God
Buried in the Rubble
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/firn.v8i2.199Keywords:
Aberfan, child death, coalmining, community, disaster, griefAbstract
In 1966 an unprecedented disaster struck the small coalmining village of Aberfan in South Wales. 144 lives were lost as thousands of tons of mining rubble hurtled down the mountainside into a local school; not only families, but the community was devastated as the village lost a generation, with 116 children perishing in the rubble. This paper explores the emotional, psychological and physiological affects experienced by the community in the aftermath of such a disaster, and the spiritual coping mechanisms individuals often employ in order to deal with their grief. This case study of Aberfan explores the wider connotations of disaster perception; what causes a disaster? Is it an act of God, an act of nature, or an act of man? A disaster certainly cannot be experienced neutrally, and this article with emphasize the progressive development of attitude, post-trauma, which allows society to construe a disaster as all three of these ‘acts’.
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