Summary
Vamik Volkan: Immigrants and refugees
Trauma, long-term mourning, prejudice and border psychology
In this study, psychoanalyst Vamik Volkan, who left his native Cyprus as a young man, presents his experiences and explains the psychology of immigrants and refugees. In the first part, he gives examples that illustrate the impact of traumatic experiences, then issues related to group identity and explains how the traumas involved in the experience of immigrants and refugees can be transmitted from one generation to another. In the second part of the book, the author focuses on host countries, considering the development of prejudice and how fear of newcomers can affect everything from international politics to the way we behave as individuals.
This is the right book at the right time. Vamik Volkan dedicated his professional work to understanding the psychology of large groups in order to provide politicians, decision makers and the general public with knowledge about collective human behavior. The author describes various aspects of the psychology of refugees and immigrants, as well as the people who receive them in their countries. This book helped me to better understand what we are facing now in Germany and across Europe. I believe that the author's observations and conclusions are vital to finding ways to deal with the refugee crisis in a constructive way. I wholeheartedly recommend this book, not only to psychoanalysts, but also to a wider audience.
dr. Sci Regina Šolc
(from the preface to the Serbian edition)
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