The Meaning of Sarpol-e-Zahab Earthquake in the Context of the Narrators’ Lived Experiences

Abstract

While earthquake is described objectively in scientific texts, it gets its meaning from a social context, and is understood in continuity of historical experience among people. Sarpol-e-Zahab earthquake interrupts everyday life of its habitats, and at the same time carries on a historical path. In-depth interviews with narrators of the disaster indicate that social history of the place (existence of different religions, war, enslavement, chemical bombing, civil wars, genocide, poverty, porterage (Koolbari), executions and political struggles) plays an important role in understanding a natural disaster. Experiencing an earthquake is integrated in individual and collective identities, and connects to other elements of collective memories. Epistemic system organizes the experience of this earthquake and determines the agency toward it. The results show that the common concern of the narrators includes fear of betrayal, marginalization and being forgotten. They perceive the disaster to be humanistic and their attachment to the place is reduced. Therefore it seems vital to prepare necessary requirements for creating collective identities and collective narratives and to help them to be heard and recognized by each other and to establish meaningful relationship between themselves.

Keywords

• sarpol-e-zahab earthquake
• social construction
• spatial identity
• collective traumas