Anne Eyre and Pam Dix
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- September 2021
- ISBN:
- 9781781381236
- eISBN:
- 9781800851047
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3828/liverpool/9781781381236.003.0013
- Subject:
- Sociology, Politics, Social Movements and Social Change
This chapter reflects on the importance of remembering and commemorating disasters. For all affected by these tragic events, significant anniversaries are in part about reconciling and assimilating ...
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This chapter reflects on the importance of remembering and commemorating disasters. For all affected by these tragic events, significant anniversaries are in part about reconciling and assimilating the past into their everyday lives. For some, the passage of time means that the tenth, twentieth, and twenty-fifth anniversaries can represent an opportunity to look forward; for others, personal loss and the fact that fundamental questions about these events remain unanswered and unaddressed mean that notions such as 'moving on' or 'letting go' are simplistic and unhelpful. The challenge for those organising and conducting commemorative events after collective tragedy is to ensure that moving on does not mean moving away from the connection with the tragedy. Commemorations need to be inclusive in order to avoid individual survivors or bereaved, or the wider community, feeling that their loss and experience are somehow lesser, or not recognised; the whole point of commemoration is to feel validated. When thoughtfully considered, the way in which permanent memorials and memorial services are designed and conducted can embrace the sense of remembering the unique character and loss of individuals within the collective experience of disaster.Less
This chapter reflects on the importance of remembering and commemorating disasters. For all affected by these tragic events, significant anniversaries are in part about reconciling and assimilating the past into their everyday lives. For some, the passage of time means that the tenth, twentieth, and twenty-fifth anniversaries can represent an opportunity to look forward; for others, personal loss and the fact that fundamental questions about these events remain unanswered and unaddressed mean that notions such as 'moving on' or 'letting go' are simplistic and unhelpful. The challenge for those organising and conducting commemorative events after collective tragedy is to ensure that moving on does not mean moving away from the connection with the tragedy. Commemorations need to be inclusive in order to avoid individual survivors or bereaved, or the wider community, feeling that their loss and experience are somehow lesser, or not recognised; the whole point of commemoration is to feel validated. When thoughtfully considered, the way in which permanent memorials and memorial services are designed and conducted can embrace the sense of remembering the unique character and loss of individuals within the collective experience of disaster.
