Building historical memory, from social violence through psychosocial accompaniment

Abstract

The political violence framed in the internal armed conflict has been used in a symbolic way to pervade the dai-ly conflicts that develop in urban areas in the country, where violence has flooded districts, especially the pe-ripheral and working-class ones. That is how the Corporación Cultural Hatuey, through the program Memorias de Barrio (District Memories), has been developing an accompaniment place in the higher area of the Locali-dad Santa Fe, since this area has suffered rupture as consequence of violent actions that have finished the li-ves of about 300 youth in the area. For this reason, the psychosocial accompaniment that has approached families and relatives who have lost a beloved one due to vio-lent actions has had the aim to find a new meaning to the lives of those people. Such work has been done through biographical methodologies such as studying life histories and conversational meetings that, as a result, have brought the reconstruction of the so-cial structure, documentation of cases of social violence, finding a new meaning to lives of people who died in violent actions, and restoring the emotional integrity of their families. It has also given the opportunity to build historical and social memory, along with a new meaning of the territory. In this light, we reflect about the importance of widening the view on affectations that armed conflict and multiple violent actions have left in the popular districts in the cities of this country.