Faculty Of Social and Behavioral Sciences

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Browsing Faculty Of Social and Behavioral Sciences by Author "Amikah, Noura"

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    The Narratives of the Survivors of the Beirut Port Blast in Relation to their Recollections of Past Tragedies in Lebanon
    (2022) Amikah, Noura
    On August 4, 2020, the city of Beirut was struck by a blast after roughly four tons of ammonium nitrate exploded in the capital’s port. The explosion has left an insurmountable impact on the psychological, emotional, and financial wellbeing on the residents of Beirut which is still yet to be explored (UNFPA, 2020). Because, in Lebanon, trauma-related mental health dysfunction must be examined in light of the layers of piled up wars, traumas and complexities over the years, the present study moved away from the traditional post-traumatic stress disorder paradigm used in much of trauma research. It aims to explore the narratives of the survivors of the Beirut blast in relation to past war-related traumatic memories, among which experiencing the on-going disappearance of a loved one during the Lebanese Civil War era. Its purpose is to further fathom the conceptualization that the individuals have created considering these traumas, their personal explanation about what happened, their different theories and perceptions, as well as the mechanisms that helped them cope with such traumatic experiences. Based on case study design, and using the semi-structured interview technique, this qualitative study used content analysis to explore themes emerging from the narratives of a sample of the Beirut port explosion survivors who have also survived past war-related traumatic experiences in Lebanon. The emergent themes were linking memories, anxiety, emotional impact, coping mechanism and complicated grief. The analysis of such narratives provides an important window into conceptualizing trauma through a lens that is unique to the Lebanese context, considering the chronicity and recurrence of such traumas on the Lebanese population, and an understanding that could serve as a guide for future psycho-social and clinical interventions in the Lebanese context.