Making Marginalized Voices Visible

When transitional justice processes are intentional about the inclusion all victim groups, this can be powerful statement that challenges the collective denial of the violations faced by victim groups and thereby prevents the recurrence of violence. GIJTR works with local partners to create safe and trauma-sensitive spaces where victims, many of whom have never been encouraged to share their experiences or instead were actively silenced and threatened, are supported to express themselves through art and other creative mediums. In keeping with GIJTR’s approach to memorialization as the fifth pillar of transitional justice, local civil society is supported in GIJTR efforts to counter dominant singular narratives and correct the record by making marginalized voices seen and heard.

In many instances, certain victim groups can be further marginalized and denied recognition based on gender, sexual orientation, cultural stigmas, religious beliefs and ethnicity. In other instances, violations are only partially recognized, failing to distinguish the multiple intersections of harms endured by victims. GIJTR understands that social transformation and sustainable peace can only be achieved if the very mechanisms meant to facilitate accountability and restitution are committed to holding space for all voices, in both experiences of harms and demands for redress. Through GIJTR, local partners have been particularly impactful in amplifying the voices of historically marginalized groups, including women and LGBTQ+ communities, with the aims to meet both the different needs of victims while also tackling broader gender-based inequities and violations.

This section of the exhibition highlights the work of local partners to amplify marginalized voices by drawing attention to the legacies of violent conflict, including the mapping of how different contexts commemorate atrocities; the creation of memorials by families of victims; and works that illustrate the powerful historical threads that tie women’s war experiences to the contemporary challenges they face post-conflict. Each item in this section invites us to think how we can reduce stigma, increase empathy and deepened allyship with marginalized voices.

Free and open to the public, the Memory House is the first-of-its-kind victim-led memorial in The Gambia that houses the “Duty to Remember” exhibition, which originally began as a GIJTR supported traveling exhibit. A traveling version exists to allow for those unable to travel long distances to still benefit from the lessons the site offers.

Mapping Commemorative Cultures

This interactive digital map compares experiences and examples from various contexts around the ways in which significant dates from past conflicts or atrocities and other significant events have been commemorated in official narratives versus alternative victim- or survivor-centered narratives, highlighting best practices and lessons learned. The project aims to help transitional justice and memory practitioners, peacebuilders, policymakers and community stakeholders understand the gaps between “official” narratives of victory, heroism, sacrifice and injustice and the narratives of victims and survivors who were affected by those same events.

Galvanizing Guinea’s Quest for Truth-Truth Telling and Violence Prevention in Guinea

These paintings were created in 2018 by a Guinean artist based on the testimonies of young survivors who experienced human rights violations while participating in protests.

Promoting Social Cohesion, Justice and Violence Prevention in Sri Lanka 

This project documents the stories of women, including war widows, who turned to sex work as a result of the Sri Lankan conflict. While this a micro version of a larger exhibition, oral histories are featured from Fathima, Pushpa, Inosha, Nazreen, Mithuri, Kumari, Thamarani, Rishna and Devin.

Promoting Social Cohesion, Justice and Violence Prevention in Sri Lanka

We are Present is a collection of women’s oral histories of conflict and its impact in Sri Lanka. The narratives, self-written through visual story-telling methodologies, are interspersed with essays by women writers. The book shines a light on the historical threads that tie women’s war experiences to the contemporary challenges women face in post-war Sri Lanka – experiences and challenges that will resonate with many communities throughout the world. In doing so, We Are Present serves as a tool for public discourse on why women’s histories matter and why they must occupy a nexus between history, memorialization and justice, particularly for those transitioning from a context of war to peace.

Promoting Social Cohesion, Justice and Violence Prevention in Sri Lanka 

This forthcoming virtual memorial features photographs and stories from 100 families of missing and disappeared persons in Sri Lanka.

More about …Of loved ones

Forthcoming virtual memorial  by the Center for Policy Alternatives, Sri Lanka

Relatives of those who have gone missing are waiting for their missing loved ones to come home. They are spending every minute of their lives with faith, and with the memories of the loved ones they have lost. They have managed to save and protect the belongings that remind them of their loved ones amidst various troubles, interact with them, and live with them. This is a virtual memorial created by the Center for Policy Alternatives.

Sri Lanka has the second largest number of missing persons in the world. However, there are no formal documented records pertaining to the disappearance of thousands of individuals. Tens of thousands of people have been reported missing during and after the 30-year war, and during clashes in the South between the People’s Liberation Front and the Sri Lankan government. So far, despite the establishment of various commissions by the government, no justice has been served to the relatives of those who have disappeared.

Mother – Arulambalam Sriranjani (Age – 65)

Arulambalam Prabhakaran, born on 13.10.1982, went missing on 8th March 2009.

“This is the mango tree which was planted by our son when we were being displaced. It was bearing fruit when we returned. He planted two trees. One is dead. This is what he used to do. He always worked to keep the house and the garden beautiful. People used to say that this tree would damage the house. I’d say let it be since it was planted by my son. This is the only thing we have in his memory.”

Father – Sathyanathan Vijayendran (age 59)

Vijayendran Tamizhini (age 17) went missing on March 7, 2009 in the Mathalan Idaikkadu area. “He was with us. He said he was going for a bath. But he never came back. We were told that the army had surrounded. I searched till the last minute till we reached Vattuvakkal. I am still searching.” says Vijayendran.

“We have our child’s money purse. He also placed his signature on a book. I have torn his signature and kept it in his money purse in my desire to remember him. I was the one who bought this wallet. He said liked this colour. So I went to Kilinochchi and bought it. I used to go to Kilinochchi to visit the clinic. That was when I took my son and bought it. This is the last thing which he handed over to me.”

Since the end of the war in 2009, more than 200 relatives of missing loved ones have died without receiving justice – never knowing the fate of their loved ones. Their fight for justice also ended with their demise. Similarly, hundreds of individuals who participated in protests and to put pressure on those in power to get justice for their missing relatives, are now unable to continue their struggle due to economic challenges, illness, family situations, and the brutality of investigators.

Hence, a virtual memorial has been created to continue their struggle for justice and to keep the memories of those who have gone missing alive.

Similarly, people have been denied their freedom of assembly, freedom of expression, and freedom of remembrance through current and upcoming laws in the country. If this situation worsens, the relatives of the missing may not be able to gather and continue their struggle. As such, this virtual platform will provide space and opportunity for their voices, and to remember them and continue the struggle.

The virtual memorial will live through https://www.cpalanka.org/external-sites/ and will house 60 stories of families of missing loved ones.

Understanding Racism as a Risk Factor in Atrocity Crimes

This six-part podcast series addresses racism as a risk factor for atrocity crimes on a global scale – and within the framework of racial justice and anti-racism. Each episode explores different manifestations of racism, from the racialized capitalism of colonialism and slavery to contemporary racial injustices in policing, media and the economy. A global cadre of scholars, practitioners and civil society representatives are highlighted in order to help expose how these manifestations increase the risk of atrocity crimes and affect the lives of people of color today.