Reference :
V-P-PE-E-01240
Date :
06/2018
Caption :
Ayacucho region. Adelina García is one of the founders of the ANFASEP (Asociación Nacional de Familiares de Secuestrados, Detenidos y Desaparecidos del Perú). From the beginning of the conflict, women organised various protest groups and played a key role in the struggle to find the disappeared. One of the main protest groups was ANFASEP, founded in 1983 by Quechua-speaking women (many of whom could neither read nor write).
Confidentiality level :
public
Publication restrictions :
publication without restrictions
Description :
This picture is from an exhibition "Suyay", by the artist Laia Abril. It depicts the pain and resilience of families waiting for answers concerning the fate of their missing relatives in Peru. The exhibition was held at the Centre de la Photographie Genève from 7 to 25 November 2018. The show's title from the Quecha word suyay, which means "to wait."
Exhibition extract: "The search"
"My husband had a scar on his leg, so I used that feature to start my search. I wasn't discouraged or afraid of having to search through the dead bodies, even though I was carrying my one-year-old daughter on my shoulders. So I started looking for him, using the scar as a clue. I moved one, I moved another, I left another one as it was... but I didn't find him".
ICRC website, article of 08.11.2018:
"Waiting is never passive: New photos shed light on Peru’s missing
Twenty thousand families sit suspended between life and death: unable to mourn or move forward until they know the fate of their relatives.
Waiting is not a passive activity:
The women in this exhibition tirelessly campaigning to discover the fate of their loved ones. None more so than Adelina Garcia, former president of ANFASEP, who has been searching for her husband since he went missing in 1983.
"Too often the full story is not told. That's why it was important for me to be a part of this project as it's important to me that people know the entire story, and the stories of what has happened to other women as well," Garcia said at the exhibition opening.
"I won't be able to stop until I find his remains and can bury him. For instance, my mum is buried in the cemetery. Sometimes I go and sit down beside her. I talk to her, and tell her what I'm doing. But on 4 January, when it's his birthday, I can't do that," Garcias said.
It is impossible to know exactly how many people are missing today as a result of armed conflicts, migration or natural disasters.
This photo series reminds us that no matter how much time passes, the inter-generational trauma for families is everlasting.
Original material :
digital
Resolution :
5515x3677
Orientation :
landscape
Colour/B&W :
colour
