title: War traumas in the Mediterranean area.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The purpose is to explore the consequences of war and its impact on mental health with attention to the Mediterranean area.
  
  
  METHODS
  Narrative review of consequences of war on mental health and on the mental health of the communities in the current crises in the Mediterranean region.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A series of outbreaks of war are still raging in the Mediterranean region and producing horrible effects with a considerable number of refugees with unsatisfied needs. Studies relating to conflicts of the past suggest that the mental health consequences of these wars may affect future generations for many years. While violations of human rights are not new, what is new are attacks on medical institutions perceived to be traditionally Western.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The scientific community has to fight violence through mediation of conflicts. The idea that science can improve lives is a concept that is found in the history of all Mediterranean cultures. The Greek and Roman medical tradition was saved thanks to doctors of the Arab courts when Christian fundamentalism fought science in the Middle Ages. Health institutions are the product of the great Islamic medical tradition as well as Western culture.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Cagliari University, Cagliari, Italy Mediterranean Society on Mental Health Cagliari, Italy mgcarta@tiscali.it.
authors.forename: Mauro Giovanni
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Carta
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Cagliari University, Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Francesca
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Moro
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bass
mesh_terms: D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D005006:Ethnicity; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006304:Health Status; D006806:Human Rights; D006801:Humans; D008002:Libya / Q000208:ethnology; D008302:Mali / Q000208:ethnology; D019083:Mediterranean Region / Q000453:epidemiology; D008603:Mental Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D012036:Refugees / Q000523:psychology*; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000209:etiology*; D013593:Syria / Q000208:ethnology; D014754:Violence; D014857:Warfare
keywords: Mediterranean; War; conflict; history of medicine; mental health; refugees