History, the one whose charm seemed to inexplicably get lost in school classrooms, has a hero capable of rescuing it from dusty shelves and oblivion in ‘Los podcast de Diana Uribe’, produced by Señal Memoria, the RTVC strategy that safeguards and disseminates the archive of public radio and television in Colombia.
Throughout 13 chapters, the series will talk about some of the most important peace processes that have taken place in the world, among them, of course, those in Colombia. They will be heard every Sunday, at 10:00 am, through the frequencies of Radio Nacional de Colombia, and at the end of each chapter they will be available at www.rtvcplay.co.
Around the subject that she is most passionate about, the historian and philosopher will show that peace, coexistence, solidarity and the sense of caring for others have also been a fundamental part of human history, on a journey through geographies, times and characters.
“Peace processes and forgiveness are important because they are a condition for the viability of a people. Peoples have to reach consensus, be able to find other ways to process their differences, reach a moment in which they can overcome their differences in a non-violent way and reconcile based on common points, in order to develop and not stay bogged down in the conflict”, says Diana Uribe.
Inspirational processes
Each meeting with Diana Uribe is like traveling back in time to scrutinize the reasons and social phenomena that gave rise to great historical episodes and, on this occasion, to peace processes such as that of Rwanda, a country that decided for forgiveness before than revenge after a genocide of 850 thousand people murdered with machetes, out of a population of 13 million inhabitants.
“The proportion of that is unimaginable. But they decided that if they took revenge on the Hutu, the perpetrators of the massacre on the Tutsi population, the country would come to an end. If they continued the bloodbath, the world would go on without them and they would be left behind in history.” It all ended in a gigantic forgiveness process in which they exchanged weapons for computers and became entrepreneurs. “And it’s not that they don’t have problems right now, of course they do, but they have the historical conditions to overcome them,” says the expert.
Or stories of peace and reconciliation like that of South Africa, where from the release of Nelson Mandela to the creation of the vision of ‘The Rainbow Country’ and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, there was another chapter in a nation whose size and diversity, Diana describes in one sentence: “It is a country that has penguins and lions, to get an idea of its enormous geography.”
In addition, having 11 official languages made media such as radio in South Africa key to moving all these concepts and the work of the commission. This is why it highlights initiatives such as the creation of the Peace Stations in Colombia, because they are the voice of the territories that, in a conflict like the Colombian one, suffer the greatest impact in areas far from the capital and large cities. .
“Colombia is a radial country, orality has been our most important cultural feature. The radio has gone through all the difficulties of our geography and has been the greatest reference in many generations, so the way in which it supports and builds peace generates new references for the country. It is what creates the emotional tone, the ability of people to feel involved in a great process of change such as peace”.
From activism to music
In her stories, Diana Uribe will speak of reconciliation reflected in actions such as Mandela’s when he said “I renounce revenge”, acknowledging that he needed everyone to create the ‘Rainbow Nation’ project, because he assures that retaliation only prolongs conflicts and is an obstacle for peoples to develop.
The historian is convinced that all viability conditions are mediated by a point of peace and reconciliation so that the new generations have the opportunity to flourish, grow, contribute, create “and do not have to defend themselves from conflicts that have lasted over time.”
The doors of this new season of Diana Uribe’s podcast, stories of peace and reconciliation, will open with an introduction to what peace is, what it is based on, and activism in its favor through great movements and leaders, such as Gandhi. and the peaceful resistance, which will be in the second episode, to give way in the third to the fight for the civil rights of Martin Luther King.
It will continue with the anti-nuclear movement and the symbol of Peace in England, the Vietnam War and the international search for peace, South Africa and the end of apartheid, Northern Ireland and the Good Friday agreement, Liberia and women for peace. , Central America, Rwanda and Colombia and their stories of peace in two chapters.
It will end with the music that made peace its main motive and translated that yearning of humanity into notes and lyrics, because as Diana Uribe comments “soundtracks have been present in the US, in the antiwar movement to stop the Vietnam War , at the Woodstock festival and in songs like Gives Peace a Chance!, by John Lennon. Especially during the counterculture, because the stories were much longer sung than told, the soundtrack of the entire antiwar movement is the folk and rock of that time in the United States, the whole world sang against the Vietnam war.
And so, the historian will tell about Northern Ireland and the U2 group, talking about a generation that did not want to inherit the legacy of hatred that passed from generation to generation; also from Like a song, from the album War, which talks about the fact that they no longer even know why that war is being fought; or Sunday bloody Sunday, where Bono says that nobody is winning in this permanent eruption of violence. “U2 are going to be instrumental in changing the outlook in Ireland towards a peace process.”
Diana Uribe’s podcasts, stories of peace and reconciliation, will take a look at music in South Africa, in the voice of artists such as Miriam Makeba and Hugh Masekela who told what was happening in apartheid and the need to transform that reality. “The soundtrack has always been one of the most powerful, most important and influential elements in peace processes. Music generates awareness, because it also processes emotions, ”she adds.
Documents and testimonies from the podcast are possible thanks to archives such as Señal Memoria, which Diana Uribe highlights, because for her they are undoubtedly places for the preservation of memory and peace that keep evidence, facts, testimonies, analysis and material, which It is not the only one, but it is absolutely key to supporting a peace process. Being places where memory is cultivated, they allow us to know where we come from, what has happened, what we are going to change or what we have tried and what has worked in the past.
“Memory is the basis on which we build the process, one of the raw materials for building peace and reconciliation, because it gives us the starting point, the ground, and the support for the process,” concludes the content creator. .
Source: RTVC – Public Media System