Collective trauma in the Vanni- a qualitative inquiry into the mental health of the internally displaced due to the civil war in Sri Lanka

This paper is a qualitative inquiry into the psychosocial situation of the Vanni displaced and their ethnography using narratives and observations obtained through participant observation; in depth interviews; key informant, family and extended family interviews; and focus groups using a prescribed, semi structured open ended questionnaire.The narratives, drawings, letters and poems as well as data from observations, key informant interviews, extended family and focus group discussions show considerable impact at the family and community. The family and community relationships, networks, processes and structures are destroyed. There develops collective symptoms of despair, passivity, silence, loss of values and ethical mores, amotivation, dependency on external assistance, but also resilience and post-traumatic growth.Considering the severity of family and community level adverse effects and implication for resettlement, rehabilitation, and development programmes; interventions for healing of memories, psychosocial regeneration of the family and community structures and processes are essential.Tham Thimithimithom ThaiyathomTham ThimithimithomLiving we were- on Vanni soilLiving we wereEducating ourselves we were - JoyfullyEducating ourselves we wereRunning around we were - with friendsRunning around we wereCame the airplanes- on usThrowing bombsDied relations- ourRelations fellRace destroyed- TamilRace disappearedLife destroyed- ourLife scatteredSuffering saw- weSadness imposedCaged by war- we wereTrapped in sufferingEnough the sorrow- weEscape to surviveSong/Poem by Vanni IDP school studentWhat happened in the Vanni and to its people from August 2006 onwards, particularly from January 2009 to May 2009, has been described in apocalyptic (in the local Tamil as pralayam) terms[1-4]. The total destruction of civilian infrastructure that ensued in the bitter fight to the end between the Sri Lankan military forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) with an es