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Monday March 20, Olivier Dubois, journalist taken hostage by jihadists established in Mali, was released after 711 days of captivity. What is the impact of such an event in a life? Answers with Dr. Gaëlle Abgrall, traumatologist psychiatrist.
There are no more French journalists taken hostage in the world. This Monday, March 20, an announcement surprised (positively) the world of the media: Olivier Dubois, detained since April 8, 2021 by jihadists in Mali was released. Arrived in France this Tuesday noon, the man seemed, as often in these cases, smiling, happy and relieved to find his family. But how to recover from such captivity? We put the question to Dr. Gaëlle Abgrall, head of the Medical-Psychological Emergency Cell of Paris and Ile-de-France.
What psychological care is put in place when a hostage is released?
Dr Gaelle Abgrall: “The attitude envisaged must be proactive. In such a case, we must systematically offer psychological care, while being sufficiently available to the person so that they can take it, or not. What is very important is to propose, but the person must be able to dispose. And above all, do not impose anything on him. We do not necessarily do this before the person finds their family, because they must also find their loved ones as quickly as possible. There are also all the questions of security, the link that must be made with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, etc., but the psychological question must be asked systematically”.
What is the state of mind of a person who was in captivity? What stages does it go through?
Dr Gaelle Abgrall: “It is difficult to generalize a very individual experience, which is part of the personality of the individual, but also within his history. What is important is all the same to have the idea that the person could have had psychological suffering at a certain time. But the stages differ: some people can get out of it very well without any particular psychological care. And others for whom care is a pillar of their reconstruction, without which they would have had great difficulty readjusting to their present life. So it depends on the person, the type of hostage-taking and even the bond that may have been forged with the hostage-takers”.
Can we recover from such a “parenthesis” in our life?
Dr Gaelle Abgrall: “A number of factors are going to come into play, but in general, yes, you can get over it. The time, however, will still depend on what the person experienced during the hostage-taking. This can take several months or even years. Other people are much more resilient and go through this life episode without it constituting psychotrauma. Once again, what seems important to me is to be able to listen to and honor the wishes of the people who have been detained. They are often the ones who know each other best and who know best what will allow them a psychic well-being “.
Olivier Dubois is undoubtedly one of the resilient people of whom the psychiatrist speaks. In a first interview given to Liberation today, to the question of whether he will resume his job, the journalist answers “Oh yes, absolutely. I can’t say exactly that in the last two years, this is the longest report I have done because I was in captivity. But yes, I aspire to continue. I love this job.”