The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) recently released One morning they came to our community: Stories of political violence in communities of Peru, a compilation of victims’ stories about Peru’s internal armed conflict from 1980 to 2000.
The stories were collected at workshops with community and victims’ organizations to reconstruct, discuss and write their historical memory of the conflict. The memories tell a story of exclusion and violence, committed by the Shining Path revolutionary movement, as well as by the Peruvian armed forces. However, they also include memories of community traditions and proud memories of resistance and organization recovered through collective processes at community assemblies.
The stories constitute an important form of recognizing the truth, as well as a demand for justice and reparations. They demonstrate the capacity of the communities to be part of the reconstruction of the country.
The collection and workshops are part of a two-year collaborative project with five partner organizations and 50 victims’ organizations in 50 rural communities of the Andes and the Amazon. The project has helped strengthen participation by these organizations at the local, regional and national levels in the implementation of reparations policies, as well as other policies that affect them.
The effort is inspired by the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which identified the marginalization of rural communities of these regions as one of the root causes of the conflict. The commission highlighted the high proportion of victims from these regions, where quechua-speaking communities or other indigenous groups predominate.
This book demonstrates the impact of violence is still present in affected communities, and it is important to implement policies ensuring citizen rights to all Peruvian people.
The book was released at an event in Lima on May 17. As part of the event, leaders of the victims’ organizations presented their proposals on reparations and historical memory.
During the event two community leaders presented their stories. Later, four leaders of victims’ organizations also presented their proposals and demands for the implementation of reparations policies.
Photo: A woman from the community of Colpas participates in Historial Memory workshop in Huánuco, February 2010. Photo courtesy of Paz y Esperanza Association.
