Terrorism, Trauma and Psychology

A multilevel victim perspective of the Bali bombings

Gwen Brookes,Julie Ann Pooley,Jaya Earnest

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781317656371
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: History & Theory in Psychology
• Index: Psychology

This book provides a comprehensive insight into the multilayered effects experienced by directly affected victims and their indirectly affected family members following terrorist incidents and other world disasters. Chapters draw primarily on interviews with fifty victims of the Bali bombings, but also consider terrorist incidents including the London and Boston bombings, and disasters such as the Boxing Day tsunami and the Fukusima nuclear disaster.

The book provides a detailed exploration of experiences and perceptions of those involved in the traumatic events, as well as their families, emergency response teams and community volunteers. Chapters discuss community responses to major incidents, appropriate non-medical models of intervention and vulnerable groups that may require special attention. The findings and analysis presented contribute to our understanding of the multilayered effects of terrorism on victims of all levels, and the importance of a planned and informed response, which includes the local community and its wealth of pre-existing resources.

Terrorism, Trauma and Psychology: A multilevel victim perspective of the Bali bombing will be key reading for researchers and academics in the fields of social and clinical psychology, as well as scholars of victimology and terrorism studies.

Chapter 1 Introduction

DOI: 10.4324/9781315765136-1

Overview of the chapter

The primary focus of this chapter is to present an overview of the history of terrorism, as it is an important adjunct to our understanding of the concept, motives and rationale of terrorism. Further to this, the political and other objectives of terrorist attacks are discussed, as is the nature of terrorism – especially in countries which have experienced protracted conflict, such as Israel/Palestine, Afghanistan, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Sri Lanka. The chapter concludes with a discussion surrounding the possible future of terrorism and terrorist organisations, and then finally introduces the context of the study – the island of Bali.

Background to the study

Modern terrorism

Events such as 9/11, the Bali bombing, the Mumbai attacks and the recent Boston bombings can easily lead to the view that terrorism is a modern-day phenomenon; yet when we look back historically, we see terrorism has been in existence for a long period of time. Terrorist acts have been designed to frighten and intimidate the many by targeting the few, and terrorism has probably existed for millennia (Miller, 2004). It is even said to have existed as far back as 66–73 ad, with reports of assassinations occurring throughout Roman history. During this period, many brutal acts were carried out in crowded places, designed to create the same type of fear and reactions that modern-day terrorists attempt to produce, such as elements of political unrest (Gearson, 2002). By examining terrorism through the ages we add to our understanding of the concept, motives and rationale behind terrorist acts.

There is little difference between historical and modern-day terrorism: all suicide attacks or assassination attempts come with a degree of what is termed ‘psychological toxicity’ (Dougall et al, 2005, p. 28), as the ‘many are intimidated by the actions of a few’. Relatively recent events such as the Bali attacks in 2002 and 2005, the Madrid train bombings in March 2004¹ and the Mumbai attacks in November 2008² share a commonality in that they targeted, killed and injured many people, and instilled fear in the rest of the population. The attacks involved few operatives and were random and unexpected in nature, with the perpetrators all claiming to be members of radical Islamic groups. Despite what the popular press would have its readers believe, Islamic terrorism is only one of many forms of terrorism: other forms include suicide terrorism, economic terrorism, domestic terrorism, international terrorism and bio-terrorism. As modern terrorism appears to have many aims and facets, it is difficult to define, and many definitions can be found.

On close examination, three main characteristics emerge which are common to all definitions: the intention to cause death or serious injury, particularly to non-combatant civilians; the intention to cause damage to infrastructure and property; and a desire to intimidate a government or population (Michael and Scolnick, 2006; Sheppard, 2009). Consideration of the Madrid train bombings, the London underground and bus bombings³ and the Mumbai attacks reveals all of these aims were achieved, and to great effect.

Global terrorist attacks

In recent years, terrorist attacks have occurred in numerous countries across the globe. Between 1994 and 2003 there were 32 terrorist attacks in 39 countries, resulting in 3,299 deaths (Wilson and Thomson, 2005). The Global Terrorism Index (GTI) from 2002 to 2011 highlights that global terrorism significantly and steadily increased, particularly in the 2005 to 2007 period. This increase is demonstrated by examining the terrorist incidents which occurred in just one year, 2011, in which 4,564 global incidents resulted in 7,473 deaths and 13,961 injuries. These attacks are usually extremely well planned and, for the first time in recent history, non-combatant civilians are the primary target of violence (Winkates, 2006) – as opposed to the two World Wars, when professional soldiers and strategic buildings were usually the targets. This is highlighted by the number of attacks on military institutions in the period 2002–2011, which accounted for only 4 per cent of terrorist incidents (Institute for Economics and Peace, 2012).

The classic example of a modern-day terrorist event is the attacks of 11 September 2001 (9/11) in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. In these attacks, 19 terrorists hijacked four airliners and crashed them into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon in Washington and a field in Pennsylvania. The 9/11 attacks were the largest human-made disaster on American soil, with approximately 3,000 individuals reported killed and many thousands more injured (DeLisi et al, 2003). The terrorists had deliberately set out to kill themselves and as many other non-combatant civilians as possible. The fear this act instilled in the American public, and the world, was immeasurable.

In the following year, 2002, the Indonesian island of Bali was targeted. At 11.08 pm on Saturday 12 October in Legian Street, Kuta, a popular bar, Paddy's, was targeted by a suicide bomber. Tourists and locals ran outside to escape the heat and turmoil that resulted in the explosion. At 11.17 pm a larger bomb secreted in a panel van outside the Sari club was detonated. The bombings resulted in a large fire, which engulfed approximately 200 metres of Legian Street. Many tourists and locals in the vicinity of Legian Street and inside the bar and club were killed and injured. The casualties amounted to 202 deceased and 325 injured (Yayasan IDEP, 2003).

In October 2005, Bali was again targeted by suicide bombers when terrorists exploded two bombs in Kuta and one in Jimbaran Bay, resulting in 23 fatalities (‘Australia's emergency response’, 2005). On both occasions, Australian tourists were among the fatalities. The attacks were perpetrated by suicide bombers who perfected the technique of quietly infiltrating deep into their enemies’ territory without drawing attention to themselves, which is a technique that allows for low security risks (Ramasubramanian, 2004) for the terrorist embedded in the targeted community. The effect of these attacks on primary-level victims was extensive, both physically and psychologically.

The 9/11 attacks of 2001 and the London bombings in 2005 were also perpetrated by suicide attackers. Although such events are relatively small in number, suicide bombings have contributed to the fear and terror individuals and communities feel following terrorist attacks. Suicide attacks account for 48 per cent of the terror attack death statistics worldwide and have been termed the most aggressive form of terrorism (Pape, 2003). They are a difficult concept to understand as, according to Pastor (2004, p. 701), suicide terrorism ‘defies a basic psychological drive – the need for self-preservation’. Yet many terrorists are ready to sacrifice their own lives ‘in the process of destroying or attempting to destroy a target to advance a political goal’ (Jane's Intelligence review, cited in Winkates, 2006, p. 89), and as one terrorist dies another, it seems, is ready and willing to take their place.

The objectives of terrorism

Apart from killing mainly non-combatant civilians and causing general fear and unrest in the community, one of the primary aims of terrorism is to achieve an intense political objective (Ramsubramanian, 2004; Winkates, 2006). For example, on 11 March 2004 a series of ten terrorist bombs were detonated on early-morning rush-hour trains in Madrid, Spain. A total of 191 commuters were killed and 1,800 injured, and the incident was declared Europe's worst-ever terrorist attack (USA Today, 2007). The objective in this instance appeared to be political, as the bombings occurred just three days before the Spanish general election. At the election, the previously popular ruling conservative-leaning party was voted out of office. Connections appeared to have been made by the Spanish voters to the Aznar government's open support for the war in Iraq and the deployment of Spanish troops in Afghanistan (Powell, 2004). The Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party was brought to power with a pledge to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan, which they did shortly after winning office. It seemed the bombers had achieved their objective.

Terrorist attacks are not new to Spain, as the Basque separatist movement has been operating in the country since 1959 with the aim of forcing the government to allow separation of the greater Basque region. In 2009 it was suspected of planting a bomb which killed two Spanish policemen on the holiday island of Mallorca (Mielniezuk, 2009). Other countries have also endured long-standing disputes and terrorist attacks, and these will now be discussed.

Nations which have experienced protracted conflict and terrorist attacks

Sri Lanka

The popular press portrays suicide bombers as mainly belonging to fundamental Islamic groups, yet it is the predominantly Hindu Tamil group that has been listed as the world leader in suicide terrorism (Ramasubramanian, 2004). The civil war in Sri Lanka lasted from 1983 to 2009 and resulted in the loss of 60,000 lives and 800,000 displaced persons (Goodhand et al, 2011). Over a 30-year period the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), commonly known as the Tamil Tigers, agitated for a homeland for ethnic Tamils. The Tamils waged a war against the Sinhalese majority who make up 90 per cent of the population in Sri Lanka and are thought to have pioneered the use of the suicide jacket, as well as the use of women in lone suicide attacks (Bhattacharji, 2008). Whether using male or female suicide bombers, suicide attacks were a fundamental part of the LTTE's strategy in their fight for separatism. They are the only group to have effectively used suicide missions to assassinate two world leaders, namely Rajiv Gandhi of India in 1991 and President Ranasinghe Premadasa of Sri Lanka in 1993 (Ramasubramanian, 2004).

Sri Lanka is one of a small number of countries in which suicide terrorism became a regular occurrence and a major strategic threat (Moghadam, 2003). There was never a shortage of volunteers willing to become suicide bombers: 273 men and women were reported to have taken up the role up to 2006. To mark the esteem suicide bombers attracted in their community in Kilinochchi, a Tamil stronghold, the ‘martyrdom’ of their many suicide bombers was marked by 5 July being named ‘black tiger day’ in their honour (Mitchell, 2006).

The Israeli–Palestinian conflict

The West Bank cities, the Gaza strip and Israel's borders and land divisions have been a focus for occupation and conflict between the Israeli and Palestinian people for many years. T...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half-Title Page
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table Of Contents
• List of illustrations
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• List of abbreviations
• 1 Introduction
• 2 An exploratory, qualitative case-study approach
• 3 The effects on victims in Bali
• 4 The effects on victims in Perth
• 5 Other victims: who are they?
• 6 The aftermath of terrorist attacks, including the effects and support interventions
• 7 Terrorist attacks, community-level effects, the media and how governments respond
• 8 A post-disaster planning framework – opportunities for multidisciplinary application
• 9 Appendix: a reflective diary and photograph narratives
• Index