Testimonial silences. A reflective look at the role of silences in the configuration and expression of memories of violent pasts

How do silences participate in research on memories of violent pasts? This question motivates the reflections of this essay, which are framed in methodological and ethical discussions. Such reflections have as a starting point the development of two ethnographic research studies that investigated, through interviews with photographs, the family memories of different actors who died during the internal armed conflict in Peru (1980-2000). Understanding memories as fragmented and partial, silences are understood as a substantial part of their complex configuration, meaning and valuation; thus, memories also include aspects that are very difficult to be spoken and documented. Finally, the following reflections also address those silences that the ethnographers keep during their researches, expressed in the unequal interaction between the interviewer and the respondent, as well as in the ethical limits around how much to inquire or how much to tell.