Friday 11th December 2020
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Read report and watch video of the discussion “Of War and Collective Memory” here.
Friday 11th December 2020
Time: 2pm London, 3pm Paris, 5:30pm Tehran, 6:30pm Kabul
Please register in advance: https://ukri.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMqce-tpzIvGtNTLb7RbIKSdUmkx-V4m6SW
Speakers
Dr Naji El Khatib, lecturer, writer and activist
Farhad Golyardi, sociologist & co-founder of the Eutopia Institute
Dr. Sayed Askar Mousavi, lecturer and writer
Debbie Stothard, Human rights activist & Founder of Altsean-Burma
Ilya Nuzov, lawyer & Head of FIDH Eastern Europe & Central Asia Desk
Dr. Muborak Sharif, sociologist and co-founder of OPEN ASIA
Daniele Rugo, Award-winning film maker and lecturer.
Discussant
Dr. Neelam Raina, Associate Professor, Challenge Leader for Security, Protracted Conflict, Refugees and Displacement Global Challenges Research Fund GCRF, UKRI.
Moderator
Guissou Jahangiri, Vice President FIDH & Executive director of OPEN ASIA Armanshahr Foundation.
Documentaries
About a War, directed by Daniele Rugo & Abi Weaver, 1h 24 mins.
Touran Khanom, directed by Rakhshan Banietemd & Mojtaba Mirtahmasb. 1h 31 mins
11 000 km far from New York, directed by Orzu Sharipov, 20 mins.
Watch more documentaries selected by 40braids.org
Photo Exhibition
Of War and Collective Memory, Massoud Hossaini, Pulitzer Prize laureate
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This International Conference is held in framework of OPEN ASIA’s 8th Edition of Human rights week marking 25th anniversary celebration year. SEE FACEBOOK EVENT
In the shadow of amnesia: the struggle with power is the struggle of memory with oblivion
Collective memory is a perception of the past created, constructed, and shared by members of a nation, religion, or (ethnic) group. How the past is interpreted or understood affects today's identity and the vision for the future. Collective memory can be used to legitimize the political power structure or challenge it. The State or power actors, by constantly recalling certain events whilst remaining silent about others, try to engineer or shape collective memory, or parts of it, and weaken or forget other parts of it. This dynamic is also present in the collective memory of war, in the way war is legitimized and challenged. Collective memory and perception of the past influence ongoing current processes.
The way a Nation remembers a particular war collectively reflects its relation to the conflict. Whilst during the war, this memory is repeatedly altered by different power dynamics and violence such as the destruction of cities and cultural heritage, which have symbolic values and are embodied in tangible collective memory of a nation. These destructions and engineered selection of collective memory in fact impact the social, cultural and political relationship and the co-habitation/togetherness forming the basis of a nation. War and conflict, in all its forms, seeks to destroy the collective memory of a nation, by destroying cities, places, the forced migration of peoples, and at the same time create the collective memory of war. There is a complex link between a nation's cultural memory and the political concerns of power actors.
A nation's collective memory may be weakened but not destroyed. Forgetting is not possible, especially as long as there are people talking about the events (his-story, her-story live). That is why it is important to preserve and reactivate the collective memories of past conflicts. Collective memory processes can help end past violent conflicts, particularly through the involvement of marginalized, vulnerable groups, shifts in war victims' representations, and transitional justice mechanisms such as truth commissions, reconciliation and reparation (emotional memories accumulated by war and violence, if not addressed by transitional justice processes, prevent compromise).
For those who have witnessed the humiliation of humanity during armed conflict, the old adage "Time heals all wounds" may not always be true. It is impossible to forget, especially for those who have experienced war and violence in their flesh or heart.
Supported by ICAN