Counting the Dead: The Culture and Politics of Human Rights Activism in Colombia (California Series in Public Anthropology) PDF
Preview Counting the Dead: The Culture and Politics of Human Rights Activism in Colombia (California Series in Public Anthropology)
Counting the Dead CALIFORNIA SERIES IN PUBLIC ANTHROPOLOGY Series Editor: Robert Borofsky (Hawaii Pacific University) Contributing Editors: Philippe Bourgois (University of Pennsylvania), Paul Farmer (Partners in Health), Alex Hinton (Rutgers University), Carolyn Nordstrom (University of Notre Dame), and Nancy Scheper-Hughes (U.C. Berkeley) University of California Press Editor: Naomi Schneider Counting the Dead The Culture and Politics of Human Rights Activism in Colombia Winifred Tate UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS Berkeley . Los Angeles . London University of California Press, one of the most distinguished university presses in the United States, enriches lives around the world by advancing scholar- ship in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its activities are supported by the UC Press Foundation and by philanthropic contributions from individuals and institutions. For more information, visit www.ucpress.edu. University of California Press Berkeley and Los Angeles, California University of California Press, Ltd. London, England © 2007 by The Regents of the University of California Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Tate, Winifred, 1970–. Counting the dead : the culture and politics of human rights activism in Colombia / Winifred Tate. p. cm. (California series in public anthropology ; 18) Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn: 978-0-520-25282-o (cloth : alk. paper) isbn: 978-0-520-25283-7 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Human rights advocacy—Colombia. 2. Political persecution—Colombia. 3. Colombia—Politics and Government—1974. 4. Colombia—Social conditions—1970. I. Title. JC599.c7t38 2007 323.09861—dc22 2007015639 Manufactured in the United States of America 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 This book is printed on New Leaf EcoBook 50, a 100% recycled fiber of which 50% is de-inked post-consumer waste, processed chlorine-free. EcoBook 50 is acid-free and meets the minimum requirements of ansi/astm d5634–01 (Permanence of Paper). For the many Colombian human rights defenders and their colleagues around the world who generously shared their reflections, hopes, and fears with me And for Beatrice Contents Acknowledgments ix Abbreviations xiii Map of Colombia xvii Introduction 1 1. Colombia: Mapping the Eternal Crisis 31 2. Solidarity with Our Class Brothers: The First Wave of Colombian Human Rights Activism 72 3. The Production of Human Rights Knowledge and the Practice of Politics 107 4. The Emotional Politics of Activism in the 1990s 146 5. The Global Imaginaries of Colombian Activists at the United Nations and Beyond 175 6. State Activism and the Production of Impunity 215 7. Human Rights and the Colombian Military’s War Stories 256 Conclusion: The Politics of Human Rights Knowledge 290 Notes 307 Selected Bibliography 345 Index 371 Acknowledgments Many more people than I can name here deserve my thanks and grati- tude as they have accompanied me in research, reflection, and activism over the past eighteen years. First, I could not have written this book without the support and intellectual prodding of the New York University Department of Anthro- pology, especially my adviser, Tom Abercrombie. Fred Myers, Margaret McLagan, Michael Taussig, and Sally Engle Merry provided critical comments. I was fortunate to find a writing group on my return from the field: many thanks to Jessica Cattelino, Omri Elisha, Ayse Parla, Elizabeth Smith, and especially Julie Chu, who offered support and com- ments until the bitter end. Leo Hsu has been a long-standing support in matters existential, intellectual, and technical. My colleagues at the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University provided an intellectual home during my fellowship in the Politics, Culture, and Identity Program. Among the many Brown colleagues who deserve my thanks are Peter Andreas, Keith Brown, James Der Derian, Cathy Lutz, Simone Pulver, and particularly Kay Warren. I have also benefited from thoughtful comments following public presentations of pieces of this work at the Watson Institute faculty seminar, the Pembroke Center at Brown University, the Anthropology of Media Lecture Series at Wellesley College, and the Department of Anthropology at the University of Texas at Austin. Ramiza Koya offered thoughtful comments on many drafts, as well as many hours of conversation and reflection; I have been fortunate ix
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