| dc.description.abstract | This study focuses on local implications of the implementation of reparations for gross human rights violations, specifically the definition of beneficiary and the affects of the different kinds of reparations on restoration of civil society after violent conflict. In this study, I will examine these issues by analyzing the functioning of the National Reparations Programme in Guatemala, its relation to victim identification and local assessments of different kinds of reparation. Local organizational structures and victims organization play a crucial role in the implementation of reparations and are therefore also central to this study, especially in the shaping of micro-politics of accessing different kinds of reparations. This thesis is the result of anthropological fieldwork in Nebaj, a town in the highlands of Guatemala, from February to April 2012. Nebaj is situated in the Ixil triangle, which was heavily affected by genocidal violence during the late 70’s and early 80’s of the twentieth century. Therefore, reparations and reconciliation are highly relevant in the lives of the Ixil people. The goal of this research is to gain knowledge of local perceptions of reparations in order to understand the place and meaning of reparations as a mechanism for dealing with a violent past. The question this study aims to answer is how different kinds of reparations for genocide victims are accessed and perceived by the population of Nebaj, Guatemala. | |
