Le projet intitulé « Latino Canadians and the legacy of human rights violations in Latin America / La mémoire des droits humains chez les Latino-américains du Canada » est dirigé par Victor Armony et Bernard Duhaime. Ce projet s’inscrit dans l’Axe II du LIELA: Le chantier de recherche sur la « latino-américanité » en mouvement.
Voici la description sommaire (en anglais) du projet, soutenu par une subvention du programme de Leadership communautaire de Fulbright Canada :
The main goal of this project is to foster a conversation about the legacy of human rights violations and crimes against humanity in Latin America, particularly as part of a collective memory shared by many Canadians of Latin American heritage. The Latin American population in Canada is rapidly growing and integrating into the larger society. Compared to Hispanics in the United States, Canada’s Latinos constitute a much smaller, recent and diverse minority, one that as yet has not developed a full sense of community. However, there are some elements that point to an emerging common identity among Canadian Latin Americans, which are in part related to a shared experience of “low-intensity citizenship” and “incomplete democracy” in their countries of origin. In order to explore how the (personal or transmitted) memory of injustices committed by Latin American governments brings together individuals of different backgrounds, allows them to discuss their lasting effects, and also encourages them to formulate their idea of what a fully realized citizenship means, we will convene a series of workshops featuring witness accounts (from refugees and asylum seekers), talks by human rights advocates, and groups of older and younger Latino Canadians.
Le premier atelier a eu lieu le 12 mars 2015: « Beyond Borders: Latin Americans in Canada and the Legacies of Human Rights Struggles », University of Manitoba, Winnipeg.