IRRC No. 910
Editorial: Memory: A new humanitarian frontier
Reading time 19 min read
Abstract
At a time when the humanitarian debate seems firmly focused on the future – digital
transformation, autonomous weapons, climate change, the race to innovate, and so
on – devoting an entire issue of the Review to the concept of memory may seem out
of place. But memory is an essential part of this debate for more than one reason.
First, if conflict victims are to gain any relief from their trauma, the
psychological impact of their experience can no longer be overlooked. Traumatic
memories cause severe suffering among survivors of violence, those who have
been uprooted, and the families of people who remain missing long after a
conflict has ended. Humanitarian organizations are increasingly aware that they
have an obligation – if not necessarily the means – to treat a form of suffering
that has remained invisible or beyond their normal scope of work for far too long.
Understanding memory, not only individual memory but also collective
memory, may be key to preventing future cycles of violence. Historical
humiliations and representations of the past give rise to murderous identities,
feed most conflicts and lay the groundwork for incompatible visions of the future.
The collective memory of societies is stored in their cultures and can be
embodied in their landmarks and monuments. The emotion felt around the
world in reaction to the accidental fire that engulfed Notre Dame Cathedral in
Paris demonstrates that memory – whether tangible or not – is worth
safeguarding. Memory, in the form of history, is an oft-discussed topic in times
of conflict: the desire to rewrite history; the desire to wipe groups of people, and
even memories of those people, from the face of the earth; and the desire to
destroy literary, artistic and architectural treasures. The memory worth protecting
can also be digital, and it can be stolen, manipulated or damaged. There is also
the memory stored in our neurons, which we may one day be able to modify or
even erase thanks to advances in neuroscience.