The Political Exile as a Potential Agent of Change for the Present and Future of Society:The Experience of the National Movement of Victims of State Crimes in Colombia (MOVICE) in Madrid

Abstract

This work explores the phenomenon of political exile as a potential agent of positive change in the present and the future of society. Here I discuss the role exiles can have in the recovery of the collective memory of the victims of the armed political conflict in Colombia and their contribution to the building of a more just and peaceful future for society. This study is informed by a reading of the historical, socio-political and cultural context in which the phenomenon of forced migration takes place in Colombia and analyzes political exile as a specific category of analysis of that type of migration. The study proposes to build a dialogue between the narratives of 'expert knowledge' (by discussing a typology of forced migration and a political exile phenomenology from sociological and political perspectives) and the narratives that emerge from the experiences of exiled people by conducting participatory research techniques (focus groups) with members of the National Movement of Victims of State Crimes in Colombia (MOVICE) who are exiled in the city of Madrid (Spain). This study aims to support the work of MOVICE/Madrid in their task of building strategies against impunity for State violence in Colombia and supports the process of building a social exile movement as an active agent of civil society committed to developing initiatives for peace and reconciliation in Colombia. This study is also proposed as a contribution from the author and the participants to support the development of strategies for the return of exiles to Colombia, to inform the design of mechanisms that allow exiles to claim their rights to establish the truth and the restoration of justice, and to help sustain the demands of reparations for the (exiled) victims of State violence in Colombia in the hope that crimes committed in the conflict never recur.

Date of Award	1 Aug 2014
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	The University of Manchester
Supervisor	Chris Perriam (Supervisor) & Peter Wade (Supervisor)