Trauma in Nada Jarrar's An Unsafe Haven (2016) and Dima Wannous’ The Frightened Ones (2020)

Abstract

Drawing on the consequences of violence that ensued from the outbreak of conflict in Syria against the background of the 2011 uprising, this article examines the traumatic effects of the Arab Spring among Syrian refugees and war survivors in the two novels An Unsafe Haven (2016) by Nada Jarrar and The Frightened Ones (2020) by Dima Wannous. It dwells upon various types of trauma, focusing on the problem of displacement, individual plights and the war dilemma. Wannous’ and Jarrar's narratives are concerned with the agonies experienced by refugees and war survivors, especially women. Traumatic incidents that refugees and war survivors encounter in their home countries include interpersonal violence, sexual violence, life-threatening accidents, witnessing the murder of loved ones, and torture. A descriptive and analytical method is followed in conducting the study relying on the two texts as primary sources and critical literature produced on them and the main issues discussed as secondary sources.