27. For many witnesses, being separated from their family and country was one of the most devastating parts of their experience: CM-A11’s statement that the separation from his mother was “heartbreaking” and a “lifelong loss that has given me unending pain”[1] was typical of what the witnesses told us. Many described the devastating and lifetime-lasting impact their early experiences had had on their lives, including a severe impact on their physical and mental well-being and their ability to form relationships. Some told the Inquiry that they had suffered “secondary abuse” as a result of their difficulties engaging with institutions in the post-migration period.[2] Dr Humphreys and Norman Johnston’s evidence gave us a broader insight into these impacts.[3]