Not to Forget. Testimonies on Political Violence in Peru

In recent decades, Peru has lived through one of the most painful experiences in its republican history: the phenomenon of political violence. During that period, long-standing conflicts were inflamed and sinister forces unleashed, producing — to our bewilderment — scenes of death, pain, and despair. Violence was imposed upon all of Peruvian society and struck with greater harshness the poorest, most excluded, and ethnically differentiated populations. The most dramatic consequences would have been (according to estimates by human rights organizations and the Defensoría del Pueblo) approximately 40,000 people killed, 10,000 disappeared, the forced displacement of more than half a million people, and material losses calculated at approximately 26 million dollars. The coldness of the numbers is more than evident: Peru lived through a horrific war that, for incomprehensible and still unknown reasons, we Peruvians have preferred to silence. The weight of historical traumas, ethnic and regional differences, and social inequalities, among other issues, will likely help explain the density and complexity of this war. (Excerpt from the preface).