Development of Historical Memory as a Psychosocial Recovery Process

Abstract

For Peru, the 1980s represented a time of extreme barbarism. Such type of barbarism had never been seen and suffered by the population during the Republican period of the nation. The aftermath of such horror were observed during the following decade in the children, the orphans, and the new families who survived without solving their emotional losses. In this context, RED PARA LA INFANCIA Y LA FAMILIA-PERU (Infancy and Family Network-REDINFA-PERU) became engaged with the population affected by the conflict. This program adopted a methodology that was sensitive to the population's needs and expectations. The central feature of the program was the development of community historical memory, an exercise that we thought would acknowledge the value of individual and collective experiences. This led us to carefully collect their testimonies, mitigate their pain, and support their emotional recovery, while at the same time opening the path toward dignity, a symbolic form of compensation. In this way, the development of historical memory went beyond the mere historical reconstruction of what was experienced and became a space for expression, acknowledgement of individual and collective capacities, resources and learning, for the joint and consensual construction of a different future for the participants. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)