Remembering the Rescuers of Victims of Human Rights Crimes in Latin America

by Marcia Esparza (Editor), Carla De Ycaza (Editor), Stephanie Alfaro (Contribution by), Jeffrey Blustein (Contribution by), Pascale Bonnefoy (Contribution by)

Overview

This book explores the significance of remembering the rescuers denouncing human rights crimes as well as protecting and sheltering targeted victims—including the dead—during the Cold War state violence in Latin America. In light of newly unearthed archival evidence, testimonial memories, and the continued mobilization of human rights groups to preserve Cold War memory, this timely book moves beyond the victim-perpetrator dichotomy and its discursive studies to focus on those whose moral courage and righteous acts were beacons of hope in the midst of extreme violence. Remembering Latin American “righteousness,” a term used in Holocaust literature, is important in recognizing that those who resisted human rights violations and protected victims yesterday are those who often keep the collective memory of that past alive today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781498533270
Publisher:	Lexington Books
Publication date:	12/20/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	218
File size:	7 MB

About the Author

Marcia Esparza is sociologist and associate professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY. She is the Founder and Co-Director of the Historical Memory Project (HMP).

Carla De Ycaza teaches at the Center for Global Affairs at New York University and serves as editor of Dialogues on Historical Justice and Memory Network at Columbia University.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Why Remember the Rescuers in Latin America?
Marcia Esparza and Zachary McKiernan

Chapter 1: Rescued From Fear: The Sebastian Acevedo Movement Against Torture in Chile
Christopher Ney

Chapter 2: Bending the Rules: An Ambassador's Quest to Save Lives
Pascale Bonnefoy

Chapter 3: The Santo Tomás Chichicastenango's Municipal Firefighters: "Green Pines Covering the Dead Bodies"
Marcia Esparza, Stephanie Alfaro and Kristy Sanandres

Chapter 4: Strategic Rescue Responses to Genocide: The Guatemalan Case
Roddy Brett

Chapter 5: Between Memory and Oblivion: The Cases of Eureka and Afadem
Isabel de León Olivares, Maribel Rivas-Vasconcelos and Miriam Rodriguez

Chapter 6: From Rescue to Solidarity: (Re) Humanizing Relationships for Social Transformation
Jenny Escobar and Angie Tamayo

Chapter 7: Argentine Rescuers: A Study on the "Banality of Good"
Jessica Casiro

Conclusion: On the Moral Value of Rescue and Remembering Rescuers: Conceptualizing Rescue in the Latin American Context
Jeffrey Blustein

About the Contributors and Editors

Editorial Reviews

A much-needed and relevant collection of essays on a rarely studied topic—rescuers of human rights violations in Cold War Latin America. Who were the rescuers and how and why did they risk their lives to save others? By examining cases arising in a number of national contexts, the volume provides a valuable contribution to previous discussions about the figure of the “rescuer” and the political and moral duty to remember that have long characterized Holocaust studies. It explores the tension between a historically and geographically broader reading of acts of humanity on one hand, and concrete historical contexts on the other, delivering hopeful and inspiring insights.

Nina Schneider

The least noticed aspect of genocide is the courageous resistance that is often put up to save the victims. This collection shows how victims were helped during Cold War violence in Latin American countries including Guatemala, El Salvador, Argentina, Chile and Colombia. The rich exploration of historical cases enhances our general understanding of "rescue", showing that it is not just a matter of bystander intervention but of solidarity among victims. This is an important collection that deserves a wide readership.

Martin Shaw

A much-needed and relevant collection of essays on a rarely studied topic—rescuers of human rights violations in Cold War Latin America. Who were the rescuers and how and why did they risk their lives to save others? By examining cases arising in a number of national contexts, the volume provides a valuable contribution to previous discussions about the figure of the “rescuer” and the political and moral duty to remember that have long characterized Holocaust studies. It explores the tension between a historically and geographically broader reading of acts of humanity on one hand, and concrete historical contexts on the other, delivering hopeful and inspiring insights.

From the Publisher