When a person experiences a traumatic event they can begin to question the status of the world, sometimes changing it from a safe and friendly place to a scary and uncertain one. It has been suggested by researchers that if the perpetrator is held accountable or captured there can be a reduction in the symptoms of PTSD as they have gained closer from the event. After the killing of Osama bin Laden, one wonders if the same will happen for the survivors, and people affected by 9/11. http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mentalhealthinfo/problems/ptsd/posttraumaticstressdisorder.aspx
It has been found that if a person who experiences a traumatic event is involved in restorative justice there is quicker recovery or a greater chance at recovery as there is an opportunity to address the perpetrator and gain closure.http://www.restorativejustice.org/RJOB/restorative-justice2019s-impact-on-participants2019-psychological-and-physical-health Restorative Justice is the process in which the survivor gives the perpetrator tasks to do that will allow the survivor to get a sense of justice. A good example of this is the Amy Biehl Foundationhttp://www.amybiehl.org/amy.php , where the murderers who killed Amy were required to work in her organisation. In this way the perpetrators were able to feel that they had amended for their actions and the people affected felt that they had received a sense of justice.Will people affected by 9/11 be able to get this sense of Justice after the killing of bin Laden by US military?http://books.google.co.za/books?hl=en&lr=&id=zZXyBALVs7EC&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=Factors+aiding+the+recovery+of+PTSD&ots=Jk6A0x1Pm-&sig=HAx724YX2IoVeytAJkftCsNvi84#v=onepage&q&f=false
This question has many confounding factors to consider. Firstly, because America waged war in the efforts to find Osama they lost around a 1000 US military soldiers http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/1000-us-military-casualties-sept-11-inspired-war/story?id=9986252. This contributes to the increase in people suffering from loss due to the effects of 9/11, as many families have had to suffer while their loved ones were at war.This begs the question, how many lives was bin Laden’s worth?
Secondly, the positive effects of finding Bin Laden could be confounded by the fact that the American military took 10 years to find Osama Bin Laden, therefore, many people who have suffered from the psychological impact of 9/11 may have moved on. However, with the hype and publicity of bin Laden’s killing they might start re-experiencing the memories of 9/11. Although some could find the killing of Osama a way to gain closure, for some it could simply bring back old memories of a difficult and traumatic time.http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/Bin+Laden+killing+justice+for+1998+bombing+victims+Kenya/-/2558/1154760/-/w13jkv/-/
Lastly, because Osama bin Laden refused to be detained he was killed. This makes it impossible for those members of the public who wanted insight into the motives, to gain an understanding of his various behaviours and actions. If Osama had been captured and stood trial some of these questions might have been answered, allowing those people to gain understanding or attempt to engage in restorative justice.http://www.internationalpeaceandconflict.org/profiles/blogs/killing-osama-bin-laden
The question of the psychological impact of bin Laden’s death on those who were affected by terrorist attacks is a complex investigation with many factors to consider. Here some of these factors have been discussed briefly, but unless more research is done the exact therapeutic benefits of this will be unknown.
So in your opinion, will the Killing of Osama Bin Laden lead to the relief of psychological trauma related symptoms, for those affected by various terror attacks, such as 9/11?
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