Het herdenken van de Tweede Wereldoorlog heeft een belangrijke plek in de Nederlandse samenleving. Hoewel het al bijna 75 jaar geleden is dat Nederland werd bevrijd, blijft de belangstelling voor de Nationale Herdenking op 4 mei groot. Uit diverse onderzoeken blijkt dat kinderen het herdenken van de Tweede Wereldoorlog belangrijk vinden (1, 2, 3). Toch is de algemene steun voor 4 mei onder kinderen lager dan bij volwassenen (2). Op veel scholen worden lesprogramma’s ingezet om kinderen te leren over de betekenis en inhoud van herdenken.

Kinderen die in Nederland opgroeien hebben geen persoonlijke herinneringen aan de Tweede Wereldoorlog. Vergeleken met ouderen die deze persoonlijke herinneringen nog wel hebben, groeien ze op in een andere tijd, met eigen trends en ontwikkelingen. Daarnaast hebben ze door hun jonge leeftijd andere interesses dan volwassenen. Deze zaken zijn allemaal van invloed op de manier waarop kinderen omgaan met herdenken van de Tweede Wereldoorlog. Over het algemeen zijn herdenkingen jarenlang afgestemd op de aanwezigheid van de eerste generatie.

On 7 and 8 October 2019, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Sigrid Kaag hosted the first International Conference on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS)  in Crisis Situations in Amsterdam. During this conference, a special ‘magazine’ was made, containing stories, interviews, pictures and tweets related to the topic and the event.

2 TWEETS OF THE DAY #mindthemindnow

4 PREFACE Minister Sigrid Kaag

6 INFOGRAPHIC MHPSS in the world

7 VOICES FROM THE FIELD Aweng Chuol

8 DECLARATION mind the mind now

Aims. Despite the magnitude and protracted nature of the Rohingya refugee situation, there is limited information on the culture, mental health and psychosocial wellbeing of this group. This paper, drawing on a report commissioned by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), aims to provide a comprehensive synthesis of the literature on mental health and psychosocial wellbeing of Rohingya refugees, including an examination of associated cultural factors.

The present article offers an overview discussion of ethnocultural aspects of PTSD, with special attention to major conceptual issues, clinical considerations, and therapy practices. The historical circumstances leading to the widespread acceptance of PTSD among conventional mental health professionals, and the subsequent criticisms that emerged from scholars, humanitarian workers, and ethnocultural minorities are presented as an important background to the current controversial status of the concept, especially with regard to arguments regarding the ethnocultural determinants of PTSD.

This booklet contains documentation in support of the in-depth breakout sessions at the International Conference on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) in Crisis Situations, 7-8 October 2019 in Amsterdam. For each breakout topic, invited experts have prepared a background paper with recommendations to inform conference participants.

This mini-feature has been prepared to inform discussions at the first Global Refugee Forum in December 2019. The seven articles have been published as part of Forced Migration Review issue 62 on ‘Return’.

Voluntary return in safety and with dignity has long been a core tenet of the international refugee regime. In the 23 articles on ‘Return’ in this issue of FMR, authors explore various obstacles to achieving sustainable return, discuss the need to guard against premature or forced return, and debate the assumptions and perceptions that influence policy and practice. This issue also includes a mini-feature on ‘Towards understanding and addressing the root causes of displacement’.

Palliative care at the end of life emphasizes quality of life until death, rather than actively pursuing curative treatment. Truth telling at different stages and open dialogue with both the patient and family are key components in palliative care. Children of Holocaust survivors, born after the end of the SecondWorldWar, are often referred to as ‘‘the second-generation’’ survivors (SGS).

The risk of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following trauma is heritable, but robust common variants have yet to be identified. In a multi-ethnic cohort including over 30,000 PTSD cases and 170,000 controls we conduct a genome-wide association study of PTSD. We demonstrate SNP-based heritability estimates of 5–20%, varying by sex. Three genome-wide significant loci are identified, 2 in European and 1 in African-ancestry analyses. Analyses stratified by sex implicate 3 additional loci in men.