A month ago, armed men walked to maternity ward of a hospital in Kabul & shot at new mothers & pregnant women. The tragedy sent me to a dark place of hopelessness & triggered anger & grief that I had experienced n countless attacks on civilians be4
War & mental health, a thread
War & mental health, a thread
We often don't think/talk about the mental health implications of d current conflict. Life must go on. Majority of Afghans don't have the option to pause & grief. For those of us who can afford 2 take a step back & grieve, escape has become a coping mechanism.
It is too painful to talk about d graphic violence targeting one or other part of our country every day. The more we know about the victims, d harder it can become to move on. Pain seems unbearable & paralyzing & yet, by escaping it, are we paralyzing d possibility to heal?
The attack on maternity ward was a day before my son's 1st birthday. It made me think long & hard about growing up in war & raising a child in war. It made me feel hopeless, scared & weak. It was unbearably painful & dark. I felt broken when I thought I needed to be strong.
It also pushed me to think of all those who lose & have lost loved ones to war. The mothers of soldiers & fighters, and civilians. Those who want ceasefire, or answers, or justice or all. Those who are desperate 4 peace, but also fearful & ambivalent, & those who are hopeful
I know we must end the war, and then also to heal. Without healing, we won't find peace. Healing won't come the same way to everyone. So we will need to be empathic & provide options & possibilities to all victims, to all of us. No one can forget or forgive on behalf of all.
We must acknowledge d pain, our pain & d pain & anger of those around us. We need to reflect on war's toll on us as individuals & our society. What we experience is not normal & we shouldn't be expected to react normally. Acknowledging pain might be d first step towards healing
