Send message to Contributor

Short abstract

The 'unspeakability' of trauma is well acknowledged. However, Frosh suggests that the real barrier to processing trauma lies not in 'a failure to speak', but in 'a failure to listen'. In the context of Ukraine, where narratives of suffering continue to emerge, is the issue of listening present?

Long abstract

Ukraine has a long history of silenced traumas. Unfortunately, history repeats itself. 'The ghost of the past' has returned, opening new wounds on top of the old traumas that remain not fully ’digested’. But is the issue of being unheard still ongoing?

In the face of war, millions of Ukrainians have been voicing collectively their grievances, hopes, and calls for justice on the streets, social media, through art and selfie culture, communicating their trauma. However, despite this strong collective voice, the war continues, extending people's suffering.

In this presentation, you are invited to take on the role of a listener — an active and reflective participant in the collaborative process of witnessing trauma. You will be invited to re-engage with the past through the former KGB archives, explored by the presenter at the State Archive Department of the Security Service of Ukraine in 2021. These files are related to one of the most dreadful instruments of Soviet repressions – punitive psychiatry. The archives remained 'secret' until recently. Today, after many years of enforced silence, we can reflect on and rethink the traumatic experiences of our collective past.

But can we uncover authentic voices in these archives? Can we invite 'the ghost of the past' to speak while working with them? While trying to navigate our own emotional responses both as researchers and as human beings, how can we avoid the two extremes described by LaCapra as 'full identification' and 'pure objectification'? How can we listen deeply without being traumatised ourselves?