Pous’s talk was part of a much larger week of events that included other research presentations, cultural events, and public talks, with an epicenter in a huge street demonstration that took place on March 24 throughout the country. The massive mobilization commemorates the day on which the dictatorship started in 1976, and brought together political activists and groups, as well as cultural spectacles and common citizens, to remember the dark years of the dictatorship, so as not to repeat them again. Under the cry of Nunca Mas! (Never again), the people maintain a culture of memory despite the attempt of the current government to dismantle the human rights platform that makes it possible.

In the context of the Cold War, Argentina, like most Latin American countries during the 60s, 70s and 80s, went through a period of military dictatorships that targeted political opponents with the financial and political support from the U.S. From 1976 to 1983, Argentina was under a military dictatorship that utilized irregular methods of repression against its own population. Following the lesson learned at the School of the Americas, the military regime created a system of clandestine centers of detention in which political opponents were brought after being kidnapped in the streets, their workplaces or in their homes. Once in these clandestine prisons, they were tortured, treated with minimum care, uncommunicated from their family members, and most of them were killed and their bodies disappeared. It is calculated that 30,000 people disappeared under this system of repression.

Since the return of democracy in 1983, there has been a grassroots collective effort to recompose the social link by fomenting a culture of memory in the country under the banner of Not forget, not forgive (Ni Olvido ni Perd贸n). Throughout the years, different human rights organizations worked along with state officials, international support groups, and local community organizations to persecute the criminal legally (over 1000 were already condemned), build and maintain several sites of memory, and provide retribution to the people affected directly and indirectly by it.

Pous’s talk emphasized this collective effort to cultivate a culture of memory across different generations. For Pous, 鈥渢he task of memory today is an intergenerational endeavor that requires to be open ot listen to the questions and concerns of the new generations.” In his talk, he focused on key cultural products like the films “The Official History” (1985) and “Argentina 1985” (2022) as well as the fiction books “La casa de los conejos” (2006) and “Diario de una princesita Montonera” (2012) to highlight the public debates around postdictatorship democracy that have fed the culture of memory in the country.

Earlier in the week, Pous presented his book, Eventos Carcelarios (UNC Press, 2022), at the University of El Salvador for an audience of professors and graduate students. He delivered a talk about the novel “El beso de la mujer ara帽a” (Puig 1976) in conjunction with a historical analysis of the liberation of political prisoners in 1973, at the return of a seven-year dictatorship that preluded the most horrific one mentioned above. His talk focused on the 鈥渃onnection between an historical event that was lived as if it was the revolution, but it turned out to be the beginning of the defeat of the revolutionary project鈥�. For Pous, the prison cell became 鈥渁 singular place of reflection and self-critique鈥� that the novel depicts in detail to reimagine the possibility of a radical imagination today.

Mediation is a peacemaking process that empowers disputants to solve their interpersonal conflicts. It is used largely in the US court system and in different organizations to de-escalate and resolve minor issues among employers/employees, students, neighbors, friends, and family members. For me, going through the training was an intensive learning experience that fundamentally relied on one fundamental human task: listening to the other.

Funded by an 黑料不打烊 Innovates Grant and promoted by the Peace and Conflict Studies Program, the training teaches mediation as a peaceful conflict resolution method. Dunn, three students, four professors, one staff and two community members constituted a very diverse, cohesive and energetic group that met for two full days and were introduced into the world of mediation and restorative justice. During the training, people were able to learn the mediation method by practicing it several times from different perspectives. After finishing, they can participate in real mediation cases (supervised by certified mediators) and eventually obtain the certification. At 黑料不打烊, students can choose to go to mediation to resolve their own conflicts though this method.

鈥淢editation should be included in professional trainings when we enter a new working place because it fosters the consideration of other views, behaviors, actions, and reactions that affect not only the working environment, but also our own lives,” said Associate Professor of Spanish Mayte De Lama, who participated in the training.

The different racial and ethnic backgrounds, as well as the origins and trajectories of the people in the room enriched the group dynamic in which each of the participants played a role, whether as a disputant or as a mediator, incarnating the six stages of mediation.

Mediation is a process that includes: the introduction of mediators and disputants as well as the reading of ground rules for the conversation; the description of the conflict made by each of the discussant, carefully written by the mediators; the identification of the main concerns that still bother the people involved; a brainstorming process of potential solutions; the election of common solutions; and the writing of an agreement that states the steps to follow to recompose the situation. Although it looks simple at first, walking with other mediators in training through this process requires refined mediation skills to help others navigate their conflicts.

Clarifying the role of the mediator, Linda established from the beginning that they 鈥渄o not judge, do not take sides, and do not give advice.聽Mediators help people to take responsibility for their actions and lead them through a collaborative brainstorming process that usually results in win/win solutions to both parties.鈥�

According to Dunn, it is crucial to trust the people involved in the conflict to find their own way of resolving it, and when is possible and needed, repairing the damage produced.

During the training, participants practiced different mediation cases followed by intense conversations and reflections, which also sprang moments of laughter and community building.

鈥淚 left having found a new community of amazing individuals, a new kind of understanding and connection to myself and others on a much deeper level than I ever anticipated, while learning to meditate. It was worth every second and I’m so grateful to have been a part of it,” said Gracie Bleiberg ’28.

The training was part of the Campus Mediation Program (CMP), which has run this training once a year over the last three years. CMP also offers mediation conflict resolution opportunities among students at 黑料不打烊, where already trained students (supervised by Dunn) mediate among other students who have had an interpersonal conflict. Over 15 cases have been resolved successfully with this method.

Usually, students are trained in the course, “PCS1210 Intro to Conflict Mediation,” which prepares them to mediate cases at 黑料不打烊. For instance, Michael Romano ’26, who took the class, helped facilitate the training.

鈥淲orking with Linda and learning about conflict mediation has allowed me to dramatically improve my conflict resolution skills while providing me the opportunity to help those in our community while doing so,” said Romano.

As other students have done in the past, Romano will be going to mediate cases in the Alamance County Court (overseen by Dunn) to achieve certification.

CMP has partnered with other organizations on campus to promote restorative justice practices at 黑料不打烊. The fundamental goal of this program is to contribute to the creation of an ongoing culture of dialogue about conflict resolution on campus, not only to bring light to mediation as a possible path towards conflict resolution, but also as an ongoing effort to address difficult conversations at 黑料不打烊.

鈥淚t gives me hope to spend time with other people who are also trying to find ways to help humans communicate better,” said Elizabeth Hambouger, a specialist in restorative justice from Durham who participated in the training.

She presented the work of the Diocesan Commission for the Defense of Nature (CODIDENA), an organization that advocates for the restoration of the identity and spirituality of the Xinka Indigenous people of Central America while protecting nature against extractivist mega-projects. Lemus talked in detail about the case of the peaceful resistance to the Escobal mining project, and their everyday struggles against the government and the mining corporations.

During the talk, she shared the values of her community to protect the earth and how they recognize themselves as Xinka by recovering their language and their culture. She also expressed the difficult reality faced by her community in rural areas as well as the challenges faced by organizers advocating for the Xinka land rights. The talk explored how they were able to stop the development of the mining project after three years of struggle, based on the Indigenous and Tribal People Convention, an international agreement acknowledged by the International Labour Organization, in which indigenous people must be consulted in case of any project affecting their population. In this case, after consulting with the Xinka people, they decided to reject the mining project given the multiple threats to their health and the environment.

Lemus also showed her grassroots initiative with young scientists in the Xinka community to address water contamination issues provoked by mining operations. This project not only capacitates the new generations, but also advocates for an intergenerational collective growth of the whole Xinka people. As a result of this initiative, community members created a system for measuring the degree of contamination in the water, empowering communities to defend themselves in their fight for environmental justice.

Over 50people attended the event. Students from peace and conflict studies, Latin American studies, as well as from different Spanish courses, the Core Curriculum, and philosophy classes learned about the complexity of current environmental struggles in Guatemala. After the talk, students asked several questions regarding the role of the Guatemalan government in this conflict and the recognition of the Xinka identity, engaging in a very fruitful dialogue about the importance of advocating for indigenous rights and environmental justice in peaceful demonstrations. The conference was conducted in Spanish with interpretation performed by Emily Rhyne from the organization Witness for Peace.

Lemus also participated in a roundtable discussion in Spanish with other human rights activists at El Centro. The roundtable focused on Guatemalan history and cultural diversity, generating a constructive dialogue among students learning about Latin American indigenous identities. The speakers talked about the work of their organizations at the local, national and global level, emphasizing the need to construct strong networks of solidarity. Students from the Spanish program engaged in a vivid conversation during the event, learning about the intercultural richness of Central America and the political relevance of the region in relation with the U.S. government today.

This visit was co-organized by the Peace and Conflict Studies program and the Latin American Studies program, and it was sponsored by the Department of World Languages and Cultures; El Centro; the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning; International and Global Studies; Isabella Cannon Global Education Center; Women鈥檚, Gender, and Sexualities Studies; the Department of Philosophy; and the Department of Sociology and Anthropology.