Pour a Libation for Us: Restoring the Sense of a Moral Universe to Children Affected by Violence 

ABSTRACT

Addressing the treatment of children and adolescents affected by violent societies is a difficult one. The problem of combining family, community, and social healing with concern for the well-being of each affected child has been an intractable one in many countries, including the US.  The Moral Third is a developmental concept that illustrates how a sense of the moral world is at the heart of psychic development. The paper proposes that this concept offers significant practical application to the treatment of young people affected by violence and the society that has injured them.

The author draws on global efforts to think about this work in countries experiencing armed conflict. She reviews theoretical contributions from Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa and their application to US populations.  A case example from Sierra Leone illustrates the combined use of traditional healing with group work to create a space in which affected children, their caregivers, and communities could symbolize unspeakable experience and begin to heal. The paper connects the conceptual framework illustrated by this example with that of the Moral Third to suggest the creation of a way forward in which youngsters, their therapists and society might heal together.

Acknowledgments

The author wishes to acknowledge the work of Mr. Samuel “T-Boy” Kamanda, Child Protection Specialist at the International Rescue Committee, in recognition of his extraordinary contribution to our understanding of children affected by armed conflict, worldwide; a project for which he gave his life.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay are sometimes referred to as the Southern Cone countries of Latin America. All five experienced political dictatorships during the 1980s (Hollander, 1997).

2. In Sierra Leone’s Muslim community, it is customary to name one or more sons Mohammed, to honor the prophet, and then give each child additional unique names to identify them specifically. The children would then be called by their unique names.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Martha Bragin

Martha Bragin is Associate Professor at the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College, CUNY, where she is Chairperson of Global Social Work and Practice with Immigrants and Refugees. https://sssw.hunter.cuny.edu/staff-members/bragin-martha-ph-d-lcsw/