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Why Am I Still Here? The Impact of Survivor Guilt on the Mental Health and Settlement Process of Refugee Youth

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Today’s Youth and Mental Health

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Applied Health and Community Studies, Sheridan College, GTA, Oakville, ON, Canada

    Jacinta Goveas

  2. York Region, Newmarket, ON, Canada

    Sudharshana Coomarasamy

Authors
  1. Jacinta Goveas
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  2. Sudharshana Coomarasamy
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jacinta Goveas .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social and Community Services, Humber College, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Soheila Pashang

  2. Faculty of Health, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Nazilla Khanlou

  3. School of Social Work, Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Jennifer Clarke

Respondent

Respondent

Sudha Coomarasamy

York Region, Newmarket, ON, Canada

Silence Screams and Images Blind

A seeker wondered –

If a tree falls in the forest without a witness,

Does it make a noise?

Without eyes, cameras or satellite images,

When souls are stabbed to death,

Do they make the list of the dead?

Some martyrs become saints,

Some become terrorists.

History is rewritten –

But some stories are never told.

Silence screams and images blind.

The same water swallowed some, and spat out some.

The same road exploded, under some feet,

The same aim got some, missed some.

Silence screams and images blind.

A tiny second, a hair’s breadth –

Meant life or death, to you and me.

Blinded by your absence,

I am still here.

Forgive me.

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Goveas, J., Coomarasamy, S. (2018). Why Am I Still Here? The Impact of Survivor Guilt on the Mental Health and Settlement Process of Refugee Youth. In: Pashang, S., Khanlou, N., Clarke, J. (eds) Today’s Youth and Mental Health. Advances in Mental Health and Addiction. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64838-5_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64838-5_6

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