The Crisis of Memory

This chapter documents and analyzes an “adverse event” encountered while interviewing victims of human rights violations during the Liberian Civil War as part of a study of the Liberian Truth Commission. A participant interviewed in Liberia had a traumatic episode due to recalling his experience of abuse and loss during the Liberian Civil War and the Lutheran Church Massacre in 1990. Several members of the participant’s family were killed during the war, and talking about his loss re-traumatized him. After participating in the study, he reported a lack of adequate sleep, panic attacks, and traumatic flashbacks. Although participants in the study were screened for re-traumatization vulnerabilities before selection, the trauma symptoms did not manifest during the interviews. The traumatized participant only informed the researcher of his experience a few days after the interview. However, in line with the project’s ethics protocol, the research team deployed the professional counselor they had retained to provide psychosocial support to the participant. While various financial and logistical factors complicated the process, this chapter reflects on lessons learned in managing adverse events and the implications for truth commission research.