The common understanding of states of chaos is that contexts of fear, terror, corruption and political instability will lead to multiple failures across social groups, relationships and communities and result in individual suffering and psychological trauma.

In a sense this is a reality. But it is not the only reality. There are enough examples of social cohesion, individual coping and community thriving to raise significant questions about the relationship between pressure and trauma. 

But if this were the case then there would be no town of Cheran, in the Mexican star of Michoacan. There would be no life-affirming community of people in the forest-covered mountains. There would be no town that said, ‘No’.

A simplistic narrative of the connection between traumatic events and psychological functioning speaks of a traumatic cause resulting in psychological damage. Indeed, whole schools of psychological practice have been built on this premise. 

But this is way too simple an equation and does not take into account what really happens when traumatic events occur. And these are not merely ‘outlier’ cases. Such labels permit flawed thinking of trauma and damage to remain the key narrative, essentially leaving inevitably to universally dire conclusions.

I believe that resilience is about the capacity to thrive, not merely survive and that a measure of resilience must always include measures of thriving, whether for individuals or groups.

The town of Cheran has shown us that thriving is not only possible, but maybe even inevitable, despite apparently overwhelming odds.

In 2015 there were no murders, kidnappings or disappearances. This town exists in one of the bloodiest states in Mexico, where in July 2016 there were 180 murders. But none in Cheran.

What happened in Cheran is best described in the two articles linked below. You can, and should, also listen to the accompanying BBC audio programme found in the BBC article. 

What is particularly significant is that throwing out organised crime did not result in some kind of desperate fortress enclave, beaten down and barely clinging on under increasing pressure. Ratehr, the community is thriving. All indicators of health, education, employment and, of course, crime, show remarkable improvement. Of all the factors described by the inhabitants of Cheran it is statements of hope that ring loudest. Rather than trying to survive, young adults are talking of higher education, creativity and positive futures. 

Cheran has it’s own YouTube Channel, radio station and a community TV station. It maintains a standing locally employed police force. It has a forestry nursery of 1.5 million pine seedlings to replant the forests logged by illegal paramilitaries over the years. 

I encourage you to read the reports and listen to the people of Cheran. Look at the factors that make up resilience and thriving and ask how you can incorporate this factors into your own life, or the life of your community.

“Cheran: The town that threw out police, politicians and gangsters”, Limda Pressly, BBC News 13 October 2016

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-37612083

“The Cherán Indigenous Community’s Remarkable Road to Self-rule in Mexico”, by Giovanna Salazar, 24 April 2015

https://ourworld.unu.edu/en/the-cheran-indigenous-communitys-remarkable-road-to-self-rule-in-mexico