Brave brother’s keeper has faith in Osinya survival

By ISHAQ JUMBE

Mombasa, Kenya: “I just want my brother to come back home safe.” These were the words spoken by Moses Gift, brother to baby Satrin Osinya who has a bullet lodged in his head.

Moses had taken cover when the terrorists struck and only rose when his mother fell to take care of his brother who was threatening to wander away. The iconic photograph of a teary Moses, 13 carrying injured Satrin to safety best illustrated the true meaning of being your brother’s keeper.

Moses needs counselling after the traumatic experience of having to shield his blood-soaked baby brother who had taken a bullet to the head.

But experts say Moses’ recovery from the trauma will largely depend on the outcome of the scheduled surgery to dislodge the bullet in his brother’s head.

“Undergoing such an experience at such a young age can be very traumatic experience even for a grown up,” says Maryam Musa, a counselor with Red Cross Mombasa branch where Moses has been taken for counselling.

A mass counselling session for other survivors of the attack has also been planned.

Maryam warns that unless adequate intervention is carried out to enable the boy who Kenyans remember carrying his bleeding brother after futile attempts to wake his dead mother failed, the boy could end up getting affected adversely by the entire experience. “It was just too much; a mother violently killed before his very eyes and a brother whose life is hanging in the balance. You can imagine the turmoil raging in his young mind,” says Maryam who has had two sessions with the boy. She says that they are trying to make him cope and adjust.

According to the counsellor, such a child should not be reabsorbed back into society without the necessary tools to build up his coping skills.

She notes that the boy is responding well to therapy but a lot depends on the progress and outcome of his brother’s case and how his mother’s death and funeral is managed.

The Standard Seven pupil of Kenya Navy Primary School says his  biggest wish is the safe return of his brother without the ominous bullet lodged in the head.