Week5_Ariana Danao_ASA 150E

In this week's readings, it discusses the trauma and loss of war and how it takes affect on families who have faced and undergone displacement. A key part of the readings that I took was the idea of sharing these heart-drenching stories and experiences. For many, these stories are too hard to talk about and convey into words, which makes it seem as though these stories are continuously forgotten. Yet, these stories live on with these displaced families (302).
In Nguyen's book, Nothing Ever Dies, the author expresses the observations of not only himself, but his family. Although the stories and experiences are not shared or spoken verbally, their actions and behaviors speak volumes in itself. These stories not being told are a product of the trauma that individuals do not want to remember. These experiences are things that individuals want to forget, however, it lives through them as they tie these traumas to the land in which they were raised on. These traumas unintentionally create barriers between these families, which alters their relationships long-term, sometimes forever.
This reminded me of my grandma's past with Cambodia. She escaped the refugee camps and traveled to different countries before coming to America, however, she never talks about her time in the camps or the war that she had lived through. It makes me wonder in what ways does she tell her story, if not through her words?

This is an animated visual of a family who are being displaced and how the diaspora has led them to find a home in a different place.