2 Papers, cards, and perilous encounters with the state Identity documents, oral histories, and state crime research Introduction In this chapter, I explain how ID narratives provided the most useful way to explore the links between statelessness and genocide. Focusing research on ID cards and registration produced rich data about experiences and understandings of the role of the state in producing statelessness as well as their responses and different forms of resistance. It also enabled the participants to explore the issues of state violence and genocide whilst minimising harms related to interviewing survivors who have experienced trauma. Health research amongst Rohingya survivors indicates high levels of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, and emotional distress (Haar, Wang et al. 2019; Riley, Akther et al. 2020). The process of being interviewed and asked to relate traumatic past events can trigger the symptoms of PTSD (Klempner 2000; Campbell, Adams et al. 2009). Since most of my research took place in the aftermath of the mass killings, mass rape, and mass destruction, one of my concerns was to prioritise well-being and to avoid re-traumatising survivors. The research took place during a period when many human rights organisations and journalists were simultaneously documenting abuses, raising concerns about the impact of ‘over-researching’ with survivors. During my first visit to the camps in Bangladesh, I was offered what was described by another reflective researcher as a ‘menu of human rights violations’ by the organisation that was assigned to arrange my visit. They suggested victims of sexual violence on the first morning, gunshot victims in the afternoon and orphaned children the next day. I declined this opportunity to interview at that time, deeply concerned about conducting potentially traumatising interviews when the primary purpose of my research was for my research project rather than broader justice objectives in mind. Instead, I used the time for observations and to familiarise myself with the camp situation. I thought carefully about how to conduct oral history interviews in ways which were not damage-centred—in ways that did not prioritise research findings over well-being and enabled participants to maintain control over what they chose to tell me and what they chose to omit. Identity card narratives provided a way to do this—participants could tell me DOI: 10.4324/9781003494539-2 This chapter has been made available under a CC-BY 4.0 license.