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The traveling exhibition “Memory Tiles: The Legacy of Those Who Never Stopped Searching” pays homage to people from Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras and El Salvador who died without knowing the whereabouts of their loved ones and highlights The It is urgent to redouble efforts to search for all missing people until we know what happened to them and where they are, also remembering the responsibility of the States to provide answers to the families.
The ICRC Regional Delegation reaffirms that no person should die without knowing the fate of a missing loved one. “Memory tiles” highlights the humanitarian impact of the disappearance and, at the same time, recognizes the legacy of people such as Paula Martin Yo’ol and Consuelo Dorantes (Guatemala), Lupita Rodríguez and María Demetria Martínez (Mexico), Gustavo Banegas and Teodolinda Morán (Honduras), and Marcelina del Carmen (El Salvador), who tirelessly searched for their loved ones until the last day of their lives and whose determination in the search inspired other families who are also looking for a loved one.
The disappearance of people in Mexico and Central America continues to be a daily tragedy with painful consequences for their families and society. It is increasingly common to hear stories of relatives who, after years and even decades of research, have died without finding answers, due to illness, advanced age or violence related to their research work. These people faced painful uncertainty in life and died with the indescribable pain of not knowing how or where their loved one is.
In Guatemala, an unknown number of people have died without answers and many continue to search for the missing since the armed conflict (1960-1996), holding out the hope of finding an answer until the end of their lives. Added to these families are those who are looking for a loved one who has disappeared in recent years.
“No matter how much time has passed since the disappearance of a person, whether in contexts of armed conflict, migration or violence, the lack of information on the fate and whereabouts of a loved one generates profound and constant suffering in their families and affects their physical and emotional health,” explained Karim Khallaayoun, head of the ICRC mission in Guatemala. “When a person dies without having found their loved one, the pain for their family members doubles, leaving an irreparable void in them, in research organizations and in society as a whole.”
“With this exhibition, young people will be able to learn about the search process that the relatives of missing people had; the dignity of those who tirelessly search for that loved one. Through a common thread embroidered and intertwined by seven testimonies of struggle and perseverance, young people and the general public will have the opportunity to recognize the different forms of struggle in three different countries and contexts but which coincide in resistance and the fight against oblivion. “said Fabiola, representative of the House of Memory of the Center for Human Rights Legal Action (CALDH).
The International Committee of the Red Cross underlines its essentiality guarantee the rights of families, including the right to physical and psychosocial healthwho are seriously affected after the disappearance.
The humanitarian organization also underlines that States have the obligation to take the necessary measures to clarify the fate of missing persons, ensuring the participation of families and their representatives in all stages of the search process. This involves ensuring that they receive decent treatment, that they have access to information on research progress and that their experiences, suggestions and concerns are taken into account. All this with the aim of making the research more effective, without the main responsibility for carrying it out falling on them.
To address the problem of missing persons comprehensively, It is necessary to have a national regulatory framework that recognizes the rights of missing persons and their familiesas well as a state policy for the search and identification of missing persons, which guarantees effective articulation and coordination between the competent public institutions.
The ICRC appreciates the efforts of the Guatemalan State to publicly recognize the problem of disappearances and the needs of families, as well as the work conducted by the Presidential Commission for Peace and Human Rights (COPADEH) in the construction of a National Research and a National Plan for the dignity of the victims and calls to protect what has been acquired.
The traveling exhibition closes its 2024 touring season in Guatemala, after being presented at the Honduran Institute of Hispanic Culture in Tegucigalpa (Honduras), at the Casa Rafael Galván of the Metropolitan Autonomous University (UAM) of Mexico City (Mexico) and at the Technological University in San Salvador (El Salvador).
“Weaving memory” will be open to the public at the Casa della Memoria from 17 October to 16 November, accompanied by a program of activities that includes workshops, talks and embroidery sessions. These activities promoted by the ICRC and supported by Casa de la Memoria constitute a collective effort to offer different approaches to the problem of disappearance and continue to accompany families in their search for answers.
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is the largest humanitarian network in the world, whose mission is to prevent and alleviate, in all circumstances, human suffering; protect life and health and guarantee respect for the human person, especially in times of armed conflict, armed violence and other emergency situations. It is made up of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and 191 National Societies, present in almost all countries of the world.
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