Facilitating Factors To Recovery

(PhilRights) (2019) reinforces the finding of this research on the way the survivors feel that they are unable to recover properly because of the continued police presence in their communities.

Facilitating Factors To Recovery Despite all the hindering factors to recovery, the participants were able to specify the factors in their micro systems, mezzo systems, and macro systems that encourage or facilitate the family’s recovery process. These include elements that foster the way the families move and look forward in life.

BIOLOGICAL FACTORS

Table 29

Biological Factors that Facilitate Recovery

Main themes Family as source of strength Internal Strengths Sub-themes 1.

Family Bonding Ritualization

1. Self-care

Two of the respondents shared that their family is a source of strength for them to continue taking care of their health. In particular, these families claimed to have started eating together and taking care of each other more. “Lou” shared, “Para sa mga bata… Kasi kailangan paggising nila may almusal na. Nagagawa ko na.” (For the children… because when they wake up, there should be breakfast already. I can do it already.), which indicates that she is able to function well and at the same time look after her family’s welfare because of her children. Like their coping process, having their family members around them allowed them to not only take care of each other but also have the will to take care of their own selves.

Three out of the 10 participants claimed that it was and is their internal strengths that help them in their journey to recovery. They do self-care activities such as following a healthy routine to take care of their health and bodies, as they recognize the need to have a sound well-being so they can move forward and rebuild their lives.

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PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS

Table 30

Psychological Factors that Facilitate Recovery

Main themes Family as source of strength Sub-themes 1. 2. 3.

Family support

Psychological support to the children

Being affirmed of departed loved one’s character

Internal Strengths 1.

Hobbies / Distracting the self 2. Self-realization resulting to self-awareness and strengths

Similar to the biological factor of their family being their source of strength, eight respondents claimed the same for psychological factors. For them, it is because of their family that they continue to not only survive, but also to heal and put their life back on track. For one participant:

Hindi pwedeng lagi kang nasa ganung sitwasyon. Mas kailangan mong tumibay para sa natitira mo pang pamilya. Kasi hindi lang ikaw eh, kumbaga kung sa akin may mga anak ako eh. Kung sakaling [maulit] yung pangyayaring yun, dapat ngayon mas maging matatag ako para sa mga anak ko dahil nawalan na sila ng tatay tapos mawawalan pa sila ng nanay. (It’s not okay to stay in that kind of situation. You have to be strong for your remaining family. It’s not only you; for me, I still have my children. If the incident happens again, I should be prepared to be strong for my children because they already lost their father. They cannot lose their mother too.)

More importantly, they recognize that it is important to heal so their family, especially the children, would not suffer. Family support includes the two participants who practice sharing their emotions and thoughts to others and six respondents who highlighted the motivation they get from their family. “Natalie” shared:

Kung hindi ka maghihilom, maraming maapektuhan. Unang-una yung mga apo mo, anak mo, pamilya. Apektado din kasi yung sakit na naramdaman ko, maramdaman din nila lalo na mga bata pa sila. Madanasan nila yung sakit, yan naman ang ayaw kong maranasan nila lalo na mga bata pa sila. (If you won’t heal, many will be affected. First is your children, your family. They are affected too by the pain I feel; they will feel it too especially since they are still children. They will experience the pain—and that’s something I don’t want them to experience since they are still young).

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Four respondents, meanwhile, shared that they provide psychological support to their children through taking time in explaining what happened to the children as honestly as possible. This is to ensure that the children, despite being young, get to understand the situation of the family and to facilitate healthy interaction with each other and the expression of their emotions. One respondent added that being affirmed of the departed loved one’s character helped her feel supported. It explains how the family receives strength from knowing how loved and important the departed loved one was back when they were alive, even after years have passed.

The family being a source of strength greatly assists in the healthy processing of the emotions of the family and ensures that everyone is fully supported in their journey to recovery.

Five of the respondents shared that it was and is their internal strengths that allow them to recover for the better. One interviewee shared that having hobbies, such as tending to plants, playing with her grandchildren, and immersing herself in her work provide her with the opportunity to occupy her mind with something else other than the pain, even for a while. Meanwhile, four respondents share that they practice self-reflection, which results in them being self-aware and recognizing their innate strengths. Being mindful of one’s situation helps the respondents make better sense of their experiences, emotions, and feelings, which ultimately lead to positive and enriching ways of living. According to “Veronica”, “Ako pa rin yung tutulong sakin. Oo merong mga tumutulong pero kailangan gumawa pa rin ng paraan” (I will be the one to help myself. Yes, there are those who help me but I still have to look for my own solutions).

SOCIAL FACTORS

Table 31

Social Factors that Facilitate Recovery

Main themes External Support Sub-themes 1. 2.

SOW / PAGHILOM’s holistic support

Found family in SOW / PAGHILOM

3. 4. Found new partner

IDEALS / CHR / PhilRights legal assistance 5. Words of encouragement, affirmation from community

Social Justice 1. 2. Advocacy to help other victims heal Advocacy against War on Drugs

All respondents claimed that they received external support which helped them in their recovery process. Nine interviewees shared that SOW/ Paghilom’s holistic assistance such as in-kind assistance, psycho-spiritual, financial, livelihood, and educational, aided in their holistic recovery as most of their needs were being met. In particular, the psycho-spiritual services by the aforementioned organizations provide the survivors help in the processing of their feelings, experiencing catharsis, and in having a safe space where they could let their emotions out without judgement. One respondent shared: “Tinulungan talaga kami [ng PAGHILOM]. Malaki talaga ang naitulong nila sa amin kaya malaki ang pasalamat ko. Siguro sa sakit na naramdaman ko noon, hindi na kasing tindi sa ngayon.” ([PAGHILOM] really helped us. They helped us greatly, which is why I am so grateful for them. Maybe, the pain I experience now isn’t as bad as before). Another participant also shared “May agam-agam man, pero hindi ganoon kalaki. Pwede kong ituloy ang buhay ko, at hindi lang ako, pati ang pamilya ko. (Though there may be uncertainties, they’re no longer as overwhelming. I can continue with my life; not only me, but also my family).

For SOW, one participant shared:

May activity po kami doon na pinapili kami ng picture. Ang napili ko po dun yung madilim na paligid pero may katiting na liwanag na nakikita. Ayun po yung nagpakita sakin na, ah kahit sobrang dilim na pala may liwanag, andun pa rin yung liwanag. Natatanaw mo parin. Kahit anong dilim, may liwanag. Kailangan ko lang puntahan. (We had an activity where they made us choose a picture. I chose the one with a dark surrounding and a small flash of light in the center. That is what made me see that even with immense darkness, light still exists. You can still see it—in darkness, there is light, I just have to come reach it).

Three of these participants added that the family they made in PAGHILOM and SOW aided them in their healing as they would receive and give advice, and the feeling of belongingness was felt based on shared experiences and goals. One respondent shared that she was able to find a new partner, who serves as a strong support system. One participant also claimed that aside from SOW and PAGHILOM’s support, the legal assistance from IDEALS, CHR, and PhilRights aided in her quest for justice, as one of her life goals is to give justice to her deceased sons killed by EJK. To add to the list of the survivors’ support systems, five respondents highlighted the words of encouragement, affirmation, and support they receive from their community. In one particular case, she shared that being aware of the societal significance of the death of her brother solidified her belief that her brother was well-loved by their community.

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For them, receiving support aided in their holistic recovery, as their biological, psychological, economic, social, and legal needs have been responded to by these organizations and their community. “Ella,” in particular, shared her thoughts behind the tremendous support they have received and continue to receive:

“Yung meaning kasi ng mga suporta sa akin: parang mas na-prove sa akin na hindi masamang tao yung kapatid ko kasi kung masama siyang tao, hindi [ganoon] ka-overwhelming yung suporta na dumarating. Iyon yung tumatak sa akin na hindi siya masamang tao” (The meaning behind the help I received: it’s like it was proven to me that my brother was not a bad person. If he was a bad person, the support would not have been that overwhelming. That’s what struck me).

Four out of the 10 respondents shared that their desire for social justice aids them in healing and makes them more dedicated to recover. Two reasons were shared: three participants expressed that they do not want others to suffer the pain they underwent and they want other survivors to heal as well, and two participants claimed that they want to make people aware of the realities behind the WoD. “Kristina” shared,

“Yung pagmamahal ko para sa mga nawala kong anak, pwede ko rin siyang mabigay sa mga kapitbahay ko na nawala na rin ng sarili nilang anak” (The love I have for my departed children, I can still extend them to my neighbors who also lost their own child), while “Ella” claimed “Nandun din kasi yung kaisipan ko na sa pagkamatay [ng kapatid ko] na mas nagising yung lipunan na, ‘Oo nga, may EJK ngang nangyayari’.” (I think that, through [my brother’s] death, society can wake up and see, ‘Yes, EJK indeed exists’).

SPIRITUAL FACTORS

Table 32

Social Factors that Facilitate Recovery

Main themes Spiritual guidance Sub-themes 1. 2.

Surrendering to prayer / praying

Spiritual family members

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Three of the interviewees claimed that by having spiritual guidance, they were able to recover more. It is through praying and having other spiritual family members that they continue to recover, as they want to leave their problems up to God and let God handle the justice that they desire. In particular, “Lou” shared that the burdens she

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carries become lighter when she leaves her fate up to God— ”Okay na ako, magdarasal nalang ako. Ipapaubaya ko na lang sa Kanya kung anong maging kapalaran ko sa sunod na araw.” (I’m okay now, I just have to pray. I just have to leave up to God my fate for tomorrow). The belief that God is looking out for them gives the respondents the feeling of being loved and supported.

National Association for Social Work Education, Inc.’s (NASWEI) case studies published in 2017 support the findings of this research on the survivors getting strength from their families to take care of themselves better and to continue moving forward. The same series of case studies, along with Coronel et al. (2019) and Talabong’s (2019) articles, support the findings of this research on the importance of having support systems in the form of their communities, church, and other organizations. Martinez et al. (2019), meanwhile, affirmed the importance of social justice as a driving force for the survivors, as they claim to not want other people to suffer the same way they did. NASWEI (2017) also tackled the spiritual guidance which assisted in the journey to recovery of the survivors.

Figure 12

Hindering and Facilitating Factors to Recovery

In summary, several factors present in the survivors’ micro, mezzo, and macro systems affected their holistic well-being, which in turn affected their recovery process. The biological, psychological, social, and spiritual facets of their well-being and environment provide an explanation as to how and why the survivors struggled to keep their lives together, and how and what assisted them in reclaiming their lives. It is also important to note that several factors affect their lives from their grieving process, coping process, and until their recovery process.

Theories in Action Throughout the discussion on the biological, psychological, social, and spiritual impacts of the EJK to the surviving families, their holistic needs, and the hindering and facilitating factors affecting their grieving, coping, and recovery process, several theories have been used to analyze the findings:

The Social Systems Theory explains how the micro, mezzo, and macro systems the families are a part of affect their biopsychosocial-spiritual well-being. Considering the person-in-environment concept (PIE) which posits that human beings are affected by the different systems they are a part of and vice versa (Gibson, 2019), the biological, psychological, social, and spiritual factors present in the families’ internal and external systems were explored and connected to how they grieve, cope, and recover. These families, being affected by a macro-level policy that is the WoD, have all experienced different kinds of biopsychosocial-spiritual changes and impacts, which resulted in an array of holistic needs, which in turn affect their healing journey. It can also be highlighted that their experiences show the interconnectivity between the micro, mezzo, and macro systems mentioned— specifically their internal systems, family, community, the organizations providing help, and the government— and even between their biopsychosocial-spiritual well-being and the factors surrounding them. Meanwhile, the Ecological Systems Theory, which highlights how the changes in the systems the families are a part of affect their holistic well-being (Paquette & Ryan, 2001), can give an explanation to how the WoD policy affected their family, and how their loss affected their well-being and situations. Important to recognize is the fact that the families all have unique experiences at different stages in their lives, and the surrounding circumstances and factors also differ during their grieving, coping, and recovery process.

The Empowerment Theory highlights the power relations of individuals and that of other entities (Cox, 1989), which in this case are the EJK survivors and the government. This research highlights how the vulnerable are targeted by the government, and how they are affected by the system-wide WoD policy. This theory also gives insights to how the survivors were seen by their communities as the ones at fault over their situation, instead of the government. More than that, this theory, which talks about the potential of the vulnerable and how they can cultivate their resources to achieve individual goals (Lee, 2001), is able to highlight not only the way the survivors struggled and were affected by the EJK, but also how they were able to realize their own strengths to continue surviving and reclaiming their lives. The discussion was able to highlight how they were able to be aware of their internal strengths and the support systems they have, and how they can use them to pursue their aspirations.

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Closely connected to the Empowerment Theory is the Strengths-based Approach, which posits that individuals and other entities have inherent strengths, which they can use for self-betterment (Saleeby, 1996). Its application can be seen in the way the research was able to highlight the strengths of the surviving families, and how their surrounding systems were able to extend their own strengths to the family such that they can heal and stand up again. Nuances of the respondents and the helping organizations and groups’ innate skills, resources, beliefs, and capacities were discussed in this research.

Lastly, the Human Rights Based Approach, which highlights the innate rights of humans and its fulfillment (UNFPA, 2014), can provide insights on how the EJK survivors were deprived of their rights. These survivors experienced a human rights violation which is the EJK, which was perpetuated by and resulted in even more human rights violations, such as lack of access to services, lack of security, and lack of right to due process, among a few. This goes to show that the already vulnerable situation of the families was exacerbated by the violation they experienced, which now results in further vulnerability and irreversible damages.