The Trauma of the Civil Conflict on the Masses: An Analysis of Sharon Bala’s The Boat People

Abstract

The emergence of refugees and their problems remain a perennial and unresolved global issue till date. The consequences of the issues undoubtedly generate forced displacement, economic crises, and socio-cultural ramifications. The proposed study attempts to analyse the refugee crises in the pre and post civil war scenario with the help of select novel through the lens of trauma studies in literature. Sharon Bala’s The Boat People deals with the events of Sri Lankan ethnic war and the problems of asylum seekers in Canada. The study adopts the theoretical framework of truma in the arena of literary narratives. The characters of the novel are subjected to an investigation within the context of trauma studies, which enables a better understanding of the socio-political impact of the war. War atrocities generates fear of life, anxiety, forced displacements, uncertainity of life, statelessness, discrimination, and terror suspects, causing trauma. The select literary narrative in its characterization demonstrates the actuality of the Sri Lankan civil war and its after effect on the innocent civilians who became stateless and dispossessed in the war-torn nation. Further, it illustrates the myriad challenges encountered by the refugees in the host country. War is the core cause of refugee problems and their trauma. Ceasing war, rehabilitation, and restoration measures aid in controlling the refugee crises. In the last phase, the paper proposes a few adoptable measures to address the refugee problems.