Abstract
No category of crime has been so extensively and widely condemned as crimes against humanity and abuses of human rights. But beyond doubt, there is no category of criminal so certain to escape punishment or even serious inconvenience, or so likely to retire on a pension at the expense of his or her victims. Trauma is an inevitable consequence of such offenses, and accordingly, clinicians and researchers working with trauma are provided with both opportunities and responsibilities to understand these phenomena.
“Tell me, what went wrong? Born like I was, good and murky, Bred like you were, human and odd ... Can’t you see you’ve been killing the dead? Sending me to pastures grey, when pastures green abound? Have you said I’m good, when dead? Born like I were, dead as a grave ... Born like I am, great and murky, Bred as I am, human and wise, I lave you said it? Dead. No, Alive!
From a poem by Donald Madisha, who died as a political prisoner in South Africa in June 1990; found during a psychological autopsy (Simpson, 1993d).
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Simpson, M.A. (1995). What Went Wrong?. In: Kleber, R.J., Figley, C.R., Gersons, B.P.R. (eds) Beyond Trauma. The Plenum Series on Stress and Coping. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-9421-2_11
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