This book is a sequel to the author's earlier description of individual trauma in Sri Lankan Tamils due to the civil war, titled “Scarred Minds: The Psychological Impact of War on Sri Lankan Tamils”, written in 1988-89 during the aftermath of the Indian intervention. The Book is a qualitative, psycho-ecological study of the long-term effects of disasters both man-made and natural on Sri Lankan communities. The book studies the effects of war and the 2004 tsunami on families and communities. The concept of collective trauma is introduced to provide a framework in understanding how basic social processes, relationships and networks change due to these disasters. The methodology employed is a naturalistic, psychosocial ethnography of Northern Sri Lanka, drawing from the author's participation in psychosocial and community mental health programmes among the Tamil community. Participatory observation, key informant interviews and focus-group discussions with rehabilitation workers and officials were used to gather data. The author also analyses the various causes of modern civil war, ethnic consciousness, terror and counter-insurgency operations and their consequences on people. Though the study revolves around Sri Lanka, the phenomenon of collective trauma has an international relevance for communities across the globe caught in civil and ethnic strife. This book is a sequel to Scarred which deals with the effects of chronic civil war on individuals.