It starts with an absolute apprehension. As the event unfolds, the apprehension matures into anger, dread, gloom, blame, rage, grief, and a devastating turmoil that drains every drop of hope for a resolution: a Kafkaesque state of being. The relentless absurdity of life serves as a sardonic reminder, mocking the very notion of a world striving towards excellence and moral evolution. What becomes of me observing humanity in the state of bare life, victims of historical oppression being branded as dangerous beasts to be thrashed ceremoniously on international human rights slaughterhouses.
The experience of powerlessness and ultimate despair in the above section is a common experience of people who observe adversity and the never-ending brutality against the invaluable human life. The incompetent cognitive ability to make sense of dehumanising endeavours of human rights organisations undermines the very foundation of one’s moral values. The blatant violation of one’s moral value is known as ‘moral injury‘ and may affect the whole community of observers, witnesses, and bystanders as collective stress. Moral injury is best explained as a deep emotional and moral wound caused by witnessing intense human suffering.
From a bio-psycho-social perspective, the human being is hard-wired to recognise altruistic efforts and expects reciprocal altruism; this is the foundation of morality in human society. When certain behaviours violently transgress. The heart-wrenching pain of witnessing humanity reduced to mere commodities in a gruesome display of institutionalised brutality before the indifferent eyes of the world, the bitter spring of tears occasionally turning to loud subbing, is all the externalisation of ‘moral injury.’ We suffer the inescapable burden of witnessing the ultimate ‘betrayal of our trust’ by those supposed guardians of human dignity as a mental and psychological affliction.
As a mental health practitioner committed to facilitating people’s journey toward healing from their wounded hearts, I cherish the profound nature of moral injury as a manifestation of a high level of self-reflection, a phenomenological ‘throwing back at oneself.’ This retrospective reckoning testifies to the resonating sound of our aroused moral consciousness and its relentless struggle toward salvaging our moral identity. Moral injury is the subtle sign of an existing pulse on our humanity’s broken, buried bodies. It is a testimony to an awakened awareness, a driving force to navigate the complex labyrinth of our beliefs and ethical values. Moral injury, a profound human emotion, echoes an ongoing conversation within our inner sanctum, guiding us toward a deeper understanding of our intrinsically relational self.