Suchergebnisse

Redefines the notion of war by exploring the relationship between conventional & guerrilla warfare & the environmental alienation of humans that results from one's land being made lethal by millions of mines & cluster bombs. It is pointed out that the land provides both a cultural identity & a sense of being in hunting & agricultural societies. Attention is also given to the land worship common to Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist, & Confucianism traditions. The trauma associated with having the sacredness of land turned into an enemy to be feared because of land mines is examined, along with the scorched earth practice of colonial history; modern technologies that have expanded conventional war into an environmental war; & the ways in which guerrilla warfare exploits nature for both defensive & offensive purposes. Consideration is also given to the loss of emotional ties to the land by children who grow up in refugee camps or as child soldiers. The harmful effect of the spiritual void caused by alienation from the land is discussed. J. Lindroth

Militant groups transform traumatized people into perpetrators of violence through the use of trauma stories. In this article I argue that ruthless factions among oppressed people exploit the pain & suffering of the entire group, using narratives that may be also be used for healing. Repetition of the stories of rape, killings, displacement, & loss of jobs & homes in the riots against minority Tamils by the Sinhalese marked a sharp turn toward political violence among the Tamils. This collective memory of fear, anger, hatred, & despair has led the Tamils to embrace any means that may alleviate their distress. Stories about the traumatic events became both a powerful symbol & an effective tool to create new combatants by creating a new Tamil consciousness. Critical questions emerge from my analysis. Is it possible to separate the clinical from the personal & political aspects of the trauma of war? Is a traumatized society political capital for sustaining the power of unscrupulous leaders? How should we address social trauma within the context of healing & peace building? I conclude by suggesting an alternative, personalized way of storytelling for traumatized people that offers a way to break the cycle of political violence. References. Adapted from the source document.