicate information to the larger Kenyan population and what needs to be done first, before news about tragedies is conveyed. i could imagine the reactions the children of departed brothers and sister on the ill-feted government chopper had. i can only imagine the emotional, social,psychological, and spiritual needs they may have heard after learning about the accident through media. when all is said and done...the media houses together with the government have the responsibility of ensuring that the families are informed prior to release of the same information to the larger public. In doing this, it will help all those left behind to process the information before they hear or read about it through media. This will minimize trauma the families will go through.