Abstract
The reified essence of evil in the very being of their bodies, these figures of the Jew, the black, the Indian, and the woman herself, are clearly objects of cultural construction, the leaden keel of evil and of mystery stabilising the ship and course that is Western history. Reparations are the things done or given as an attempt to deal with the consequences of political violence. In line with the approach taken in this volume, and drawing on previous work, we understand reparations in the narrow sense, that is, to refer to “the attempts to provide benefits directly to the victims of certain types of crimes.” This narrow definition of reparations does not include broader strategies such as institutional reform or truth-telling, but it fits neatly with the understanding of reparations as acts or objects, as things done or given. This chapter is concerned mainly with what are termed symbolic reparations insofar as they are granted under the auspices of a massive reparations program. Symbolic reparations may include, for instance, official apologies, the change of names of public spaces, the establishment of days of commemoration, and the creation of museums and parks dedicated to the memory of victims, among others. Naomi Roht-Arriaza refers to these as moral reparations and would include, in addition to the above, assistance in reburials and appropriate rituals, finding missing bodies, and converting of repressive sites into museums. Symbolic reparations are, of course, only one component of a comprehensive reparations program.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | The Gender of Reparations |
Subtitle of host publication | Unsettling Sexual Hierarchies while Redressing Human Rights Violations |
Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
Pages | 324-380 |
Number of pages | 57 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9780511596711 |
ISBN (Print) | 9780521517928 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2009 |
Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Social Sciences