Nigel helps survivors in war-torn Sarajevo

Nigel helps survivors in war-torn Sarajevo

6 July 2016

A CROSSGAR man has just returned from Sarajevo where he worked with survivors of what was the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare.

Nigel Colmer is a member of the Healing Hands Network which was set up by three women who wanted to help the people of the war-torn country where nearly 10,000 people were killed or went missing, including 1,500 children.

Within the wider area of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an estimated 100,000 people were killed, 80 per cent of whom were Bosniaks. In July 1995, Bosnian Serb forces killed as many as 8,000 Bosniak men and boys from the town of Srebrenica — it was the largest massacre in Europe since the Holocaust.

When the war ended 20 years ago and the Dayton Accord was signed, with the ink barely dry and gunfire still cracking in the background, three women who were watching the Balkan conflict, genocide and siege of Sarajevo on television, travelled to the capital to provide complementary therapies, including Reiki, freely to whoever needed some gentle help. 

The women worked on floors, in bombed out homes and hospitals and with therapist friends wanting to help too, Healing Hands Network was born. 

Today, the self-funding charity is made up of volunteer complementary and holistic therapists, offering healing and support to those who are suffering from the mental, physical and emotional after-effects of war.

Nigel — who is a qualified clinical hypnotherapist — found out about the charity through a friend who had previously volunteered in the region.  At the end of May, he spent a life-changing week in Sarajevo, working one-to-one with survivors of the war. He did this in the main Healing Hands Network clinic in the capital and also in various outreach centres within the surrounding area. 

“The people I offered help to were both male and female adults who had been traumatised by the war and some of whom bore physical scars which were visible, as well as the emotional ones which were obviously hidden,” he explained.

“One set of techniques which I used to offer relief was emotional freedom techniques developed in America over 20 years ago which address many issues, including post-traumatic stress. During the war, many people were traumatised as a result of shootings, bombings, torture and abuse of the worst kind.”

The Crossgar man explained that in a conflict situation, an incident may occur where there may be a loud explosion, a smell of burning metal and explosives, dust and debris, not to mention the obvious physical injuries that often result which can trigger an emotional response such as fear and panic, or physical symptoms such as a racing heart rate and a sick feeling in the stomach. 

“In an instant, a person may find themselves back at the original event, replaying the memory over and over in their mind. It has been suggested that the mind holds onto the memory of the traumatic event and it’s as if all of the sights, sounds, smells and physical feelings of the event become encapsulated, creating a ‘mind movie’ that is running in the background all of the time and which can be re-triggered in certain circumstances,” he explained.

Nigel said the emotional freedom technique is used to help keep a person calm when working through an emotional issue, explaining that quite often the person receiving it does not want to disclose the content of the traumatic event.

Nigel said everyone seen by Healing Hands Network volunteers is monitored and receives treatment from mental health professionals in Bosnia and Herzegovina. And he always encourages the clients he helps in Northern Ireland and further afield via Skype, to first consult their primary health care providers before using his complimentary techniques, which he says are not a substitute for general medical care. 

He concluded: “Volunteering in Bosnia and Herzegovina was a humbling experience and I learnt a lot about using the complimentary techniques within a trauma setting, as well as learning about myself. Hopefully, it will have been the first of many future trips abroad, to a beautiful country with an equally amazingly resilient group of people.”

The Crossgar man runs his own private practice, working on a one-to-one basis and also with groups. More information on these techniques is available at www.safe2byourself.com which also explains how to get in touch with Nigel for a free telephone or Skype consultation.