This trauma and constant threat of violence hinders our ability to act in the present and to shape the future. We are like rabbits frozen in the headlights. As a result, many people are checking out – they are no longer engaging with the system, nor with community. This “checking out” takes different forms – from youths ‘just sitting’, to substance abuse, to the creation of parallel systems and migration – both formal and informal. There is a tendency to only look after and care about ‘self’ and a subsequent reduction in accountability – in terms of holding elected officials, government, our own family members and even ourselves to account. This lack of accountability leads to a pervasive culture of impunity and corruption. This allows expressions of power that oppress in an effort to maintain this status quo – in families, schools, public institutions, and at state level. The continual oppressive power feeds the cycle of unresolved trauma and the culture of silence. This is the narrative underlying our social fabric as a nation.