What is the trauma of bearing witness to genocide?

The Take

What happens when people feel they’ve reached capacity as witnesses? For writer and clinical psychologist Hala Alyan, her work is to preserve the archive of Palestinian stories and pass down resistance through generations. As Israel’s war on Gaza continues, her work on the complexities of displacement, trauma, and the Palestinian diaspora has reached audiences around the world. 

In this episode:

  • Hala Alyan, (@hala.n.alyan), writer and clinical psychologist

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Chloe K. Li, Sonia Bhagat, and Tamara Khandaker, with Phillip Lanos, Spencer Cline, Hagir Saleh, Duha Mosaad, Sarí el-Khalili, and our host, Malika Bilal. 

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Joe Plourde mixed this episode. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.

Connect with us:

@AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Threads and YouTube

Hosts & Guests

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign in or sign up to follow shows, save episodes, and get the latest updates.

Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada