The work of three groups supported by WACC and working in El Salvador to restore public memory and awareness about events that took place during the country's civil war has resulted in a public apology widely covered by national and international media.

El Salvador's President Mauricio Funes made an emotional public apology for what he called "the worst massacre of civilians in contemporary Latin American history." In 1981, soldiers killed some 1,000 people, nearly half of them children, in the town of El Mozote. They had been accused of collaborating with left-wing guerrillas.

Mr Funes made his apology on the 20th anniversary of peace accords that ended the nation's civil war. Speaking in El Mozote, some 200km (120 miles) from the capital, San Salvador, he said: "For this massacre, for the abhorrent violations of human rights and the abuses perpetrated in the name of the Salvadoran state, I ask forgiveness of the families of the victims."

Under its programme Communication for Peace, WACC supported three projects in El Salvador struggling to gain public acceptance of the need to come to terms with the country's violent past. In 2008 the audiovisual department of the Universidad Centroamerica José Simeón Cañas (AUCA) produced a 59-minute documentary called "Colima" recounting a massacre by the paramilitary which took place in 1980 in a remote village. It broke the silence surrounding the atrocity and opened a long path for the restoration of people’s dignity.

"Colima" focused on the story of a mother whose daughter disappeared and the family's subsequent search for truth. The documentary was screened in cinemas throughout El Salvador and facilitated the beginning of a judicial process of exhumation of the victims, their identification and the return of the bodies to their families. Colima was the first documentary of its genre ever produced in El Salvador. It was shown inside the country and at festivals outside the country.

In 2009 CODEFAM (Asociación Comité de Familiares de victimas de violaciones a los derechos humanos “Marianella Garcia Villas“) wished to create a communications network for the families of victims of the armed conflict. CODEFAM coordinated discussions with representatives of the families and local action groups that resulted in a web page where stories and testimonies could be posted and training programmes for young people to take part in the project.

Workshops were organised with families from different zones to share information about their legal rights and the role of communication in society that might help them restore public memory of suppressed events. Some 240 individuals were empowered to communicate their stories and needs and, indirectly, their communities benefitting from public awareness of their situation. The web page can be seen here.

And in 2010 WACC again assisted the audiovisual department of the Universidad Centroamerica José Simeón Cañas (AUCA) to produce seven more documentaries about massacres that took place in the 1980-90s. Each video lasted seven to eight minutes and included interviews with survivors of the massacres or with members of the victims' families. The project "Restoring dignity to the victims" made known the facts of each case and the productions were broadcast on public television. The direct beneficiaries were the survivors and family members, whose voices had not previously been heard, but clearly the country was listening too.

President Funes apologized for the atrocity at El Mozote, when soldiers from a now-banned battalion, the Atlacatl, shot dead residents suspected of sympathising with left-wing rebels. It was the bloodiest single episode of El Salvador's 12-year civil war that that left some 75,000 dead. Those responsible were not put on trial as the authorities agreed a general amnesty in 1992, as part of negotiations to end the civil war. However, in line with other countries where such amnesties have been revoked, El Salvador may be considering reinvestigating its past and the vitally important work of groups like AUCA and CODEFAM will have far-reaching implications.

In 2010 WACC published an issue of its international journal Media Development dedicated to the theme of "The Right to Memory" asking how such a right might be used to transcend traumatic events in ways that overcome hatred, fear, guilt and revenge and contribute to building a more peaceful and sustainable future. It can be found here.

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