The best framework to understand the findings of this research is provided by the
Trauma/Adversity Grid advanced by Papadopoulos (2004, 2007) that differentiates the three main categories of responses to adversity, i.e. negative responses (that include possible Psychiatric Disorders, but also Distressful Psychological Reactions, and Ordinary Human Suffering), existing strengths that they had before their exposure to adversity and they were able to retain (i.e. various Resilient functions) despite their exposure to adversity, and new strengths and positives that they were able to develop as a result of, because of their exposure to adversity, i.e. Adversity-Activated Development.
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The research participants clearly were shaken by their horrible experiences of the war, all their losses, and their up rootedness. These belong to the negative spectrum of the Grid. But at the same time, they also realized that their losses and trauma did not prevent them from still accessing some of their positive strengths that they had before the war, e.g. religious faith and religious affiliations, their family and community bonds, some specific skills, etc. Some of these positive strengths were affected negatively, for example their family connections for those women who did lose members of their family during the war.
But they also realized that they did not lose everything and they understood that they still had many positives that they were able to use during their times of trial, during the war and when they were searching for a safe place to hide and when they came to the UK and when they started their new lives in this country. These are the resilient dimensions according to the Grid.
Then, what they also realised was that the way they coped during the painful years of the war and destitution taught them a lot of new things and made them realise that they have strengths that they were not aware that they had during their previous lives when they were oppressed by the family customs and social prejudices. These new skills, abilities, characteristics, relationships etc they did not know that they had and they only surfaced because of their exposure to adversity, all these are in effect what Papadopoulos calls ‘Adversity-Activated development’.
The research participants were not always aware of their strengths. Their devastating
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suddenly as leaders of their families and communities. These women played active roles while they lived in the refugee camps and during their journeys to safety, essentially the new statuses they gained were the change factors and the growth opportunities that they needed to activate some positive development towards achieving success.
According to participant E.U. of the research study:
“The realisation that I had to start playing a major role as a woman to support and assist others in greater need of help than myself. My experiences and the many things that I encountered during my journey and flight to safety, the sight of others suffering and the need to give some help from me had made a big impact on me to develop new positive characteristics. As a team leader and member of a group, there was a need and I was in a better position to help others. There was the chance and opportunities open to me to help others and I took up the challenge.” Participant E.U. of the
research study
The conflict and their experiences had forced them to develop and adopt new strategies to support themselves, their families and their communities; it gave them the skills and tools that lead to positive responses (resilience and adversity-activated development). But it is fully evident that most of the participants relied on their religious faith and beliefs had helped them during the most difficult stages of their experiences of the war, which include their flight to different countries, living in refugee and displaced person’s camps, asking for help and also their resettlement and adaptation into their new communities. It was their religious faith, hope
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and beliefs that helped them to live through the most difficult, helpless, hopeless times during the different stages of their flight to safety.
As I reflect and take a critical look at all aspects of this research study, I have realised that Sierra Leonean women have indeed used their personal skills, abilities and capabilities that they had in them, but which had not been utilised before, because of certain aspects and factors of their lives, which include cultural and traditional norms, beliefs and values, according to their different gender roles in their communities.
Most of these women were unaware of their potential, including their willpower,
determination and the leadership roles that they could take up. All of this changed when they were actually in the traumatic situation that was created as a result of the civil war.
During the many one-to-one meetings, personal interviews and group discussions, the women were able to talk about their personal achievements. These women, on reflection during the final discussion, realised that they had personally contributed towards certain aspects of development at regional, community, national and international levels within areas including civil society, political, professional and the business sectors.
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