In an exercise of memory and commitment to human rights, the School of Law and Political Science of the Universidad Industrial de Santander (UIS) held the seminar “La Escombrera de Medellín. From the pain of searching to the pain of finding”, a space for analysis on forced disappearance in Colombia. The event brought together human rights experts, teachers, university and high school students, with the purpose of raising awareness about one of the most painful crimes that has marked the history of the country.
The event was attended by Luz Marina Monzón Cifuentes, UIS professor and co-director of the Reiniciar Corporation, who stressed the importance of making these issues part of the academic agenda. “It is essential for the university to promote reflection on forced disappearance, so that students understand its impact and take an active role in the defense of human rights,” said Monzón. He also stressed the need to strengthen legal training on these issues, since knowledge is the best tool to prevent the repetition of these crimes.
For Zaid Alfredo Pérez Salazar, a student in the Master’s program in Human Rights, bringing these debates to the academy is a way to connect history with the present. “Today in Bucaramanga we have our own rubbish dump, the one in the Palonegro airport sector, where there is also evidence of disappearances and violence. Understanding these cases not only allows us to analyze what happened in Medellín, but also to confront the realities of our own territory,” he said. His call was clear: students must get involved in the construction of memory and justice, without being oblivious to the problems that affect society.
For his part, the coordinator of the Master’s Degree in Human Rights, René Álvarez Orozco, emphasized that this space for dialogue responds to the mission of the UIS to open the doors of knowledge to the entire community. “This is not only a problem of the past, but a reality that is still in force in many regions of the country. The academy has the responsibility to investigate, question and propose solutions. Memory is the first step towards justice,” said Alvarez Orozco.
More than a conversation, this day became an act of resistance in the face of oblivion. The UIS, through its commitment to education and historical memory, reaffirms its role in the formation of critical and supportive citizens, capable of transforming society through understanding and action. Enforced disappearance is an open wound in the history of Colombia, but spaces like this show that the search for truth and justice is a road that cannot be traveled alone.
