TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2021//
TI  - The role of memory practices in building spiritual solidarity for survivors of state violence
JO  - American journal of community psychology
A1  - Escobar, Jenny
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - This article examines memory as a tool for transnational solidarity that is grounded in spiritual connection with those who have been disappeared or killed by state actors in Colombia. Remembering is one of the ways people come together to push against mechanisms of state violence that render survivors as invisible. By interviewing 15 survivors of state violence in Colombia, this study shows how memory is a life force transmitting agency while simultaneously keeping survivors' memory alive through a network of spiritual solidarity. In this ethnographic research, I ask: How can memory, grounded in spiritual connection, be a form of transnational solidarity and a tool for healing and social justice? The findings offer a powerful definition of spiritual solidarity and show how it is done through memory practices by (1) using memory symbols in everyday actions to connect to loved ones, (2) keeping the memories of loved ones alive by "seeing" them in others and in their surroundings, (3) creating spaces for others to build a spiritual relationship with their own loved ones, and (4) making memory work life's purpose. This article concludes with a set of recommendations for how to conduct community psychology research in service of social justice movements.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0091-0562
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12570
ID  - ref1
ER  -