The book created by AMA y No Olvida, Museum of Memory against Impunity in collaboration with the Association Mothers of April (AMA) arises with the aim of denouncing the crimes against humanity committed by the State of Nicaragua against the population that protested in 2018 in opposition to the government of President Daniel Ortega and the Vice President Rosario Murillo. This piece aims to dignify the memory of the victims, to be a contribution to the defense of human rights, the reconstruction of the rule of law and the search for Transitional Justice in Nicaragua.
The book collects around 100 stories of victims murdered by the regime, told through the voices of their families, members of the victims’ organization Association Mothers of April (AMA). It also includes an Augmented Reality component that, through the reading of QR codes on mobile devices, allows access to the testimonies of families on video, maps about the events and virtual altars that hold memory objects of the victims in 3D. Users will be able to see the books, trophies, study materials and resistance of the victims that portray their interests, dreams and ties with their communities.
As the possibility of public acts of protest and mourning have been extinguished by government forces in Nicaragua. We create spaces for our victims to be present. The components and various digital formats of this project allow the stories of the victims to travel beyond their homes and their families and achieve, despite the de facto state of exception that prevails in Nicaragua, transform any public and private space in a site of collective memory.
Our effort shows that the victims were not nameless criminals, as the Nicaraguan dictatorship portrays them. They were citizens, young students, workers, engineers, journalists, artists, artisans, peasants, producers, parents and children defending the freedom of their families and communities!
About AMA y No Olvida, Memory Museum Against Impunity
“AMA y No Olvida”, Museum of Memory against Impunity was built to dignify the victims of state violence in Nicaragua and honor their memory. The museum counters the official narrative that criminalizes citizens who participated in civic protests and the climate of impunity fostered by the Nicaraguan government. The project was created under brutal repression, using collective and participatory art and design methods, with a combination of social research and pedagogical and community actions in underground conditions.
About Mothers of April Association (AMA)
In 2018, the State of Nicaragua committed crimes against humanity against the civilian population, denied their responsibilities, criminalized and re-victimized the victims and their families, denying them the right to memory. The brutal repression unleashed by the regime left 328 people murdered between April 18 and October 5, 2018, according to data from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) based on the documentation of the complaints presented by relatives of the victims. The Mothers of April Association (AMA) is made up of relatives of the victims who organized with the aim of fighting for truth, justice, comprehensive reparation and guarantees of non-repetition. Three years after the acts of repression, they continue to fight for these principles.
Subversive Research 