Victims of Peru’s civil war are remembered and hearts are consoled at a park dedication in Lima.
THE constant flow of tear-like drops of water from The Weeping Eye (El Ojo que Llora) stone sculpture brought forth many real tears from the crowd who gathered to dedicate a Lima park on August 28, 2007. It was the second anniversary of the report from Peru’s “Commission of Truth and Reconciliation” on the 20 years of political and armed violence in Peru between 1980 and 2000.
The sculpture and “Memorial Grove” park are a touching homage to the 69,280 victims of the civil war between the Peruvian military and the guerrillas of Sendero Luminoso, the Communist “Shining Path” movement that terrorised and murdered thousands of Peruvians in the 1980s and 90s.
At the park gathering, stories were told of human suffering, pain, fear, displacement and destruction of lives and property. There were moments of silence and prayer. People walked the labyrinth together to The Weeping Eye at the park’s centre and placed white roses on the stones of remembrance inscribed with the names of victims. These were all expressions of solidarity we shared.
There were many moving testimonies: stories came from Oswaldo Cava, who lost a son; Gisela Ortiz, who lost a brother; Ana Lira, blinded as a result of a terrorist attack; and Teofilo Orozco, of the Association of Displaced Families.
We watched with emotion as Aydee Soto Quispe walked into the labyrinth to place a white rose on the stone with her father’s name. I searched with my neighbours from the village of Huaycan for the stone inscribed with the name of Pascuala Rosada, who was killed in 1996.
We also found the stone for Australian Sr Irene McCormack, a friend of the Columban Sisters who was killed by “Shining Path” guerrillas in 1991. This brought the pain and suffering close once more.
This permanent place of remembrance was the initiative of many institutions. In the four months leading to the dedication, the whole country was involved in the preparation. The Grand Quipo of Remembrance is an Inca-style weaving with a knot for each victim created to unite people across the length and breadth of the country. The project stretched from Piura at the northern border with Ecuador to Puno at the southern border with Bolivia.
Four chasquis (messengers), including two youths orphaned during the conflict, walked the entire 1,300-plus miles, inviting young and old, organisations, institutions and churches along the way to participate in the weaving. In Lima, Peru’s capital, groups took part in activities such as inscribing victims’ names on stones, organising ecumenical prayer services, tree planting and preparing for that great moment of solidarity.
The Weeping Eye and the Grand Quipo of Remembrance are powerful expressions of pain, suffering and the need to heal deep wounds. But they are also powerful symbols of great courage and strength to begin again.
At the end of the ceremony I felt a strong sense of hope and commitment for a better future for Peru.
Sr Mary Neylon is a Columban Sister and has been in Peru for the past 17 years. Her ministry is in Huaycan, a poor area on the outskirts of Lima, where she helps women who have suffered from political or family violence.