Yuyanapaq is the Quechua (indigenous language to Peru) word meaning "to record." They record the internal events of Peru from 1980-2000 so that noone forgets, but also they hope to prevent them from ever happening again. From 1980-2000 there was an armed conflict, a divisive civil war that was waged in the country side and then spilled down into the streets of Lima, Peru (the capital) before it was REALLY noticed. During this conflict some 82,000 people were killed. For every three people killed, two were indigenous or spoke Quechua. When the military came for them they did not understand the Spanish that the men with the guns spoke. If there was even a hint (right or wrong) that you were associated with the Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso) you were killed, that meant that at the height of the war - EVERYONE. Whole villages and towns (pueblos) were wiped out. Men, women, and children.
On Friday my two American colleagues and I spent the morning with Efrian at the National Museum of Peru. It is 6-10 floors of everything Peru. The sixth floor is sparsely decorated. The walls are cement, the windows are screens with no glass. The rest are pictures, and there is a video in English or Spanish to get you started. The sixth floor is an photo exhibition. It is hundreds of photographs collected from 1980-2000. Each one as powerful and gripping as the next. In one photo a group of villagers is standing in the streets, in the next their bullet ridden bodies are lying in a mass grave. The photos tell a story so that those who see it can remember, and then tell the story to someonesle. The problem here is that even some Peruvians do not want to talk about it. They also want to know why anyone else would, like me? They think it was not and is not their problem. Some know the 6th floor exists and do not go there, others do not even know that the exhibit exists. When teachers ask what is there the museum staff says "Oh, it is just an exhibit about terrorism."
Becasue I walked through there, and because I write on this blog it is no longer just an exhibit, it is part of the story of Peru that I will share along with the ancient ruins, the exotic food, and the mysteries of international transportation. On Friday afternoon we went to National Paz y Esperanza Office in Lima, Peru. This is one of the subgroups or partners of RED - the Joining Hands Network. I will be working with Paz y Esperanza in Ayacucho, Peru. When we were at this office I saw an enlarged photograph hanging on the wall. It was a line of indigenous women passing in front of squared off blankets containing tattered, soiled, and worn clothing. Each square had a number C83, C85, etc. I recognized right away that the photo exhibit did not stop at the museum. It was here in this office too. The women were identifiying or trying to, all that was left of their loved ones. They were trying to remember the last time they saw their sons, daughters, or husbands...but most of all they were trying to remember what they wearing, 20 years ago.
These are the people I will be working with and accompanying this year in Ayacucho, Peru. Those who have been affected by the years of Violence in Peru, perpetrated by the Shining Path, the MRTA, and the military. Their story will become my story as they are willing to share.
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