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The Forum: Aftermath

Aftermath

22/09/2012

BBC Radio 4 - The Forum, Aftermath

How do you rebuild after traumatic events? Bridget Kendall and her guests discuss.

Rebuilding lives after a traumatic event, be it war or divorce. Bridget Kendall discusses with archaeologist Sada Mire, former UN peacekeeper Scott Gilmore and writer Rachel Cusk.

When everything falls apart, how do you cope? How do you put a country and a people back together again after a traumatic conflict? And how do individuals come to terms with the end of a marriage? 

In this episode of the ideas discussion programme, Bridget Kendall brings together three people to discuss the aftermath of trauma on two levels - the personal and the social.

We hear from Somali archaeologist Sada Mire who argues that a nation's cultural heritage is as basic a need as food and shelter when recovering from conflict. And that's learned from her own experience during the chaos of civil war in her country. Today she runs Somaliland's Department of Tourism and Archaeology and is a fellow in the Department of Art and Archaeology at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.

The former Canadian diplomat Scott Gilmore warns that international responses to crises are too ambitious, such as trying to impose democracy within a fiscal year or ignoring people's immediate needs. A former UN peacekeeper, he now tries to use trade and investment to end poverty through his non-profit organisation Building Markets. 

And writer and novelist Rachel Cusk, talks about the emotional aftermath of her broken marriage. Born in Canada and raised in America, she is an award-winning author of many novels. Her non-fiction includes A Life's Work: On Becoming a Mother and most recently, Aftermath - on Marriage and Separation. She is divorced from her second husband, a photographer, with whom she has two daughters.

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

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