Silencing Historical Trauma: The Politics and Psychology of Memory and Voice

Silencing Historical Trauma: The Politics and Psychology of Memory and Voice
synopsis:
In this case study, by Ramsay Lien, the after effects of the collective American portrayal of the Korean War ("the forgotten war") are examined through the experiences of 36 Korean American participants.  A series of two part interviews were conducted among the 36 participants.  The conclusions found that little has been recorded in the way of human, emotional stories being told by the survivors.  Considering the amount of life lost during the conflict, some estimate it was close to 10% of the Korean population, as well as the 10 million Koreans who were displaced from their immediate families, the silencing of their stories has had a detrimental effect on their identity as Koreans.  The silencing has also been a result of the unique nature of the conflict.  The conflict has remained stalemated for some sixty years and the threat of renewed violence is always there.  Lastly, there is the personal feeling of silence that so many of those directly involved with combat feel due to the sheer terror of not wanting to relive those moments.

analysis:
when historical memory is silenced or rewritten, those who experienced the trauma become devalued in their identity by basically being told that their experience didn't matter or wasn't of value.  The self censorship that results from a collective narrative of being forgotten eventually becomes a form of habit and only serves to further devalue their view of themselves.  This is, in effect, silencing.  Furthermore, the stalemated conflict also serves to further devalue the Korean American war experience with added pressure to keep the collective memory suppressed so as not to reignite tense feelings.  Lastly, when we think of being silenced, we usually think of an oppressor versus the suppressed and we don't necessarily think of an act itself as being a silencer.  In this case, the war itself can also be considered a silencer as so many don't wish to relive those moments.  This silencing, for many, results in pyschological trauma and proves that  by not speaking out about one's traumatic past, one is doomed to repeat the cycle of remembering, forgetting and being silenced.