“The More Horrible the Thing was, the More They Laughed”: Laughter, Solidarity and Refugees’ Negotiation of Trauma During Resettlement in Postwar Queensland

Abstract

The role of laughter and its relevance within refugee studies and trauma recovery in European diasporas in Australia is understudied. The post–Second World War refugee crisis led to the largest mass refugee movement at the time. Officially classified as “displaced persons”, many of these refugees had experienced horrific violence and loss. Significant numbers of these families were resettled in Queensland, Australia, in locations of low cultural diversity and without pre-existing refugee support networks. This article provides a case study of Latvian, Ukrainian and Polish refugees in Queensland, and explores the vital role of laughter in their long-term recovery from trauma. The project on which this article is based included over 50 oral history interviews, files from over 10 archives, and more than 300 case studies of displaced families resettled in Queensland, an approach that has never been undertaken in an extensive study of refugee resettlement in Queensland. It establishes the importance of laughter during resettlement and shows how it intersects with shared community experiences that resonate for decades. Finally, it highlights the practical role of laughter for refugees’ trauma recovery, particularly for those without access to pre-existing support structures and migrant networks upon arrival.