Siege, Memory and Justice: The Ghosts of Trujillo

Abstract

The following paper reflects on the responsibility that we, thinkers and social scientists, currently have in the task of building and criticizing historic memory. The paper takes as its theoretical framework Jacques Derrida's reflections with regard to the 'ghost', and his comprehension of justice as a form of responsibility that exceeds the forms of justice allowed by law. Moreover, we take the labors, claims and practices of the 'Asociación de Familiares de Víctimas de Trujillo' (AFAVIT) as an example of how the memory of ghosts is the memory that enables this other form of justice.