April 9th – National Day of Remembrance for Victims

According to the National Registry of Victims of the National Victims Unit, Colombia has suffered 9,888,182 war-related victims in more than seven decades. This does not include the hundreds of victims of the “Banana Plantation Massacre” in 1928, among others. All of this in the context of one of the longest-standing democracies in the Americas, where the number of victims has been greater than in Chile, Argentina or Uruguay. Generations of Colombians have been marked by these facts, which include data, stories, physical scars, restrictions on political participation, and socio-emotional consequences in addition to the effects of fear on subjectivity. However, the victims have survived and are an example of dignity, fighting for truth, justice and reparation. Therefore, thanks to their unwavering commitment, in 2011, as an educational, political, legal and symbolic act, April 9th will be commemorated as the “National Day of Commemoration for the Victims of the Armed Conflict”, established in the “Victims and Land Restitution Law”.

We have had victims all over the country: members of teachers’ unions, student organizations, social organizations, community action committees, and black, Afro-descendant, Raizal, Palenquero, indigenous and gypsy communities. Also, peasants, workers, merchants, businessmen, politicians, youth, children and adolescents. Women and their bodies as spoils of war, forcibly displaced and forced to search for their missing children. LGBTIQ+ people persecuted, stigmatized and oppressed by both sides of the conflict. The victims are not a specific and isolated population; they are an unlimited part of society, our beloved members of the territories, rivers, seas, mountains, plains and jungles.

In light of the above, Colombian society and especially educational institutions have a shared responsibility to remember and honor the victims during this Holy Week of meditation, reflection and prayer. As Colombians, we can contribute to the healing of wounds by working to reduce the factors that perpetuate war, by understanding the damage and impact of the armed conflict on society. Together we will find ways to reduce violence, to transform the culture of violence into one of acceptance and respect for differences and non-repetition. This is a task not only for the victims and the state, but for all of us. Therefore, as the Universidad Pedagógica Nacional, we will spare no effort in the search for peace in this country.

For UPN, it is essential to surround them, to join them in their processes of remembrance, reconstruction of the social fabric, including the recovery of social, cultural and economic practices. Memory should be a crucial part of the country’s educational processes, as a part of the reawakening of the claims of those who are no longer here, by encompassing their academic, political and educational legacies, but also keeping in mind their dreams and proposals for our country.

The UPN’s commitment to peace and remembrance is a daily reminder thanks to the “Memory Mural” designed in 2016, featuring photos of the victims of the armed conflict, the actors who studied, worked at and experienced our university. In addition, we have murals inside and outside the 72 Campus, some trees planted to celebrate the Peace Agreement with M19 in the Darío Betancurt Square. Also, our engagement in the peace process with the FARC and the dialogue with the ELN as well as the lectures that contribute to a broader understanding of the conflict from different perspectives. By sharing with us their driving force for transformation and by recognizing our University as one of the centers for meeting, building and strengthening participation, we thank the victims as dignified paragons of our country.