Samutthana at Galle Literary Festival 'Trauma and Literature'

By Dushy PARAKRAMA

To quote the inimitable Geoffrey Dobbs, Founder of the Galle Literary Festival, "The World Heritage Site of Galle compliments the ambience of the event and provides a backdrop which leaves the visitors with lasting serendipitous memories".

In the space of six years, the Galle Literary Festival has become firmly established on the world literary circuit. It has seen a large increase in international sessions, and also a large increase in the links with the local community.

This year, for the very first time, the GLF introduced the topic of 'Trauma and Literature' on Saturday January 21 at the Maritime Museum.

A lively Panel Discussion was moderated by Morgan Meis (from the USA), featuring three writers - Ellah Allfrey (from Zimbabwe), Aminatta Forna (from Sierra Leon) and Neluka Silva (from Sri Lanka) - and of course Professor Rachel Tribe (from England) who served as the expert Psychologist, twinning the two whilst explaining the links between Trauma and Literature. (Professor Rachel Tribe represents Samutthana - the King's College London Resource Centre for Trauma, Reconciliation and Mental Health, in Sri Lanka).

The scintillating Panel Discussion revolved around particular themes:

• Can language ever describe or communicate a traumatic experience - the experiences of war, torture, or acute emotional distress?

• We try to write about such things but do the words truly capture the intensity and the significance of trauma?

• Can we say, then, that Literature is in fact both impotent in the face of Trauma and defined by the challenge it represents?

"Not so..." says Professor Rachel Tribe who maintains that Literature and Trauma are deeply related since all of Literature is an attempt to express experiences that initially may resist but eventually give in to being transformed into Language. And vice versa. Numerous forms of Creative Therapy, using Literature, are used very sensitively and successfully in dealing with Trauma.

The restorative, healing and sensitising power of the Novel cannot be undermined. Great Literature is often spawned from the seeds of war or trauma - from the war poets of World War 1, through the extraordinary novelists born of the Holocaust, Partition, and civil conflicts in Latin America, Northern Ireland, Eastern Europe, South Africa, Afghanistan, India and Sri Lanka, to name but a few.

Professor Rachel Tribe itemised, point by careful point, the ways in which Literature aims to give suffering and trauma 'meaning'. This is important in a fast paced world that is zipping past us, because we can then stop to breathe, understand and empathise with each other - and eventually be at peace with ourselves. Trauma could be an intensely personal experience or a community suffering together - as seen so often in Sri Lanka's history.

Trauma and Literature therefore is indeed connected because, however vague suffering may be initially, writing or talking about it puts in into perspective - though, at times, words may fail to capture the intensity of experiences and the reality of it all.

Congratulations to GLF and Curator Shyam Selvadurai for introducing this new and innovative 'Trauma and Literature' Panel Discussion to draw on original texts to provide fascinating insights into collective and individual trauma. Such discussions help to bring Mental Health out of the shadows within our country and to promote discussions around the catch phrase 'Psychological Well-being' in an engaging, socially inclusive and positive way.

The discerning audience, packed to full capacity, were enthralled as voices and different possibilities were skilfully brought to life through dramatic story telling and readings by the Panellists. Using selected local and international novels and writings which explore associated themes of memory, displacement, loss, love and trauma, the Moderator drew on insights from the audience - of mental health professionals, members of the community and other writers - to link the real world of Applied Psychology with the world of Literature, by engaging in lively discussions around these themes.

Billed as one of the top ten 'not-to-be-missed' GLF events, this session did not disappoint. Professor Rachel Tribe, representing Samutthana - the King's College London Resource Centre for Trauma, Reconciliation and Mental Health in Sri Lanka - put a formidable case forward in encouraging debate around the story or perceptions, myths or facts, around mental health and trauma. The debate continues. . .

'Samutthana' means 'renewal' in Sanskrit. Samutthana is a registered not-for-profit charity based in Nawala, Sri Lanka. It aims to provide local training and support for organisations and individuals working in the areas of trauma, originally related to the psychosocial needs of tsunami survivors, but now extended to post-war survivors and others who have experienced trauma in Sri Lanka.

Through its training programmes, Samutthana aims to contribute to capacity building in Sri Lanka's disaster preparedness and mental health care in general.