Healing from War Trauma: The Psychological Benefits of Land Ownership among War Veterans in Gweru, Zimbabwe

Abstract

Post war psychological adjustment of veterans has been a topical issue. However, there is a need to explore context specific ways of  helping veterans heal from war trauma, especially in low resources countries. This qualitative exploratory study sought to understand the psychological benefits of owning land among veterans who received land during the land redistribution program. In-depth interviews  were done with eight veterans who were selected through convenient sampling. The inclusion criteria was the veterans who answered  yes to the question – “Besides other benefits, would you say you having land helped you psychologically?’ The interviews sought to probe  into the psychological benefits of land ownership. Content analysis was used and the following themes revealed the psychological significance of owning land: it led to a sense of satisfaction, seeing crops grow helped foster a sense of achievement, being occupied (as  participants worked on the land) helped to as a distraction from ruminating about the war, land was seen as a source of legacy and  security, connection with nature helped foster a sense of self-worth, land ownership helped participants to interact with other veterans  and improved social support and the land gave the participants peace of mind as they felt they could leave an inheritance for their  children. The study provides a glimpse into the post war psychological benefits of land ownership and research on trauma healing in low  income countries can build upon this study.