Transgenerational transmission of trauma

The history of the Arab slave trade of the 19^th century followed by interreligious conflicts in Uganda and the fight against the expansion of Islamic, affected psychologically believers of both religions because there were no healing of memories. At times, family unity, family identity, family dynamics and family history has been destroyed. When there is no healing of memory after such violent and painful conflicts, there cannot be a proper reconciliation and the trauma will continue to be transmitted because millions of people perished horribly in these violence`s.

This trauma caused enormous consequences which African people are dealing with up to day.

There is solid evidence that “young people capture tensions and sufferings told and untold linked with present or past history of their parents.”⁸⁷¹ Professor Nathan Kellerman compares that human transmission through generations like

The transmission of sound waves in telecommunications is a commonly accepted phenomenon, and may serve as a suitable analogy that illustrates the process of trauma transmission. Thus, in the same way as heat, light, sound and electricity can be invisibly carried from a transmitter to a receiver; it is possible that unconscious

867 Time in the Qur’an, History as memory and Meta-Historical Religion

<http://islamfrominside.com/Pages/Articles/The%20concept%20of%20time%20in%20the%20Quran.html>, 02nd August>, 2013.

868 Miroslav Volf, The role of memory in contemporary culture,

<http://www.ptsem.edu/uploadedFiles/School_of_Christian_Vocation_and_Mission/Institute_for_Youth_Ministry/P rinceton_Lectures/Volf-Role.pdf>, 02nd October 2013.

869 Ibid.

870 Ibid.

871 Florence Calicis, La transmission transgenerationnelle des traumatismes et de la souffrance non dite, <http://www.cairn.info/revue-therapie-familiale-2006-3-page-229.htm>, 09th October 2015

experiences can also be transmitted from parents to their children through some complex process of extra-sensory communication.⁸⁷²

Professor Kellerman is severe in relating holocaust trauma to an infectious disease in saying that:

Like an infectious disease, Holocaust trauma is highly contagious and may be transmitted by direct or indirect contact. Holocaust trauma may cause one of more of at least three different kinds of strains or types of virus: loss, guilt, and/or catastrophic anxiety. Each of these virus strains will be infective for anyone who is living in the proximity of the carrying the virus, such as close family, friends, and others who are susceptible to the disease. As Holocaust trauma usually spreads slowly over a long period of time, the overt signs of being affected may be seen only after several years. When it has taken root, however, it will linger on and remain potent forever. If this occurs, it may affect the entire human physiology of a person, including the nervous, musculoskeletal, circulatory, respiratory, gastrointestinal, urinary, reproductive, immune, and endocrine system, and its psychosomatic expressions may be profound.⁸⁷³

The French psychotherapist Anne Ancelin Schützenberger, affirms also that the initial traumatism of an ancient drama repeats itself from one generation to another.⁸⁷⁴Molly Castelloe attests that: “The transmission of trauma may be particular to a given family suffering a loss, such as the death of an infant, or it can be a shared response to societal trauma.”⁸⁷⁵ She continues in saying that “psychic legacies are often passed on through unconscious cues or affective messages that flow between child and adult. Sometimes anxiety falls from one generation to the next through stories told.”⁸⁷⁶

872 Nathan P.F. Kellerman, Holocaust Trauma: Psychological Effects and Treatment, Published by iUniverse, Bloomington,USA, 2009, p.77.

874 Anne-Noemie Dorion quoted Anne Ancelin Schützenberger, Des traumatismes se repetent de generation en generation, <http://www.lefigaro.fr/actualite-france/2011/07/23/01016-20110723ARTFIG00108-des- traumatismes-se-repetent- de-generation-en-generation.php>, 09th October 2015

875 Molly Castelloe, How trauma is carried across generations, <http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-me-in-we/201205/how-trauma-is-carried-across-generations>, 10th July 2013.

876 Ibid.

4.2.1. Models of trauma transmission

Four major theoretical approaches had been recognized to understanding trauma transmission:

 Psychodynamic; in this case the child unconsciously absorbs the repressed and insufficiently worked-through Holocaust experiences of survivor parents. A child then becomes a reservoir for the unwanted, troublesome parts of an older generation. Because the elders have influence on a child, the child absorbs their wishes and expectations and is driven to act on them.⁸⁷⁷ This theory focused on unconscious and indirect influences.⁸⁷⁸

 Sociocultural; the passing down of social norms and beliefs from generation to generation is well described in social psychology. Social learning and socialization models of transmission focus on how children of survivors form their own images through their parents‟ childrearing behavior, for example their various prohibitions, taboos and fears. Social learning theories emphasize conscious and direct effects of parents on their children.⁸⁷⁹

 Family system; unconscious and conscious transmission of parental traumatization always takes place in a certain family environment, which is assumed to effect a major impact on the children.⁸⁸⁰

 Biological models of trauma transmission are based on the assumption that there may be a genetic and/or a biochemical predisposition to the etiology of a person‟s illness. Genes transmit constitutional elements from parent to child and some mental illnesses seem to have a clear hereditary etiology.

For example, studies indicate that children of schizophrenic parents are much more likely to develop the disorder than the general population.⁸⁸¹

As the trauma transmission is passing through one generation to another by a very complex conduction the same as a hereditary disease is transmitted, African people take seriously this in

877 Nathan P.F. Kellerman, Holocaust Trauma: Psychological Effects and Treatment, Ibid.,p.77.

878 Ibid.

879 Ibid.

880 Ibid.

881 Ibid.

working on healing of painful events happened in the past for barring this transmission. If nothing is done, next generation will continue to suffer.