ABSTRACT
This chapter describes a multinational group of individuals (seven men, four women), designated as heroic because, although they might have moved away from the egregious politics at home, they decided to remain and to resist. In listening to their stories, it seemed clear that they had been chosen as the next in line in families with long-term traditions of resistance. Seemingly in training for this, as children or adolescents, these individuals had been routinely exposed to the trauma of older relatives. Thus, once they became resisters themselves, they were able to endure repeated threats to their wellbeing and incidents of torture at the hands of their oppressors until finally they were threatened with death. Then they were able to change course and flee. Unlike other resister groups, these asylum seekers took flight in order to plant roots elsewhere for themselves and their families. Survival was their goal. To insure its success they had planned a future with great care. The motivations behind their behavior are considered from a psychodynamic perspective. Brief follow-up information is then presented in regard to their adjustment to life in the United States, which has not always been successful.
