VICTIM: “I know I’ll never get over this. My whole life’s gonna be ruined now.” RESPONDER: “How?” VICTIM: “What do you mean, ‘how?’ Everything’s ruined, nothing’ll ever be the same. It’s all screwed up.” RESPONDER: “I really want to understand this. Can you give me an example?” THE NATURE AND PURPOSES OF TERRORISM The word terrorism derives from the Latin terrere, which means “to frighten.” A terrorist act is rarely an end in itself but rather is intended to instill fear in whole populations by targeting a small, representative group. Mao Tse-tung reportedly spoke of “killing one to move a thousand.” A major difference in the case of mass terrorism like the World Trade Center and the much-feared potential nuclear terrorism of the future may be the terrorists’ desire to wreak maximum destruction as an end in itself, going far beyond the symbolic value of the act and turning it into a veritable war of annihilation. Training Module on the Right to Mental Health for the Security Sector This technique may be used in combination with other active listening techniques, such as minimal encouragers, reflecting/mirroring, and silence. In addition, open-ended questions can be followed or combined with closed-ended queries: PSYCHOLOGICAL REACTIONS TO TERRORIST ATTACKS In essence, terrorism is the perfect traumatic stressor, because it combines the elements of malevolent intent, extreme harm, and unending fear of the future. Another aspect of mass terrorism is its effect on those who are not directly harmed in the incident but whose lives and fortunes are secondarily affected by it. Governments or localities victimized by terrorist attacks must divert otherwiseneeded funds for defense, security, medical aid, and other services. Additionally, as much as citizens may be victimized and intimidated by the terrorists themselves, government agencies’ efforts to control the terrorism may impose restrictions on the citizens’ abilities to move about freely or compromise basic freedoms and human rights. Hostage Crises Although mass terroristic destruction claims the headlines, many forms of domestic and international terrorism involve abduction and hostage taking. Those whose occupations or lifestyles potentially expose them to this kind of 54