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“We Are All Alive . . . But Dead†: Cultural Meanings of War Trauma in the Tamil Diaspora and Implications for Service Delivery

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  • Pushpa Kanagaratnam
  • Joanna Anneke Rummens
  • Brenda TonerVA

Abstract

Providing culturally appropriate mental health services to war-affected refugees residing in the West continues to pose many challenges. Gaining firsthand knowledge from the refugee communities themselves is crucial to improving our knowledge and guiding our interventions. The purpose of this study is to understand perceptions of war trauma in the Tamil diaspora. Fifty-one Sri Lankan Tamils living in the Greater Toronto Area, Canada, were interviewed. Transcripts were thematically analyzed using content analysis. Findings indicate that war trauma is not viewed by the diaspora as a pathological notion. Positioned within a moral context, and independent from isolated events of war, manifestations of war trauma were discussed at an interpersonal and collective level. Diagnostic categories, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), do not seem to fully capture the breadth of war trauma in this diaspora community. Implications for service delivery, and for incorporating the unique aspects of suffering resulting from a fragmented community, are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Pushpa Kanagaratnam & Joanna Anneke Rummens & Brenda TonerVA, 2020. "“We Are All Alive . . . But Dead†: Cultural Meanings of War Trauma in the Tamil Diaspora and Implications for Service Delivery," SAGE Open, , vol. 10(4), pages 21582440209, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:sagope:v:10:y:2020:i:4:p:2158244020963563
    DOI: 10.1177/2158244020963563
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Derek Summerfield, 2003. "War, Exile, Moral Knowledge and the Limits of Psychiatric Understanding: A Clinical Case Study of a Bosnian Refugee in London," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 49(4), pages 264-268, December.
    3. Samia Hanif & Inayat Ullah, 2018. "War Trauma, Collective Memory, and Cultural Productions in Conflict Zones: Kashmir in Focus," SAGE Open, , vol. 8(3), pages 21582440188, September.
    4. Ronit Lentin, 1999. "The Rape of the Nation: Women Narrativising Genocide," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 4(2), pages 75-83, July.
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