When an armed conflict breaks out, we are instantly presented with the number of people killed, along with how many families and entire communities have been forced from their homes.
- The only violence toward the displaced communities we tend to discuss is the immediate physical damage: the harm done to individuals through murder, torture, and sexual assault
- However, regimes will often utilize a lesser known, or less understood, tactic against these vulnerable communities that some may argue does not constitute violence as it is not an overt physical attack
- This strategy employs the "root shock of forced displacement," which she defines as the traumatic stress reaction to the destruction of one's emotional ecosystem.
The Mentally Ill as the "Other"
- It's never been uncommon for those suffering from mental illnesses to be vilified and identified as less than human
- Regimes similarly provide the legal grounds to label refugees and others fleeing persecution in their native regions as "violent," "unstable," or "abnormal," which in turn leads to their alienation from a society that does not permit their integration
No Hearth, No Health
- Homelands as a concept play an important role in the social, mental, and emotional well-being of individuals.
- While this role may differ from region to region due to cultural, socioeconomic, and linguistic contexts, we can find parallels that point to the homeland as representing normality and harmony.
- For example, deported Lithuanians associated their native region with civilian life and freedom as citizens.
Conclusion
- When there are state institutions or government-funded bodies that actively discriminate against and stigmatize the "abnormal" behavior of displaced communities, further scrutiny is required
https://mises.org/wire/state-uses-trauma-weapon-against-innocent-people
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