Abstract
Culture provides rituals and discourses that guide the individual, including in events that exceed the immediate possibilities of psychological representation, the traumatic ones. In January 2010 Haiti was hit by an earthquake with catastrophic proportions. The difficulty that the country had to respond to what happened aggravated the precarious situation of the majority of its population, leading many Haitians to emigrate, with Brazil as one of the destinations - albeit temporary. The migration process, especially in the involuntary migration, involves several changes and can lead the individual to a mental state of vulnerability, once much of what guided one in his or her existence is threatened by the contact with a different culture. The aim of this study was to analyze which are the psychological impacts due an earthquake that, in addition to bringing the experience of the unpredictable event itself, was followed by a migration required for the continuity and reconstruction of life. From qualitative and exploratory nature, the procedure to collect data was performed through semi-structured interviews. Content analysis of the narratives was carried out, guided by the psychoanalytic and ethnopsychiatric approaches. The results show that the traumatic memory, the loss of close persons, home, work and education were added to the difficulties of a migration that, although legally facilitated, is experienced with difficulty to integration for the majority of these individuals. On the other hand, the desire for reconstruction of individual and collective history presents itself as a major force in the lives of people who, even distant, seek to share projects with their compatriots.
Keywords
Natural Disaster; Suffering; Immigration; Human Migration; Haiti