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Compassionate Witnessing in the Face of Erasure: A Commentary on “Crows on the Cradles: Palestinian Mothers at a Frontline Vortex; Reflections on the Psychology of Occupation” by Judy Roth and Salwa Duaibis[Note 1. This essay is a much elaborated and modified version ...]
Author(s) -
AdDab'bagh Yasser
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
international journal of applied psychoanalytic studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.314
H-Index - 15
eISSN - 1556-9187
pISSN - 1742-3341
DOI - 10.1002/aps.1463
Subject(s) - compassion , witness , erasure , psychology , psychoanalysis , face (sociological concept) , social psychology , sociology , law , political science , social science , computer science , programming language
In response to a very moving article by Roth and Duaibis, I present commentary on the process of compassionate witnessing. Compassion, both as a concept and as a derivative of parental devotion, is explained and its importance to psychoanalysis discussed. Reflections on the implications of this concept in social contexts as well as the risks to the witness and the sustainability of compassion are shared. I conclude that the notion proposed by Roth and Duaibis of concentric circles of compassionate witnessing by people with a healthy capacity for maternal functions is likely the solution to alleviate the erasure resulting from chronic brutal suffering. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.