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Papers by Maria Fernanda Olarte-Sierra

ecancer, 2021

In mid-2020, a call was made to oncology nurses in the Global South to share their experiences ma... more In mid-2020, a call was made to oncology nurses in the Global South to share their experiences managing patient care during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Eighteen submissions were received from 16 countries across Latin America, Africa, Europe and Asia. Three were research-based and 15 were personal narratives on the psychosocial impact of COVID-19 on the nurses, colleagues, patients and families. Three narratives were from oncology nurses working with cancer-related non-governmental organisations locally or, in one case, internationally. A simultaneous literature search for publications (including grey literature) was performed to identify themes of COVID-19's impact in these 16 countries and specifically on oncology nurses and patients/families. Four themes were identified: a) interruptions to care; b) support/resource shortages; c) psychosocial impact on nurses and patients and d) staffing and nursing role impacts. The three research-based studies describe oncology nursing in-depth efforts to explore the impact of COVID-19. Findings in the 15 narratives are briefly presented according to the four themes identified in the literature. Due to the severe shortage of physician adult and paediatric oncology specialists, oncology nurses in the Global South often shoulder much of the care for patients with cancer and even more so during COVID-19 with attendant oncology nursing shortages due to reassignment to COVID-19 units. It is important to hear from these critical members of the oncology nursing workforce who often lack the time, resources or training to publish in peer-reviewed journals in English, particularly in the middle of a pandemic. Giving voice to these nurses documents the reality of their work and ability to continue to provide care despite the chaos and rapidly changing guidelines and government action. Lessons learned by these nurses to improve mental health and psychosocial support of the nurses as well as their patients/families will be essential for the next global pandemic.

Ecancermedicalscience, Nov 8, 2023

Climate change is impacting the lives of millions around the world and exacerbating existing chal... more Climate change is impacting the lives of millions around the world and exacerbating existing challenges in healthcare globally. Although Africa contributes only 2%-3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, it suffers a disproportionate share of the environmental impact. High-income countries dominate the global discourse on climate change, while their continued utilisation of extractive policies exacerbates climate hazards and impacts economies in regions not responsible for the damage. Cancer is on the rise and constitutes a significant public health burden in low-and middle-income countries, yet little is known about the impact of climate change on oncology nursing on the African continent. To address the ways that climate change is exacerbating existing challenges and adding new difficulties for oncology care, it is essential that the expertise of professionals working in settings that are most impacted by the threats of climate change is amplified if climate crisis risks are to be effectively mitigated. Seven African oncology nurses from across sub-Saharan Africa were reflexively interviewed by voice over internet protocol (VOIP) in English to learn about their understanding of climate change and experiences with its impact on nursing care. Using a conceptual framework to map the impact of climate change on health and considering the vulnerability and social capacity of patients with cancer, our findings show how existing challenges to oncology nursing care are exacerbated by climate change on the continent. Food insecurity, national economic dependency on the agricultural sector, economic inequality, social vulnerability and isolation, transportation challenges, and the immunocompromised status of patients with cancer are all key concerns for oncology nurses in this context. We also present the nurses' specific recommendations for governments, hospital authorities, and oncology nurses regarding climate change mitigation, adaptation, and event response strategies. With this work, we aim to lay a foundation for further investigation and action to mitigate the oncoming challenges of climate disaster for oncology nurses across sub-Saharan Africa and the patients and families they care for.

JCO global oncology, Nov 1, 2020

PURPOSE Parent engagement in childhood cancer treatment is central for positive outcomes. Aspects... more PURPOSE Parent engagement in childhood cancer treatment is central for positive outcomes. Aspects of fruitful engagement have been described mainly in high-income countries (HICs) where family autonomy is valued, health care provider-patient relationships are less hierarchical, and active family participation in health care is welcomed. In many low-and middle-income countries (LMICs), these aspects are not always valued or encouraged. We explored childhood cancer treatment engagement in Latin America as part of a larger engagement study in 10 LMICs worldwide. METHODS A qualitative investigation was conducted with parents (with the exception of one grandmother and two aunts in loco parentis; n = 21) of children with cancer in El Salvador, Peru, and Mexico. Participants were recruited by two Childhood Cancer International foundations and two local hospitals. A pediatric oncology psychologist and a medical anthropologist (experienced, native Latin Americans researchers) conducted focusgroup discussions and in-depth interviews that were recorded and transcribed, and analyzed data. RESULTS Parents in the three countries actively engage in their child's treatment, despite challenges of communicating effectively with health care staff. Hierarchical health care provider relationships and generalized socioeconomic disparities and cultural diversity with health care staff notwithstanding, parents find ways to navigate cancer treatment by exerting their agency and exploiting resources they have at hand. CONCLUSION In Latin America, engagement materializes in ways that are not necessarily reflected in existing literature from HICs and, thus, engagement may seem nonexistent. Health care teams' recognition of parents' substantial sacrifices to adhere to complex demands as treatment engagement, may positively impact the children's (and family's) quality of life, treatment experience, adherence, and posttreatment circumstances.

Social Anthropology, Sep 1, 2022

In 2005, Colombia enacted the Justice and Peace Law, which was a transitional framework for addre... more In 2005, Colombia enacted the Justice and Peace Law, which was a transitional framework for addressing the legal status of demobilised members of the paramilitary group Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia [United Self-Defence of Colombia] and other armed groups. In exchange for providing intelligence on the whereabouts of the bodies of people these groups had kidnapped and killed, prison sentences could be reduced. Forensic experts from the Attorney General's Offi ce were in charge of exhuming and identifying the bodies, placing them centre-stage as a source of scientifi c evidence, testimony and authority based on their presumed objectivity and non-prejudicial approach. However, forensic knowledge, like all knowledge, is situated, partial and performative. Here, I attend to the eff ects of forensic knowledge on victims' right to truth, memory practices and the administration of justice under the Justice and Peace Law. I argue that forensic knowledge co-produces confl ict by producing victims and perpetrators whose identities and stories can be at odds with other accounts of the violence that occurred.

DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals), Oct 1, 2021

Enrique (2021). «De guerrilleros a víctimas; de héroes a perpetradores: movimientos y relaciones ... more Enrique (2021). «De guerrilleros a víctimas; de héroes a perpetradores: movimientos y relaciones del conflicto armado colombiano y la práctica de identificación e investigación forense en el caso de los Falsos Positivos».

Routledge eBooks, Dec 6, 2022

Cancer Reports, 2021

BackgroundOver the last decade, the population of childhood cancer survivors has rapidly increase... more BackgroundOver the last decade, the population of childhood cancer survivors has rapidly increased in Latin America, opening a long chapter of challenges for healthcare providers in these countries to provide follow‐up and adult care.AimIn the process of exploring childhood cancer parent and patient engagement in resource‐limited settings, we highlight the challenges faced by Latin American survivors from El Salvador, Mexico, and Peru as they transitioned from receiving cancer treatment to life as a cancer survivors.Methods and ResultsFocus group discussions and interviews were performed as part of a larger qualitative study involving 10 low and middle‐income countries in four continents regarding patient and caregiver engagement in childhood cancer treatment. We present the results of the Latin‐American survivors and their experiences finishing treatment and life outside the pediatric oncology follow‐up system. Themes regarding a) losing eligibility for pediatric surveillance and c...

Antípoda: Revista de Antropología y Arqueología, 2023

LATIN AMERICA<br> Author Olarte-Sierra's interviews with two paediatric oncology nurses... more LATIN AMERICA<br> Author Olarte-Sierra's interviews with two paediatric oncology nurses and one adult oncology nurse detail their experiences with COVID-19 in Perú, El Salvador, and Mexico, respectively. The nurses speak about the donations from local NGOs they received to address resource shortages. However, the author notes, "What was apparent from these nurses' experiences was the heaviest weight that COVID-19 has brought has been a redefinition of what care and caring are and what this implies for oncology nurses—which is not necessarily for the better." All three nurses talk about the loss of normal expressions of social affection with their families and their patients and the suffering they endure about this.<br> -----------<br> Ecancer Special Issue, December 2021 Oncology nursing and the psychosocial impact of COVID-19 in the Global South Supplement

ADN, protagonista inesperado: promesas y realidades de la investigación genética ante nuestra crisis forense, 2022

Invisible Labour in Modern Science, 2022

Law, Practice and Politics of Forensic DNA Profiling, 2022

Due to its scientific basis, forensic knowledge is regarded as truth telling and has evidence sta... more Due to its scientific basis, forensic knowledge is regarded as truth telling and has evidence status in court. However, forensic experts’ knowledge (like any other form of knowledge) is situated and partial. Those who produce it are placed in specific moments in history, inhabit particular geopolitical positions and can account for only the specific context in which they occur. In this chapter, we look at how forensic knowledge practices must be seen and understood as coordinated technolegal practices that sustain particular technolegal worlds in the context of the Colombian armed conflict that enacts specific kinds of victims. That is, we argue that to contribute to richer forms of victim reparation, inclusive memory practices and transparent (transitional) justice processes, forensic knowledge practices can be seen as coordinated practices which help in restoring victims’ identity and personhood. This approach has the potential to contribute to the enactment of richer and wider understandings and nuances of the Colombian armed conflict. The kind of forensic knowledge that we engage with is the one that belongs to and is produced in the framework of the criminal justice system.

TRAJECTORIA, 2023

In this audio-visual essay, I explore Colombian forensic experts’ embodied knowledge of the armed... more In this audio-visual essay, I explore Colombian forensic experts’ embodied knowledge of the armed conflict, specifically about how it is accounted for and produced from and by their work. I argue that forensic experts’ embodied knowledge provides information not only on victim identification and the nuances of violence but also produces geographies of terror that materialize the overarching effect of protracted violence on a given territory and its people. I do so through their stories and their voices, and show that due to the magnitude of the armed conflict and the fact that it has spread all over the country, forensic experts have an extensive understanding of both the country’s geography and the dynamics of violence. This experience produces a version of the relationship between the two, which is marked and informed by forensic experts’ embodied experience of searching for and exhuming victims. However, from their experiences of dealing with the horrors of war, it also becomes evident that practices of reconciliation occur amidst the protracted violence and that they take place through, around, and with forensic practice.
I develop my argument in three steps: First, I focus on forensic experts’ experiences and enactments of Colombia as a country marked by violence, and how geography and violence have melded and as a result have produced geography that cannot be separated from the violence that it has endured. Second, I address the effect forensic experts’ work has on their bodies, which carry the inscriptions of the war in physical and emotional ways. Third, I focus on experiences, stories, and knowledge become sites of hope that make evident their role as actors.
Each step is accompanied by animated illustrations and sound–films. These contribute to and complement the narrative through the combination of forensic experts’ voices and illustrations of their main messages. The films are to be played and listened to where indicated in the text as they are counterparts to the stories and allow for silence and other voices (that are not mine) to be present simultaneously. In this sense, not all conclusions or statements are written. Instead, I open the space up to provide room for reflection, speculation, and imagination to be part of the experience of this piece. To do so, and to be able to attend to forensic experts’ experiences, we (the readers and I) must engage with their stories, listen to them, and take them seriously.

Antípoda. Revista de Antropología y Arqueología

Resumen: ya tenemos cuarenta años de experiencia en América Latina en la aplicación de la antropo... more Resumen: ya tenemos cuarenta años de experiencia en América Latina en la aplicación de la antropología y la arqueología forense para la búsqueda de personas desaparecidas e investigaciones de violaciones graves de derechos humanos y del derecho humanitario internacional. A pesar de esta larga trayectoria de trabajo muy importante, lxs protagonistas más impactantes del meta-análisis en la literatura del trabajo forense y su impacto en los últimos años no han sido lxs científicxs forenses mismxs, sino lxs científicxs sociales. Este artículo introduce el dosier “Prácticas forenses y violencia en masa: perspectivas contemporáneas y retos investigativos”, un trabajo que une a lxs practicantes —incluidxs familiares de lxs desparecidxs— con investigadorxs académicxs, rompiendo una división estructural, social y artificial. Esta fuerza unida entre académicxs y practicantes refleja mejor el trabajo en su totalidad que incluye y resalta las metas no solo de búsqueda, recuperación, análisis e identificación, sino también de restitución y entrega. Esta introducción enfatiza los debates que están ausentes en muchas de las revistas científicas-forenses: el impacto de la política sobre las investigaciones y el producto político de las investigaciones. Asimismo, recalca las discusiones aún presentes sobre cuestiones de objetividad, neutralidad y el valor de un abordaje que involucra o es dirigido por familiares. En este dosier veremos una adaptación y evolución de la disciplina desde su forma particular latinoamericana, tanto en las distintas expresiones que ha tenido en la región como en la manera en que se ha expresado en el trabajo de profesionales latinoamericanxs en casos extranjeros como el de la antigua Yugoslavia. Palabras clave: antropología forense, arqueología forense, justicia, verdad, violencia en masa. Forensic Practices and Mass Violence: Contemporary Perspectives and Research Challenges Abstract: We already have forty years of experience in Latin America in the application of anthropology and forensic archaeology to the search for missing persons and investigations of gross violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. Despite this long trajectory of very important work, the most striking protagonists of meta-analysis in the forensic work literature and its impact in recent years have not been the forensic scientists themselves, but social scientists. This article introduces the dossier “Forensic Practices and Mass Violence: Contemporary Perspectives and Research Challenges,” a work that brings together practitioners —including relatives of the missing— with academic researchers, breaking down a structural, social and artificial divide. The joining of forces between academics and practitioners better reflects the work as a whole that includes and highlights the goals concerning search, recovery, analysis, and identification, but also those concerning restitution. This introduction emphasizes debates that are absent in many forensic science journals: the impact of politics on research and the political product of research, although we still have debates about questions of objectivity, neutrality, and the value of a family-driven or family-involved approach. In this dossier, we examine the adaptation and evolution of the discipline from its particular Latin American form, both in the different expressions it has taken in the region and in the way it has been expressed in the work of Latin American professionals in foreign cases such as that of the former Yugoslavia. Keywords: Forensic anthropology, forensic archaeology, justice, mass violence, truth. Práticas forenses e violência em massa: perspectivas contemporâneas e desafios para a pesquisa Resumo: já temos 40 anos de experiência na América Latina na aplicação da antropologia e da arqueologia forenses para buscar pessoas desaparecidas e para as investigações de violações graves de direitos humanos e do direito humanitário internacional. Embora essa longa trajetória de trabalho seja muito importante, os protagonistas mais impactantes da metanálise na literatura do trabalho forense e seu impacto nos últimos anos não vêm sendo os cientistas forenses em si, mas sim os cientistas sociais. Este artigo introduz o dossiê “Práticas forenses e violência em massa: perspectivas contemporâneas e desafios para a pesquisa”, um trabalho que une os praticantes — incluídos os familiares dos desaparecidos — com pesquisadores, quebrando com uma divisão estrutural, social e artificial. Essa força unida entre acadêmicos e praticantes reflete melhor o trabalho em sua totalidade, que inclui e ressalta as metas não somente de busca, recuperação, análise e identificação, mas também de restituição e entrega. Esta introdução enfatiza os debates que estão ausentes em muitas das revistas científico-forenses: o impacto da política sobre as investigações e o produto político destas. Além disso, salienta as discussões ainda presentes sobre questões de objetividade,…

Antípoda Revista de Antropología y Arqueología, 2023

Prácticas forenses y violencia en masa: perspectivas contemporáneas y retos investigativos | 3-17

Antípoda. Revista de Antropología y Arqueología, 2019

* Este artículo es uno de los resultados del estudio titulado "Making Evidence-Enacting Victims: ... more * Este artículo es uno de los resultados del estudio titulado "Making Evidence-Enacting Victims: Processes and Actors of Forensic Identification in Colombia", el cual es un proyecto de investigación social independiente. Queremos agradecer a Adriana Díaz del Castillo por sus valiosos comentarios a versiones anteriores, a Margarita, Daniel y Arturo por compartir sus experiencias con nosotros, y a las/los dos evaluadoras/es por su lectura juiciosa, crítica y propositiva, la cual hizo que esta versión fuera más robusta y articulada.

Social Anthropology/Anthropologie Sociale, 2022

ecancermedicalscience, 2021

ecancer, 2021

Ecancermedicalscience, Nov 8, 2023

JCO global oncology, Nov 1, 2020

Social Anthropology, Sep 1, 2022

DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals), Oct 1, 2021

Routledge eBooks, Dec 6, 2022

Cancer Reports, 2021

Antípoda: Revista de Antropología y Arqueología, 2023

ADN, protagonista inesperado: promesas y realidades de la investigación genética ante nuestra crisis forense, 2022

Invisible Labour in Modern Science, 2022

Law, Practice and Politics of Forensic DNA Profiling, 2022

TRAJECTORIA, 2023

Antípoda. Revista de Antropología y Arqueología

Antípoda Revista de Antropología y Arqueología, 2023

Prácticas forenses y violencia en masa: perspectivas contemporáneas y retos investigativos | 3-17

Antípoda. Revista de Antropología y Arqueología, 2019

Social Anthropology/Anthropologie Sociale, 2022

ecancermedicalscience, 2021

Este panel propone contribuir a un debate incipiente en torno a las biotecnologías en América L... more Este panel propone contribuir a un debate incipiente en torno a las biotecnologías en América Latina, buscando reflexionar cómo estas están transformando las maneras de producir y circular sujetos, cuerpos, poblaciones y naturalezas en América Latina. Como su nombre lo indica, las bio-tecnologías atañen a todas aquellas maneras de intervenir por medios tecnológicos el dominio de lo vivo. Caracterizadas por un incremento notable, desde la segunda mitad del siglo XX, de la capacidad de comprender procesos y desarrollos que atañen a las entidades vitales, las biotecnologías incluyen, pero no se restringen a, la manipulación de cuerpos y poblaciones humanos. A su vez, la habilidad creciente de estas técnicas para intervenir y modificar aquellos procesos en grados nunca antes vistos está basada en la permanente traducción y traslación de saber entre los dominios vitales de plantas, animales y otras entidades orgánicas e inorgánicas. Estas formas interconectadas de conocimiento atraviesan campos tales como la genética y genómica reproductivas, la disciplinas forenses, la salud pública y la ecología, por nombrar sólo algunas.
Con un foco especial en las modulaciones regionales de tales quehaceres científicos, buscamos incentivar un diálogo largamente pospuesto sobre las implicancias y especificidades de las biotecnologías para Latinoamérica. Nos interesa considerar de qué maneras se establecen novedosas articulaciones entre lo humano y lo no humano; entre ecologías y sociedades. Nos preguntamos por las intervenciones científicas en los cuerpos y las ecologías que vienen implementándose diversamente en los países de la región, tanto ahora como en el pasado. Buscamos, por un lado, indagar a través de qué rearticulaciones locales de género, etnia, edad, clase, capacidad, nacionalidad, así como de ecología, biología, y “recursos” naturales, entre otras, están siendo inscriptos los avances de las biotecnologías y las disciplinas encargadas de gestionar y producir conjuntos poblacionales y cuerpos de humanos y no humanos. Consideramos ejemplos no exhaustivos de ellas a los desarrollos biotecnológicos de “superalimentos” en el marco de políticas públicas de nutrición, las intervenciones poblacionales de las tecnologías reproductivas y genéticas, las técnicas de identificación forense, las políticas de conservación de ecologías particulares, las relaciones entre ecosistemas y territorios, entre otras. Proponemos pensar, por otro lado, de qué maneras tales biotecnologías suponen una problematización de las tradicionales dicotomías animal/humano, orgánico/inorgánico, simbólico/material e individuo/población, entre otras, invitando a considerar la valencia local de los aportes de las teorías posthumanas y su reflexión en torno a la contigüidad y co-emergencia de las “naturalezasculturas” (Haraway, 2003), lo humano, lo animal, lo vivo, lo ambiental y lo material en la producción y posibilitación de individuos y/o grupos agregados, problematizando, en última instancia, su cualidad “vital”. Como parte de esto, y teniendo en cuenta el carácter elusivo del concepto de población, nos interesa también explorar qué modelos, ejemplos y resultados de conjuntos poblacionales están siendo ejercitados y performados a través de estas biotecnologías: ¿qué ideas sobre agregados vitales y qué poblaciones, sujetos, naturalezas y naciones están de hecho siendo producidas a través de las diferentes formas de saber biotecnológico presentes en la región? De corte transdisciplinario, este panel invita contribuciones de diversas disciplinas sociales y naturales que aborden los temas arriba planteados u otros convergentes hacia una reflexión colectiva sobre la producción biotecnológica en América Latina

Antípoda. Revista de Antropología y Arqueología, 2019

Resumen: Objetivo/contexto: en este artículo nos enfocamos en las dimensiones simbólicas y prácti... more Resumen: Objetivo/contexto: en este artículo nos enfocamos en las dimensiones simbólicas y prácticas del manejo de la corporalidad del enemigo, empleada por los paramilitares durante su auge tras la unificación de las Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia, y seguida por militares en el marco de la Política de seguridad democrática del expresidente Álvaro Uribe. Para ello, abordamos cómo se materializan tales dimensiones, cómo se hacen evidentes y cómo circulan en el ámbito social a partir del conocimiento que producen antropólogos forenses acerca de esos cuerpos, de la violencia y del conflicto. Metodología: el material que aquí presentamos y analizamos es resultado de una aproximación etnográfica a la práctica de peritos antropólogos forenses de la Fiscalía General de la Nación en Colombia. Presentamos una metodología que llamamos dialógica y reflexiva, en la que hay un ejercicio auto-etnográfico de Jaime, acompañado de conversaciones lideradas por María Fernanda, para ahondar en experiencias, conceptos y prácticas. Esta metodología se complementa con entrevistas a tres antropólogos forenses con trayectorias similares a la de Jaime, así como revisión de archivo de los años aquí comprendidos. Conclusiones: el conocimiento cualitativo de los antropólogos forenses (junto con el de otros expertos forenses) no solo cumple la función de ser testimonio de lo ocurrido a los cuerpos, sino que tiene, además, la característica de producir aquello mismo que estudia y, en esa medida, co-produce el conflicto, la violencia, las víctimas y los perpetradores. Esto hace evidente la dimensión política y no neutral a la práctica de identificación forense. Originalidad: Estudios sobre los efectos sociales de las ciencias forenses usualmente abordan y presentan el conocimiento forense como testimonio neutro de verdad acerca de hechos violentos. En este artículo nos hemos enfocado en cómo el conocimiento forense (al igual que cualquier otro) co-produce aquello mismo que estudia. De esta manera, señalamos y hacemos evidente sus profundas implicaciones políticas. En esta medida, contribuimos a ampliar lo que se entiende por conocimiento forense en contextos de justicia transicional y sus posibles efectos en lo social.

Palabras clave:Thesaurus: conflicto armado colombiano; cuerpo; Autores: conocimiento forense; falsos positivos; fosas paramilitares; justicia transicional

Forensic Notes: Knowledge that Materializes the Enemy’s Bodies in Paramilitary Graves and False Positives

Abstract: Objective/Context: In this article, we focus on the symbolic and practical dimensions of the paramilitary’s management of the corporality of the enemy in their heyday after the unification of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia and followed by the military in the framework of the Democratic Security Policy of former president Álvaro Uribe. To do so, we approach how these dimensions materialize, become evident, and circulate in the social sphere from the knowledge that forensic anthropologists produce about these bodies, violence, and conflict. Methodology: The material presented and analyzed here is the result of an ethnographic approximation to the practice of forensic anthropological experts of the Prosecution Office. We present a methodology that we call dialogical and reflexive. It combines a self-ethnographic exercise of Jaime’s practice and conversations led by María Fernanda to delve into his experiences, concepts, and practices. We feed this methodology with interviews with three forensic anthropologists, who have similar trajectories to Jaime’s. We also carried out an archival research of the years included here. Conclusion: In this article, we present how forensic anthropologists’ qualitative knowledge (together with other forensic experts’ knowledge) serves both as a testimony of what happened to the bodies and, at the same time, produces the very thing that it studies. To this extent, it co-produces conflict, violence, victims, and perpetrators, shedding light on the political dimension to the practice of forensic identification. Originality: Usually, studies about the social effects of forensic sciences present forensic knowledge as a truth-telling and neutral testimony about violent events. In this article, we have focused on how forensic knowledge (like any other) co-produces the very thing that it studies. As such, we point out and reveal its profound political implications, and, to this extent, contribute to broadening what is understood by forensic knowledge in contexts of transitional justice and its possible social effects.

Keywords:Thesaurus: Body; Colombian Armed Conflict; Authors: False positive; forensic knowledge; paramilitary graves; transitional justice

Anotações forenses: conhecimento que materializa os corpos do inimigo em fossas paramilitares e “falsos positivos”

Resumo: objetivo/contexto: neste artigo, focamos nas dimensões simbólicas e práticas do lidar com a corporeidade do inimigo, realizada pelos paramilitares em seu auge após a unificação das Autodefesas Unidas da Colômbia, e seguida por militares no âmbito da política de segurança democrática do ex-presidente Álvaro Uribe. Para isso, abordamos como essas dimensões são materializadas, como se tornam evidentes e como circulam no contexto social a partir do conhecimento que antropólogos forenses produzem sobre esses corpos, sobre a violência e sobre o conflito. Metodologia: o material apresentado e analisado é resultado de uma aproximação etnográfica da prática de peritos antropólogos forenses da Procuradoria-geral da Nação na Colômbia. Apresentamos uma metodologia que chamamos de “dialógica e reflexiva”, na qual há um exercício etnográfico de Jaime, acompanhado de conversas lideradas por María Fernanda, para aprofundar em experiências, conceitos e práticas. Essa metodologia é complementada com entrevistas a três antropólogos forenses com trajetórias semelhantes à de Jaime, bem como revisão de arquivo dos anos aqui compreendidos. Conclusões: o conhecimento qualitativo dos antropólogos forenses (junto com o de outros especialistas forenses) não somente cumpre a função de ser testemunha do ocorrido com os corpos, mas também tem a característica de produzir o que estuda em si e, nessa medida, coproduz o conflito, a violência, as vítimas e os perpetradores. Isso torna evidente a dimensão política e não neutral à prática de identificação forense. Originalidade: estudos sobre os efeitos sociais das ciências forenses, em geral, abordam e apresentam o conhecimento forense como testemunha neutra da verdade sobre os fatos violentos. Neste artigo, centralizamo-nos em como o conhecimento forense (assim como qualquer outro) coproduz o que estuda em si. Dessa maneira, evidenciamos suas profundas implicações políticas. Nesse sentido, contribuímos para ampliar o que se entende por conhecimento forense em contextos de justiça de transição e seus possíveis efeitos no social.

Palavras-chave:Thesaurus: conflito armado colombiano; corpo; Autores: conhecimento forense; falsos positivos; fossas paramilitares; justiça de transição

Antípoda. Revista de Antropología y Arqueología, Oct 2019

En este texto abordamos cómo las prácticas forenses de investigación e identificación participan ... more En este texto abordamos cómo las prácticas forenses de investigación e identificación participan en la producción de ciertos tipos de víctimas y de perpetrador en el marco del conflicto armado colombiano. Argumentamos que la identificación forense, como cualquier otra práctica, produce aquello que estudia. Acá nos referimos al caso conocido como los “falsos positivos”: jóvenes civiles, sin nexos con grupos guerrilleros, que fueron engañados con falsas promesas de trabajo para luego ser encontrados muertos y presentados como bajas guerrilleras en combate. En cuanto a los perpetradores, fueron miembros de las Fuerzas Militares quienes realizaron las ejecuciones extrajudiciales de población civil con el fin de transmitir la idea de que la guerra contra el terrorismo se estaba ganando. Nuestro trabajo aborda el quehacer de expertos forenses de la Fiscalía General de la Nación de Colombia y nos basamos en datos recopilados a través de una combinación de conversaciones (auto)etnográficas y reflexivas sostenidas por los autores, entrevistas con cuatro peritos forenses de la Fiscalía e investigación de archivo. Esta manera de acercarse a la producción de conocimiento forense hace posible que podamos entender a estos expertos como actores activos (y no simples testigos) del conflicto armado, en la medida en que participan de la producción tanto de las víctimas como de los perpetradores.

Antípoda. Revista de Antropología y Arqueología, Jan 2023

Palabras clave: antropología forense, arqueología forense, justicia, verdad, violencia en masa.

Forensic Practices and Mass Violence: Contemporary Perspectives and Research Challenges

Abstract: We already have forty years of experience in Latin America in the application of anthropology and forensic archaeology to the search for missing persons and investigations of gross violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. Despite this long trajectory of very important work, the most striking protagonists of meta-analysis in the forensic work literature and its impact in recent years have not been the forensic scientists themselves, but social scientists. This article introduces the dossier “Forensic Practices and Mass Violence: Contemporary Perspectives and Research Challenges,” a work that brings together practitioners —including relatives of the missing— with academic researchers, breaking down a structural, social and artificial divide. The joining of forces between academics and practitioners better reflects the work as a whole that includes and highlights the goals concerning search, recovery, analysis, and identification, but also those concerning restitution. This introduction emphasizes debates that are absent in many forensic science journals: the impact of politics on research and the political product of research, although we still have debates about questions of objectivity, neutrality, and the value of a family-driven or family-involved approach. In this dossier, we examine the adaptation and evolution of the discipline from its particular Latin American form, both in the different expressions it has taken in the region and in the way it has been expressed in the work of Latin American professionals in foreign cases such as that of the former Yugoslavia.

Keywords: Forensic anthropology, forensic archaeology, justice, mass violence, truth.

Práticas forenses e violência em massa: perspectivas contemporâneas e desafios para a pesquisa

Resumo: já temos 40 anos de experiência na América Latina na aplicação da antropologia e da arqueologia forenses para buscar pessoas desaparecidas e para as investigações de violações graves de direitos humanos e do direito humanitário internacional. Embora essa longa trajetória de trabalho seja muito importante, os protagonistas mais impactantes da metanálise na literatura do trabalho forense e seu impacto nos últimos anos não vêm sendo os cientistas forenses em si, mas sim os cientistas sociais. Este artigo introduz o dossiê “Práticas forenses e violência em massa: perspectivas contemporâneas e desafios para a pesquisa”, um trabalho que une os praticantes — incluídos os familiares dos desaparecidos — com pesquisadores, quebrando com uma divisão estrutural, social e artificial. Essa força unida entre acadêmicos e praticantes reflete melhor o trabalho em sua totalidade, que inclui e ressalta as metas não somente de busca, recuperação, análise e identificação, mas também de restituição e entrega. Esta introdução enfatiza os debates que estão ausentes em muitas das revistas científico-forenses: o impacto da política sobre as investigações e o produto político destas. Além disso, salienta as discussões ainda presentes sobre questões de objetividade, neutralidade e o valor de uma abordagem que envolve ou é dirigida por familiares. Neste dossiê, vemos uma adaptação e evolução da disciplina sob sua forma particular latino-americana, tanto das diferentes expressões que vem tendo na região quanto na maneira em que vem se expressando no trabalho de profissionais latino-americanos em casos internacionais, como o da antiga Iugoslávia.

Palavras-chave: antropologia forense, arqueologia forense, justiça, verdade, violência em massa.