An exploration of the effects of the trauma which the FEPOWs brought home with them, having experienced three and a half years of starvation and tropical diseases and witnessed torture and suffering on an almost unimaginable scale.
I interviewed 35 second generation men and women who felt they had been adversely affected by their fathers’ subsequent behaviour which included the untreated symptoms of PTSD such as frequent nightmares, explosive tempers and emotional ‘absences’ and unpredictable behaviour. Most frequently the men were unable to talk about their experiences and their silences were also damaging.
Several of the interviewees had breakdowns themselves, one daughter avoided marriage and another felt she was not emotionally strong enough to have children. They all felt driven to find out more about their fathers’ experiences which caused them a lot of grief when they discovered the extent of horror to which they’d been exposed. This information often haunts them in their daily lives even up to the present day.
The substance of the talk comes from Echoes of Captivity (Abridged) by Louise Cordingly Published by High Winds Publishing. 2022. (Available on Amazon.)
RFHG 