Page - 38 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 04/01

38 | Hessel J. Zondag www.jrfm.eu 2018, 4/1, 35–46 suffers as a result of his memories of the slaughter, with the dead occupying his mind. The victims appear in his nightmares. He sees them lying with open eyes staring up at him. For years he lived in a fuddle, intoxicated by alcohol and drugs, his way of attempting to cope with the dark side of life. Now he asks him- self whether he has sinned. When he takes on the part of his victims in the role- play, he wonders whether they met with the same fate as he in the re-enacted scenes, whether they felt themselves as humiliated as he and whether he took away their dignity. Although role-playing is “nothing more” than acting, a well- staged play can provide an overwhelming representation of the past.3 Anwar Congo shows many signs of trauma. We can ask questions about Anwar Congo and his suffering which cannot be asked of many others who are trauma- tised by their pasts. We might deem such questions inappropriate, even imper- tinent. The question is, are we to be pleased that Anwar Congo suffers now as a result of his past? That question stems from our knowing him to be guilty of mur- der – and what kind of world is this if murderers do not suffer for their actions? To explore this subject I will first present a short exposition of the concept of trauma. Then I will discuss the position of perpetrators and victims in traumatic events. Finally, I indicate how we should look at the traumas of perpetrators such as Anwar Congo. TRAUMA Trauma can be defined in terms of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.4 For convenience here I use simply the term “trauma”. We can diagnose trauma in light of symptoms such as the repeated replaying of memories, the experience of disturbing dreams that make reference to the sufferer’s past and intense negative emotions suffered over a period of at least one month. For this diagnosis such symptoms must be the result of an event in which the sufferer was exposed to death, including the threat of death or severe wounding, or sexual violence. The patient may have been the victim or may have witnessed someone in their direct environment become a victim, perhaps a partner, relative or friend. So when the sufferer’s trauma resulted from having someone very near to him as victim. This definition is derived from DSM-5, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, an all-encompassing handbook published by the American Psy- chiatric Association, a professional association of psychiatrists and psychologists, which has appeared since the 1950s. The DSM is regularly reissued. The current is- sue, from 2013, is the fifth edition, hence known as DSM-5. The manual provides the leading classification of psychiatric symptoms and has a central role within mental 3 Scheff 1979. 4 American Psychiatric Association 2013.