Wounds of Memory and the Narrative of Healing in Veronique Tadjo’s The Shadow of Imana and Helon Habila’s The Chibok Girls
Keywords:
Memory, Wounds, Rwanda Genocide, Chibok Girls, TraumaAbstract
This paper offers another critical response to the one hundred days massacre in Rwanda in 1994 also known as Rwanda genocide and the kidnapping of Chibok school girls in Nigeria, represented in Veronique Tadjo’s The Shadow of Imana and Helon Habila’s The Chibok Girls respectively. The paper is literary research and thus, relies on close reading of the primary texts for analysis of some extrapolations, using trauma theory as theoretical framework. Findings in this paper reveal that, although the fratricidal massacre in Rwanda and the mindless kidnapping of innocent school girls in Nigeria may have come and gone, the experiences remain as fresh as ever, and has left scathing wounds in the memory of the survivors and their loved ones. The situation, expectedly, has subjected the victims to acute trauma that defines their existence. However, the paper notes that some victims defy the speech fright that accompanies trauma and openly narrate their experiences, as a way of renegotiating, healing and transcending their traumatic experiences. The paper concludes that an exploration of language could be therapeutic in times of trauma.
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