Medellín received full support this week in its interest to construct memory, defend human rights and help victims in their quest to know the truth about violence in Comuna 13 (the city’s 13th Disctrict).

For the ACI Medellin, reconciliation, dialogue and peace processes are a priority when it comes to relating with the world to gather good practices and the best allies to promote these initiatives. This is the reason why this week, we visited La Escombrera, a sector in the west part of the city, with international organizations such as the United Nations Development Program – UNDP; Mission to Support the Peace Process in Colombia – MAPP OAS; Spanish Agency for International Cooperation – AECID and the Special Jurisdiction for Peace – JEP. Embassies from the Canadian, German, United Kingdom and Sweden governments were also present.

During the visit, the Secretary of Non-Violence of Medellín explained to the cooperants the road that many families have had to travel in search of justice and reparation.

This space allowed the creation of strategic relationships that give way to international cooperation as a tool that opens opportunities for fact clarification. Likewise, with this tour, the need to have historical memory within our territory is made visible by reconstructing stories.

Context

“La Escombrera” is a site in the Comuna 13 of Medellin, which has been a site of constant reports by relatives of the disappeared and social organizations as a space of clandestine burials of people who had been detained, tortured, executed, and buried in the place, using this debris disposal site for the concealment of the bodies. The relatives of the disappeared have appropriated the site as a place of memory, carrying out many of their symbolic acts to demand truth, justice, and reparation, as well as representing a hope to find the remains of their loved ones. The space of La Escombrera will allow us to think about the relationships between conflict, violence, and the logic of heritage.

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