Historical Traumas among Armenian, Kurdish, and Turkish People of Anatolia

The deep wounds that exist from long-standing conflicts between Turks, Kurds, and Armenians have not yet been sufficiently addressed and healed. Nermin Soyalp explains the collective traumas and their significant psychosocial impacts in terms of the potential for reconciliation among these politically conflicted groups. Discussion centers on the transgenerational implications of the Balkan wars of 19121913, the Armenian genocide of 19151917, the Greco-Turco war of 19201922, the formation of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, the population exchange with the Balkans in 1924, the conflict between the Turkish government and Kurdish identity since the formation of the Republic, as well as the impacts of assimilation policies on minorities. Drawing on the complexities of history, psychology, and identity, this book elucidates how collectively and historically shared traumas become inherently more complex, and more difficult to address, generation by generation. Epistemologies of ignorance in Turkey have suppressed the transgenerational experiences of trauma and prevented healing modalities. The Turkish state and society have consciously and unconsciously denied historical realities such as the Armenian genocide and Kurds ethnopolitical rights. The result is a collective dehumanization that fuels further trauma and conflicts. The collective traumas of Anatolia have impacted its society at multiple levels psychological, physical, economic, cultural, political, and institutional. The author, a dialogue facilitator for the nonprofit Healing the Wounds of History organization, proposes systemic healing modalities that address the dynamics at play. The research that underpins this work is highly relevant to the healing of other historical and cultural traumas.