War Memory, Psychological Trauma, and Literary Witnessing: Afghan Cultural Production in Focus

Inayat Ullah

doi:10.1177/2158244020961128

Abstract

As non-literary accounts of post-traumatic stress disorder victims depict, and contribute to, history and memory, the present study uses the theoretical underpinnings of the psychological trauma theory to reflect on the flashbacks of Afghan trauma survivors, portrayed in the selected Afghan Anglophone fiction. The research project attempts to see how far the flashbacks of the traumatic memories of these characters contribute to the oft-quoted factual history. Borrowing from Caruth, Herman, Tal and LaCapra for the analysis, the study investigates the selected literary text to see how cultural productions from this war-torn country keep a record of the traumatic memories of the war that the Afghans were faced with during the Soviet invasion from 1979 to 1989. This trauma analysis of Atiq Rahimi’s Earth and Ashes (2002) shows that analyses of trauma-induced flashbacks in literary portrayals of traumatized characters may, simultaneously, contribute to the officially recorded history of the actual event of trauma. The study concludes that related literary texts may be studied in conjunction with factual historical documents to get a holistic picture of any traumatic event as well as the related memory.

Highlights

Introduction to the StudyTermed by many as the graveyard of empires, the history and narrative of Afghanistan have been shrouded in the 35 years of long and continuous war (Imran & Xiaochuan, 2015)
Jean Laplanche interprets it as the concept of “afterwardsness.” According to these trauma theories by Freud, “We invariably find that a memory is repressed and has only become a trauma by deferred action”
A comprehensive analysis came to the conclusion that, on average, 38.2% and 15% of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) cases in military and civilian samples, respectively, have proved to come up with delayed reactions after they were hit by trauma (Andrews et al, 2007)

Summary

Introduction to the Study

Termed by many as the graveyard of empires, the history and narrative of Afghanistan have been shrouded in the 35 years of long and continuous war (Imran & Xiaochuan, 2015). As soon as the Soviet forces pulled out of Afghanistan in 1989, the country fell prey to internal conflicts, which resulted in another foreign military intervention, leading to further prolonging the problems of the people in the country Such a prolonged exposure to the ravages of war in the country has been collectively recorded in the history and fiction that arises from this land, providing the true account of the psychological trauma of the Afghan people. The memories of the devastation, caused by the decade-long war, are still prevalent in the country’s cultural productions In this particular novel, the protagonist, named Dastaguir, a grandfather, joined by his little grandson Yassin, is strolling along a dusty street from his town of Abqul toward the coalmines of Karkar to see his son and tell him about the destruction of their town. He remembers all the losses and shares his grief with the people he comes across

Background to Trauma Theory

Findings

Conclusion