Category: Women

Truth commissions building states: Lessons from Africa

February 7, 2024

In 2023, McGill-Queen’s University Press released a major contribution to the study of truth and reconciliation. Truth Commissions and State Building discusses the role of truth commissions in constructing stable, democratic countries in often fragile contexts. Below is the text of a talk at the book launch, held at McMaster University, by David Webster.  Truth… More Truth commissions building states: Lessons from Africa

Mai sanglant

May 26, 2020

Dadolin Murak, poète timorais, a publié ce poème en mai 2019 pour marquer l’anniversaire de « Mei Berdarah » (mai sanglant) de 1998, lorsque des Indonésiens d’origine chinoise ont été victimes de massacres et de viols. Le poème de Dadolin Murak, écrit en indonésien, est présenté ici en traduction anglaise. Il chante des souvenirs de… More Mai sanglant

A Bloody May – poetry by Dadolin Murak

May 24, 2020

This poem by Dadolin Murak was published in May 2019 to mark the anniversary of “Mei Berdarah,” or Bloody May of 1998, when Indonesians of Chinese descent faced mass killings and rape and the Indonesian government washed its hands of mass violence. Dadolin Murak’s poem, published in Indonesian as part of the proliferating “Facebook literature”… More A Bloody May – poetry by Dadolin Murak

Chega! for Us: Socializing a Living Document

May 19, 2019

By Maria Manuela Leong Pereira The Asosiasaun Chega! Ba Ita (ACbit, the “Chega! for Us” Association) aims to promote the values and principles that underlie the work of the Commission for Reception, Truth and Friendship (CAVR), including human rights, justice and reconciliation. We are committed to bringing the lessons of the past to guide our… More Chega! for Us: Socializing a Living Document

“Politika Taka Malu,” Censorship, and Silencing: Virtuosos of Clandestinity in Timor-Leste

April 30, 2019

By Jacqueline Aquino Siapno Excerpted from Flowers in the Wall This chapter explores the paradox of being asked to examine “the truth” when the methods used during the clandestine period were to have no history of records (i.e., leave no trace behind)—a negation of the work of historians and historiography (while keeping in mind the… More “Politika Taka Malu,” Censorship, and Silencing: Virtuosos of Clandestinity in Timor-Leste

Memorializing Dili, Timor-Leste

November 12, 2018

The right to food; the right to health. Images of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as it gets ready to turn 70. Centro Nacional Chega, the Timor-Leste centre for truth & reconciliation, Dili, Timor-Leste. pic.twitter.com/sYhjUeKHBE — David Webster (@dwebsterbu) October 30, 2018 Instead of mega-monuments glorifying the past, a photo exhibit explains a complex… More Memorializing Dili, Timor-Leste

Now in Open Access: Flowers in the Wall

January 24, 2018

Flowers in the Wall: Truth and Reconciliation in Timor-Leste, Indonesia and Melanesia is now available for free Open Access download, thanks to University of Calgary Press. Click to access downloadable pdf version What is the experience of truth and reconciliation? What is the purpose of a truth commission? What lessons can be learned from established truth and… More Now in Open Access: Flowers in the Wall