AN UNDERSTANDING OF ABORIGINAL EXPERIENCE IN THE CONTEXT OF COLLECTIVE TRAUMA:

A CHALLENGE FOR HEALING

 

 

 

 

Dr. David Ratnavale

Consultant Psychiatrist, Glenside Hospital, Adelaide, SA

Visiting Professor Department of Psychiatry, University of Adelaide

April 27^th 2007

A condensed summary by Dr Anthea Krieg of a presentation to the Aboriginal and Torres Islander Mental Health Services of Central Northern Adelaide Health Service

 

Our Common Humanity:

From the beginning of human existence individuals have relied on the safety and security which the group offers. Our ancestors were beset with stresses and strains, leaving our species with both strengths and liabilities. Considering that many species have faced extinction our survival is a remarkable feat.

 

The Aboriginal people of Australia first arrived on the Australian continent more than 40,000 years ago from South Asia Their subsequent existence highlights humankind’s great potential for adaptation, resilience and cooperation with nature. Into their DNA has entered a myriad of talents and capacities which remain to this day among the nearly half a million people of Aboriginal descent.

 

Reliance on our collective (group) security is rarely brought to our attention unless we are faced with some natural or human-caused disaster such as an earthquake, tsunami, a war or even a strike. Similarly, we do not as a rule realize how much we depend on the people around us unless they leave us, go missing or die, or something goes wrong with our relationships. It is only then that we reluctantly admit, with some resentment, sadness even despair how dependent we are on the harmony of nature’s forces and our fellow beings.

 

Concept of Balance: Although this paper dwells primarily on the traumas of our species, we might take pride in knowing that we would not have survived without experiences that have healed the traumas, experiences that have strengthened human capacities and the underlying indomitable human spirit. Aboriginal traditions amply illustrate the significance of balance and maintaining harmony. (See below – chosen triumphs)

 

Disasters: Shared catastrophes which result from many causes, that can broadly divided into natural disasters and those that are human caused. Although we usually think of catastrophes as sudden unexpected events, disasters and their harmful consequences may be long lasting.

 

Trauma - Individual and Collective:

Everyone understands intuitively that being caught in serious conflict can be extremely traumatic to the individuals involved. The causes and consequences of individual trauma have been widely studies and acknowledged, with some commonly referred to as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

 

Relatively little attention has been paid to the collective psychologies of societies under stress or appropriate strategies for healing collective trauma and restoring community stability, health and prosperity.

 

Individual trauma can be understood as a blow to the psyche that breaks through one’s defences with such intensity that the person cannot cope or respond effectively.

Collective trauma is a reaction to the shock of being separated from a stable community such that the bonds that link people together, providing a sense of safety and security, are broken.

 

Disasters:

Common natural disasters include earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, and typically in Australia, droughts and bushfires.

 

Wars and conflicts arising from ethnic and racial conflicts and even genocide count among human caused disasters, but there are others where humans and nature together have contributed, such as the dangers of global warming, the landslides that result from deforestation or when oils spills or poisons contaminate the environment.

 

Other disasters, far less recognized, but no less serious, are the long standing circumstances of poverty, chronic illness, violent conflict, isolation and the long standing (chronic) stressors experienced by certain indigenous and aboriginal populations.

 

Yet another category of disaster risk is known as asymmetric threats. These threats reflect asymmetry of stimulus and response, the enormous and often unpredictable consequences of what might seem to be a small disaster stimulus. 9/11 is such an instance, where a handful of terrorists led to repercussion across the globe. Another example is the widespread epidemic of fear generated by a relatively small bio-terrorist attack.

 

Needs tend to overwhelm resources, and demands overwhelm supply in all disasters regardless of cause or type. Hence the importance of prevention and remaining prepared.

 

Shared catastrophes of any kind – natural or not – represent collective traumas. Communities as a whole are affected, life is threatened and people will suffer in all cases, but the victims of human caused disasters are impacted more seriously because the perpetrator/enemy is a human agency. We might be angry that a tsunami has caused so much death, destruction and displacement, but there is generally no room for blame or retaliation. 

 

Vamik Volcan[1] reminds us that the tragedies resulting from the deliberate actions of others must be differentiated from other types. This is because these deliberate often cruel actions are accompanied by tremendous amounts of shared shame, shared helplessness, shared rage and shared suffering, leading to intense and prolonged mourning for huge losses, with reactions painful and impossible to avoid.  

 

Collective trauma: Although disasters invariably cause both physical and mental reactions as well as death, destruction and displacement, the term collective trauma is more commonly applied to the psychological effects shared by a group of people of any size, and must be distinguished from individual trauma as in PTSD - although vulnerable individuals in any group will be prone to unique particular suffering. Indeed the experience of group trauma is also shaped by the group’s own past history, strengths and liabilities in much the same way.

 

Collective triumphs or collective glories would correspondingly apply to events which bring pride, success and satisfaction to the group (society). These may include victory in war or times of plenty when the people flourished, improving their economy, developing self-sufficiency and enjoying the fruits of their successes. These periods of success might be prolonged or relatively brief.

 

Chronic Collective trauma is an appropriate description of the experience of indigenous peoples, oppressed minorities and other groups such as refugees who have lived with suffering over extended periods of time. Their traumas may involve suffering at the hands of enemies, conquerors (and even their own governments) as well as hardships endured as a result of starvation, disease or natural disasters.

 

Collective trauma impact: The impact of chronic collective trauma tends to set in motion behavioral patterns which repeat the traumas of the past even to the extent of the sufferers bringing it upon themselves. This suggests that just as trauma frequently becomes a central organizing principle in the psychological structure of the individual, so too may collective trauma be a central organizing principle in the psychological structure of a group or even a nation.

 

The Veddas of Sri Lanka:

The Veddas were an indigenous people who wandered the lush tropical forests and plains of Sri Lanka. Living in harmony with nature, that was kind and not separated from them, where water, wind, fire and plant life were linked to nature’s laws, the Veddas had a strong sense of connection to elemental life forces and a shared identity. Their culture was buffeted by successive waves of invasion from the Indian subcontinent followed by four hundred years of colonization by the Portuguese, Dutch and British in turn. Neglect and active exclusion forced them to live in a rapidly shrinking habitat, their heritage increasingly fractured and diluted. The culture was diluted over the years. They formed a disadvantaged minority group manipulated by a tradition of political lip service and “divide and rule”.

The last Vedda Chieftain DambanaWanniya-Iaeto Chief Tissahamy who died 1998, had a direct line of descent from the island’s original community dating back to at least 16,000 BC. Their fate was the disaster of lost generations, dwindling into the nation’s memory.

An apology from a former Sri Lankan president came far too late, for by then the island’s ancient aboriginal people had literally been absorbed out of existence, no longer an identifiable cultural influence. 

 

Aboriginal and Torres Island People:

In the case of Aboriginal and Torres Islander people whose history goes back over 40,000 years, we can never fully appreciate the intensity and duration of the traumas they have suffered, or know of the periods of collective triumphs they must have experienced.

Nevertheless their traumas in recent times include high rates of death and illness, expulsion from homelands, loss of self-sufficiency and autonomy, the arbitrary removal of children and other assimilation strategies, unlawful incarcerations and cultural suppression. Multiple secondary harmful consequences may remain hidden, deliberately concealed or denied but what is now well documented is their vulnerability to chronic disease and reduced life expectancy.

 

Signs and Symptoms of Collective Trauma:[2]  

• Deep mistrust of self, others, even family
• Fear and anticipation of betrayal
• Shame and humiliation
• Cultural genocide, loss of traditional values, desecration of land and institutions
• Violence against women
• Self-directed violence – suicide and risk-taking behaviour
• Substance abuse
• Unremitting grief
• Intergenerational conflict-role diffusion, sexual abuse, other boundary violations
• Dependency- hostile or pathological
• Leadership vacuum
• A conspiracy of silence  - an overall attitude of secrecy

 

Recognising, Acknowledging & Understanding Difference:

Aboriginal culture shares many features of Asian and Latin American and Mediterranean cultures in the ways that cultural identity is valued – as illustrated in Table 2, particularly in relation to respect for elders, cooperation more than competition, sensitivity to dignity and saving face, minimizing  shaming and humiliation, and caring for the less able and poor.

 

Although pride, prejudice and discrimination are implied when we speak of “us” versus “them”, differentiation and discrimination are basic to safety and security and have a protective function. Indeed, distinctiveness and difference can be regarded as a universal structure of the human species (even other animal species) because it defines ‘us’ as a source of closeness, sharing and safety.  Yet, it is common for perceived differences (external, physical, and ideological) to be used to justify discrimination.

 

 

 

       

 

Table 1: Individualist vs Collectivist Thinking [3]

 

 

Clearly, Asian, Latin American, Mediterranean, Aboriginal and other indigenous cultures appear to be collectivist.        

 

The Experience of Trauma:

History is filled with examples of collective trauma suffering and grief. For some of us, and our people, the impact and scars of trauma are easily remembered. For others the traumatic effects are denied or below the surface. Individuals and groups who have suffered numerous losses, up-rooting and displaced from their familiar surroundings seem to remain unsettled in more than one way. Usually some deeply buried experience of fear or hurt is the reason why some individuals or groups remain uneasy and distrustful.

 

An individual’s recall of a traumatic event is not always accurate because memories change over time and can be manipulated. Even shared traumas are recalled and interpreted differently as there are many versions of history - your version, their version, our version and my version (the real truth!).

 

When a language has been lost, suppressed or ignored, future generations are deprived of their birthright and voice. Many ethnic conflicts are the result of the suppression of language and culture by a dominant group. Recent revival of interest in nearly forgotten Aboriginal languages is a most heartening trend to be strongly encouraged.

 

For Aboriginal and other indigenous groups their history and culture survived mostly by word of mouth - oral history.

When we have no language to express ourselves or if our words don’t carry weight, communication becomes wordless and “behavioural” and therefore easily misconstrued.    

 

Shared memories of historical catastrophes gradually tend to create a joint mental representation - a mindset or memory map - that is traced by the group. Memories of these events are transmitted down the generations, becoming what are referred to as chosen traumas - those which are remembered with pain, humiliation and suffering, and which are then passed on. In turn, new experiences of trauma - physical or psychological - may reinforce these “images” or maps thereby strengthening the traumatized groups’ identity.

 

Time collapse:

We are often reminded of the traumas of our ancestors. We do this in memorial ceremonies to honour and show respect for the people who gave their lives to save our tribes or families. Sometimes leaders and politicians remind us of these events in great detail describing the suffering of our people and this may bring up strong emotions like grief, anger and possibly even the wish for revenge or recompense. When this is done over and over our imaginations are stirred. An event that took place hundreds of years ago might begin to seem much more recent. Time, in a sense, collapses. 

 

Healing Collective Trauma:

When members of a traumatized group cannot undo, overcome or remove their shame, humiliation and helplessness, or cannot grieve all the losses they have suffered, they may pass on that task, that process - the necessary funeral business - to their children. [4]

Because this business is painful, it can persist if not dealt with satisfactorily. The results can be residual feelings of shame, helplessness and humiliation. These lingering negative feelings may subtly affect daily life. In some cases they can become intolerable and be acted out - violence against the self or others - or turned inwards to cause depression.

 

 

 

 

 

‘Do not make your nightmares become your children’s’[5]

 

Articulating the Problem:

Often the problems seem too huge and too painful to describe; there is no-one to explain how they came about or why they persist. Confidence in the compassion of others has worn thin and it is unclear where help will come from. Is the trauma so far back in time that you have no words to describe it? Are you forbidden to speak about it and must conspire to being silent - and who is listening, who cares?

 

Australia’s dilemma is that it has recently been ranked lowest among wealthy nations on Indigenous health status.[6] While it is a source of some embarrassment, the Oxfam report at least offers hope that the Aboriginal health crisis can be overcome when governments demonstrate leadership and make solving the health crisis a national priority.

 

The Australian Challenge – Designing Tools for Action:

For Aboriginal and Torres Island people living today the knowledge and understanding of their history comes from many sources. Integrating all these pieces of emotion will generate a mountain of feelings. Walking the journey across the hot desert sand will be a re-living of the trauma, slowly. Many aspects of history which were handed down from generation to generation will take on a new shape as more and more information on culture comes to light. Libraries, history books, newspapers, novels, television (“Living Black”), films (“Ten Canoes”) radio, music, art, drama and sport programs; wide publicity given to the struggle for native title. Various Aboriginal customs are being revived as purifying smoking ceremonies are accepted and prayerful homage to ancestors acknowledge tradition.

 

Rites and Rituals - the coalition of compassion and the spiritual dimension:

These developments are all providing a large source of data and inspiration. They are bringing energy and even more meaning to Aboriginality. In this process empty spaces are being filled bringing and greater understanding and pride. What happened thousands of years go will seem like it happened yesterday. Thousands of years are shrinking by this process of time collapse. One will be able to look back, feel back and be back thousands of years. This would be a case of connecting and healing by time collapse.

 

 

 

 

 

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