Centre for Trauma, Asylum and Refugees
CTAR image: The Two Faces of Trauma
'The
Two Faces of Trauma' is a digital composition of two photographs which Andreas
Coutas took (in his capacity as photographer of the Public Information Office of
the Republic of Cyprus) in July 1974.
This image was used for the cover of the book by Renos K Papadopoulos,
'Therapeutic Care for Refugees. No Place Like Home', (published by Karnac Books
in 2002 in London for the Tavistock Clinic Series). Following Turkey's invasion
of Cyprus, nearly half the population of the island became refugees in their own
country and Andreas documented most sensitively this human tragedy.
This unique image encapsulates the refugee predicament and the central
dilemma in responding to it: the first woman abandons herself to her pain and
desolation whereas the second woman appears firm, dependable and resilient.
Usually, therapeutic responses to refugees tend to reflect this polarisation
-- either treating refugees as helpless victims or as resilient individuals. The
approach of the book is that both sides are possible reactions to adversity and
the one should not exclude the other.
Similarly, CTAR provides a forum where both perspectives to trauma are
addressed, as well as their polarisation and the interconnectedness between
these two positions. Andreas, who has received many international awards for his
photography, succeeded in capturing this duality most movingly in this image.