| Summary: | The political and cultural contexts are very important to the experience of
trauma (individual or communal), and yet, ultimately every reaction to an event is
unique, depending largely on individual positioning and psychic history.
‘True’ versions of traumatic historical events, with minimum contamination
or distortion by any specific ideology or unreliable memory, are needed; if these
narratives are to have long-term value. Unfortunately, most often the ‘social
discourse’ surrounding these is manipulated by institutional forces (including the
media) and the main experience gets either downplayed or sensationalised.
By focussing on the journey of the Palestinian doctor, Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish,
this essay attempts to highlight such responsible responses to trauma. Dr. Abuelaish,
even after growing up in a refugee camp in Gaza, or after witnessing the death of his
three daughters by Israeli tank shells that hit his home, rather than seeking revenge
or letting intrusive memories fill him with eternal hatred, continues his humanitarian
call for the people of the region to come together, promoting understanding, respect,
and peace. His experiences, some of which was captured live on TV, and later penned
down in his memoir I Shall Not Hate; and his life choices and activities since the
tragedy are the best example how unconventional individual reactions can have largescale repercussions; and hence needs to be chronicled.
Dominick LaCapra had pointed out that trauma often leads to distorted
identity-formation, where either the subject-position of ‘victim’ or ‘perpetrator’
becomes prominent; “wherein one is possessed by the past and tends to repeat it
compulsively” (Representing the Holocaust 12). But this article seeks to reveal how,
when some individuals find within themselves to rise above such binaries, and tell
their stories sensitively yet objectively- they accelerate the healing process, both for
themselves and the community.
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