Colonial war and mental disorders In Vpered, 2014-06-30.

The material is a translation of the fifth chapter of Frantz Fanon's book The Wretched of the Earth. The author refers to his own psychiatric practice. He describes cases of mental disorders among Algerians caused by the dehumanizing reality of colonialism. The author emphasizes that such psychopathologies cannot be cured without changing the social order. He concludes that, under colonial oppression, mental illness and its somatic manifestations are a form of unconscious political resistance. The author contrasts the aggression within the Algerian community during the period of colonization with its united resistance during the national liberation war. He considers revolutionary struggle to be the only way to overcome colonial trauma.

Translation from French: I. Tsiupa, I. Kovalska, K. Shepetiuk.

Original: Frantz Fanon, Les Damnés de la terre, Paris: Éd. François Maspero, 1970 (petite

collection Maspero).