Reference :
V-P-PE-E-00363
Date :
01/09/2008
Caption :
Putis. Exhibition of clothes of missing persons found in a mass grave close to the village. Families will be able to identify their missing relatives.
Confidentiality level :
public
Publication restrictions :
publication without restrictions
Description :
The clothing was found with the remains of 90 bodies discovered in mass graves in Putis, a village in southern Peru, last May. It was to be exhibited a few days later in Santillana and Putis.
Hundreds of people, including relatives of missing persons, representatives of family associations and local authorities, came to view the clothing and to express their sadness and outrage at the discovery. Such exhibitions are one of the means used by the Peruvian Forensic Anthropology Team (EPAF) to identify human remains. The EPAF is officially in charge of investigating cases of missing persons.
In Putis the exhibition was held in an open area of Mashuacancha, a hamlet nestled near the river that runs through the district. People from nearby villages began to arrive as early as dawn. Entire families, including children, sometimes bringing their animals with them, came in the hope of finding the remains of missing relatives and being able to give their loved ones "a decent burial" and "at last put their souls to rest."
During the five days that the exhibition lasted, clothing belonging to 20 different people were identified by relatives, who provided the EPAF with further information for cross-checking against an existing antemortem database.
EPAF experts also took saliva samples from relatives for DNA testing and collected information about persons who had gone missing in other places. In all, 80 new antemortem files were established.
The exhibition, which coincided with International Day of the Disappeared on 30 August, was held on the initiative and thanks to the efforts of the EPAF and the Asociación Paz y Esperanza. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) helped by providing transportation for family members.
The opening of the exhibition in Huanta was attended by, among others, the mayor of the provincial capital and representatives of the public prosecutor's office, the regional ombudsman's office, the National Reparations Council, the Asociación Paz y Esperanza, the EPAF, the ICRC and various associations of victims of Ayacucho, Apurímac and Lima.
Original material :
digital
Resolution :
2592x1944
Orientation :
portrait
Colour/B&W :
colour
