OFP inaugurates a House Museum for Collective Memory and Human Rights in Barrancabermeja

The Canadian ambassador Marcel Lebleu present at the inauguration of the House of Memory and photographed here with KAIROS Global Partner, Gloria Saurez.

The Canadian ambassador Marcel Lebleu present at the inauguration of the House of Memory and photographed here with KAIROS Global Partner, Gloria Saurez.

On Thursday, July 25th in Barrancabermeja, Colombia, the Organización Femenina Popular (OFP) inaugurated the Casa Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos de las Mujeres de la región del Magdalena Medio, or the House Museum of Memory and Human Rights of the Women of the Magdalena Medio Region. Women human rights defenders from across Latin America, scholars and other experts on peacebuilding, religious leaders, and international dignitaries, including the Canadian Ambassador to Colombia, Marcel Lebleu, attended the inauguration of the Casa Museo.

Through the Casa Museo, the first of its kind in Colombia, the OFP preserves and animates collective memory in the defense of women’s human rights and for peacebuilding, reconciliation, and the non-repetition of violence.

The Casa Museo’s significance is unparalleled, as Silvia Yáñez, Director of the Casa Museo, affirms:

“Es un lugar muy importante para la memoria histórica y para la construcción de paz. Es el legado de pensar un futuro diferente para todo el país y especialmente para la región del Magdalena Medio que ha sufrido especialmente el conflicto armado.”

“It is a very important place for historical memory and for the construction of peace. It is the legacy of thinking a different future for the entire country, especially for the Magdalena Medio region, which has particularly suffered from the armed conflict.”

Implicit in, or really, integral to Silvia’s statement is the OFP’s stance on the role of women in imagining and enacting a Colombia informed but not overdetermined by a decades-long internal war that has yet to fully cease.

Indeed, the Casa Museo highlights the importance of gender not only in armed conflict but also in peacebuilding in Colombia, something that Ambassador Lebleu also emphasized during his visit to Barrancabermeja:

“Primero [las mujeres son] la mitad de la población, pero también han sido las víctimas de este conflicto. Hoy en día es el día de recordarse de eso y de ver las contribuciones de estas mujeres, de este proceso de paz….Yo creo que una Casa de Memoria es muy importante. De la memoria sale la verdad, de la verdad sale la no repetición y la reconciliación.”

“First, women are half of the population, but they have also been the victims of this conflict. Today is the day to remember this and to recognize the contributions of these women, of this peace process….I believe that a House of Memory is very important. From memory comes truth, from truth comes the non-repetition of violence and reconciliation.”

KAIROS warmly congratulates the OFP on the inauguration of the Casa Museo and celebrates the organization’s 47th anniversary. KAIROS also expresses sincere gratitude to Ambassador Lebleu for attending the inauguration and supporting women peacebuilders.

Here are some photos from the inauguration-

Watch the video of the ceremony here (translation text available below)-

Video translation

The Inauguration of the Casa Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos de las Mujeres de la región del Magdalena Medio, or the House Museum of Memory and Human Rights of the Women of the Magdalena Medio Region – Video Translation

Silvia Yáñez, Director of the Casa Museo: It is a very important place for historical memory and for the construction of peace. It is the legacy of thinking a different future for the entire country, especially for the Magdalena Medio region, which has particularly suffered from the armed conflict.

Alejandra Huerti, Open Memory Organization, Argentina: The importance of memory, the reconstruction of these stories and also the community reconstruction of lives that have been deeply damaged by political violence and state terrorism.

Alejandra Miller, Truth Commission: A fundamental contribution not only in reconstructing what has happened to us in the context of the armed conflict but also a fundamental contribution to proposals against the non-repetition of violence.

Marcel Lebleu, Canadian Ambassador to Colombia: First, women are half of the population, but they have also been the victims of this conflict. Today is the day to remember this and to recognize the contributions of these women, of this peace process….I believe that a House of Memory is very important. From memory comes truth, from truth comes the non-repetition of violence and reconciliation.