When society fails to respond to suffering, trauma does not heal - it deepens

Recovery from trauma is neither a private nor an individual matter, but a responsibility of the community. Neither the community nor the judicial system must remain silent. Institutional silence is not neutral - it is experienced in the psyche of those affected as denial, rejection, and secondary victimization. When society does not respond to suffering, trauma does not subside, instead - it deepens and is transmitted from individuals to families, from families to the community, and from the present to future generations - the Association of Psychologists of Montenegro stated on the occasion of commemorating the victims of the mass killings in Cetinje.

A society that fails to acknowledge the pain of its citizens, they emphasized, loses its ability to be safe, just, and mentally healthy.

- Therefore, this appeal is not only a call to action, but a call for moral vigilance: To act now, because every further delay increases the psychological cost we all pay. Protecting mental health is not an act of compassion, but a foundation of social stability and responsibility. The time for an empathetic, decisive, and visible response is not tomorrow - it has long since passed - they stated in the announcement.

They consider the protection and improvement of the population’s mental health a professional priority, as well as a responsibility of all sectors and society as a whole.

- In the mass killings on January 1st of 2025 and August 12th of 2022, four children and nineteen adult citizens of Cetinje were killed. Several others survived with severe injuries, accompanied by immense emotional pain. Mothers, children, fathers, sisters and brothers, grandmothers and grandfathers, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, classmates, colleagues, and fellow citizens were brutally taken from their loved ones. Their losses are irreparable and will permanently mark their lives - the Association of Psychologists emphasized.

What can at least partially mitigate the traumatic consequences is, as they stated, a systemic societal response whose common denominator must be support, understanding of specific needs, truth, justice, remembrance, and respect for the innocent victims.

- We particularly emphasize that, due to the insensitivity of the system and ineffective systemic actions, it is possible to expect renewed emotional and psychological harm to individuals already affected by trauma (retraumatization). This represents an additional attack on their mental health, with manifestations very similar to the original trauma, and often even more intense - the statement says.

Relatives of the victims, along with citizens, have been protesting in the streets for 11 months, expecting those responsible to hear them, to discuss their demands, to tell them the truth, and to recognize responsibility for these tragedies, the Association of Psychologists added.

- The loss of a sense of safety and security, distrust in institutions, and unmet needs for justice and moral responses from those responsible - alongside the immense suffering over lost loved ones -create conditions in which it is impossible to preserve mental health. Trauma has directly and long-term impaired the mental health of the victims’ relatives, and indirectly that of the entire community. Yet the prevailing impression is that the approach of „time heals all wounds“ is in effect, while emotions and real problems are essentially ignored - the Association assessed.

Further wounded by institutional silence, these people, they stress, persist in a struggle that transcends their personal goals and is directed toward the common good.

- They are calling for the adoption of the „Marko and Mašan Law“, which would protect and affirm human life, safety, order, and responsibility. They are fighting to ensure that such tragedies never happen again and that early warning signs are recognized and addressed in a timely and prepared manner. They are fighting for the restoration of peace and trust, for respect for the dignity of children, young people, and adults, for truth and accountability - the statement notes.

One year and more than three years after these tragedies, despite the implementation of emergency psychological and psychiatric support programs, strong, comprehensive, and sustainable systemic measures are still lacking - measures that would strengthen citizens’ trust that Montenegro has done its utmost to prevent such tragedies in the future and to ensure that their causes are recognized in time and adequately addressed.

We appeal to the personal and social responsibility of all those who make decisions affecting the lives of others to, through well-structured and empathetic strategies, ensure conditions for preserving the mental health of children, young people, and adults, as a prerequisite for a good quality of life for individuals and society as a whole, they concluded in the statement.