Commentary: Archives and the Wind of Madness

Some daCys a mighty wave of dread washes up. I’m not alone in the feeling, it seems: in his 4 February press conference, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, “I have spoken recently about winds of hope. But today a wind of madness is sweeping the globe.” He was talking, of course, about the realm of peace and security, but the unpredictable instability affects archives and archivists, too. Here are some of the current situations where archivists are in danger or where archives are in danger or both.

A case where both archives and archivists are in danger is in Lebanon. UMAM Documentation & Research, a nongovernmental organization in Lebanon, holds materials relating to the 1975-1990 civil war, including the missing persons from it, as well as significant cultural records (newspapers, film, business records and personal papers). During the recent civil unrest and due to UMAM D&R’s overt political stands in favor of the popular protests, anti-protest rioters broke into the compound where UMAM D&R is located in Beirut’s southern suburb. They were restrained by the intervention of local people and persuaded not to damage the building and its contents. Threats have been made against the UMAM founders. (Personal communication)

Archivists are also in personal danger. In Chile Alajandra Araya, the director of the archives at the University of Chile (Archivo Central Andres Bello), a history professor, and a member of the human rights group at the university, is being prosecuted as an “accomplice of disruption and burglary” at the public school Liceo 7 Teresa Prats in Santiago. As part of the ongoing social revolt that started in Chile in October, students were occupying the school (a “toma”). Araya went to the school on 5 November to mediate, but during the event the police, acting with the authorization of the director of the school and the municipal authorities, entered, shooting. See below the declaration of solidarity with Professor Araya. Thanks to Valentina Rojas for the information. Declaración de solidaridad con la académica Alejandra Araya, profesora de la Cátedra de Derechos Humanos, Universidad de Chile; https://www.latercera.com/la-tercera-pm/noticia/acab-la-sigla-la-polemica-una-escuela-autodefensa-archivo-andres-bello-la-u-chile/974746/ ; https://ecoledeschartes.tumblr.com/post/190494197307/archives-archivistes-et-crise-au-chili-quelques 

In Guatemala, as reported in SAHR News 2019-11, former national archivist Anna Carla Ericastilla and former police archives head Gustavo Meono are both under pressure. Currently, Ericastilla is asking a labor tribunal to order compensation for her unjustified dismissal from the archives; in a separate action, a hearing on her request for dismissal of the criminal complaint against her was held in November, but a decision has not been made. (Personal communication)  

Also in Guatemala there is a hovering danger to personnel who worked for the former UN-sponsored International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG). A legislative commission issued a 17-page report saying CICIG had violated rights and exceeded its mandate to investigate. The commission president called CICIG staff members “criminals.” UN Secretary-General Guterres responded with a statement saying both CICIG and the Guatemalan justice sector officials who worked with it “contributed to the eradication of corruption and impunity.” He urged the Guatemalan authorities to protect the safety of former staff members of CICIG, which would include those who worked on managing the documentation of crimes. Fortunately, a digital copy of the CICIG records is in the United Nations Archives in New York. https://www.prensalibre.com/guatemala/politica/informe-de-comision-pide-que-el-mp-gestione-ordenes-de-captura/ ; https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2020-01-10/statement-the-spokesman-for-the-secretary-general-efforts-support-the-fight-against-impunity-guatemala-scroll-down-for-spanish

Then there are archives in danger. In Quito, Ecuador, the building housing the archaeological and art collections, the library and photographic collections of the Ministry of Culture was declared at risk of collapse. Plans were already drafted for a new facility in the outskirts of the city, but a broad coalition of groups demand that the government promptly transfer the materials to another building in the center of Quito. Thanks to Antoon De Baets for the information. https://www.elcomercio.com/opinion/patrimonio-peligro-opinion-columna-columnista.html

There are the unknown, uncertain dangers to archives, too. The Mission to Support the Fight against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (MACCIH) ended on 19 January, as the Organization of American States, which had supported the program, was unable to reach agreement with the government for its renewal. The OAS issued a statement saying that together with the Attorney General’s Office, the activities of MACCIH resulted in the prosecution of 133 people in 14 cases and “above all, in strengthening national capacities to combat corruption and impunity.” However, the fate of the sensitive records of MACCIH was not specified.   https://www.oas.org/en/media_center/press_release.asp?sCodigo=E-003/20

Similarly, in Sri Lanka new president Gotabaya Rajapaska explained that “missing persons are actually dead” and that “after the necessary investigations” the families of missing persons will be given a death certificate. In 2015 a temporary presidential commission on the missing said it had received 23,568 submissions, including approximately 5,000 from families of security forces personnel. An Office of Missing Persons was established in 2018 to investigate the disappeared; with the arbitrary issuance of death certificates, what will happen to the Office and its records is not clear.  https://www.presidentsoffice.gov.lk/index.php/2020/01/17/un-resident-coordinator-delighted-with-presidents-sustainable-development-programs/?lang=en; http://nirmin.gov.lk/web/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=127:office-on-missing-persons-omp&catid=9:projects&lang=en&Itemid=208; https://www.icj.org/sri-lanka-presidents-remarks-on-missing-persons-are-an-affront-to-victims/  

So what are we to make of this wind? Does it reflect a growing understanding by political elites that archives have power? Or does it simply reflect the international zeitgeist, the authoritarianism that seems to be increasing? Whatever it is, we cannot simply shake our heads and move on: our colleagues, their archives and their institutions need support.