ABSTRACT
Elie Wiesel has written that once you have been in a situation of constant danger, you never feel fully safe again (1984–5). His description, referring to the horror of the Holocaust, fits the experience of many of the women described on these pages even though the historical events that have disrupted these women's lives are different. Holmes and Rahe (1967), and Rahe (1972), who have done research on the effects of stressful events on illness and health, tell us that events such as getting a new job, moving to a new place or losing a partner, create stress that can lead to the development of physical illness. Needless to say, the stress created by living under the fear of bombs, government persecution or other similar life-endangering situations, as well as the dislocation created by leaving one's country under uncertain conditions, are greater and capable of producing even more dramatic effects (Espin, 1987). The life experiences of the women described on these pages evoke in me the memories of experiences that had a powerful impact on my life.
