Cochas Paca and Dog's Ear. Stories Not to Forget

The peasant communities of Tastabamba, Putucunay, and Totota are located in the "Oreja de Perro," a vast and remote area in the district of Chungui, in the far southeastern corner of the province of La Mar, Ayacucho. They are part of a large group of Quechua peasant communities spread across a difficult and markedly inaccessible geography that has determined the age-old isolation of the inhabitants of that part of the country. During the 1980s this area was the scene of political violence, which brought only death and destruction. Many lives lost and countless material damages were the toll of that tragic era. The problems for community members did not end, however, with the defeat of the armed groups and the eradication of violence. As a dire legacy of that period, hundreds of peasants live under wanted status, accused of allegedly having participated in subversive actions, despite the fact that the degree of terror to which they were subjected by the presence of Sendero Luminoso has been conclusively demonstrated. This situation not only prevents them from fully driving the reconstruction of their villages and their lives, it also places them in the position of third-class citizens, unable to exercise their most basic rights. (Excerpt from introduction).