THE TRAUMA OF DISPLACED PEOPLE AS A CONSEQUENCE OF FORCED MIGRATION: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF REFUGEE NARRATIVES

A refugee has a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. The analysis of refugee migration by Hannah Arendt, one of the most important political thinkers of the 20th century has become prominent again during the recent refugee crisis across the globe. In her seminal work “The Origins of Totalitarianism”, she writes of an era of calamity that has produced “homelessness on an unprecedented scale, rootlessness to an unprecedented depth”. According to her the most intimidating aspect of being a refugee is the “civil death “of the citizen. The topic, “The trauma of displaced people as a consequence of forced migration: A critical analysis of refugee literature” will focus on the trauma that is faced by the displaced people and their sense of loss of belonging as they start to settle in foreign and unknown lands. It will further examine refugee literature and narratives to obtain a more raw and unfiltered view of their lives through their own eyes based on the personal experiences and the trauma or the difficulties faced by the refugees in establishing their identity and protecting their culture and traditions.