Open wounds: Further proof that the detained-disappeared existed in this world

Abstract

This theoretical and ethnographic paper examines how the finding of accurate reports about what happened to the detained-disappeared supports the psychological stability of the families of the missing. Drawing on a number of Winnicott's theories (the transitional object, transitional phenomena, and a sense of aliveness), alongside my field research in Chile, I will consider how the absence of a corpse, a death without ritual, and a mourning process without cultural support has affected the families of the detained-disappeared. Furthermore, I will contemplate how receiving an accurate report of events has helped families to come to terms with their loss. I hypothesize that texts can have the function of a transitional object in the process of recognizing the death of loved one. If the truth can be substituted by the written word, the void left by the disappearance has the chance to be filled. In this study, fieldwork was conducted at the Association of Families of the Detained-Disappeared in Santiago, through which 52 families were interviewed. Research was also undertaken in Parral where the German colony Colonia Dignidad has had a strong influence on the community since its creation in 1961 to the present day.