ABSTRACT
Natural dying is rarely followed by such a narrative inquiry, and it is not normative for grief following natural dying to include persistent narrations of reenactment, retaliation, retribution, or dread of recurrent violent dying. While the study of violent death bereavement is increasingly robust, it is correspondingly diverse and drawn from a variety of sociocultural contexts and bereaved family members as a result of differing kinds of violent death. Violent dying narration has assumed a cultural and political purpose, distorting the act of violent dying into a narrative of deterrence, retribution, potency, and even martyrdom. Bereaved families, Palestinian or Israeli, were struggling with the retellings of reenactment, retaliation, retribution, and the dread of recurrence, combined with sorrowful longings for reunion and interrupted caregiving. The photographs passed between the reader and included a large poster produced by the local newspaper showing the smiling faces of the five children with their names and confirmation of their martyrdom.
