Case History of a KPP Project

Archives of Terror

Centro de Documentación y Archivo para la Defensa de Derechos Humanos (CDYA)

KPP/CPK Volunteers

Celina Trushell, Alberto Granada, Arla Jones, Karen Acosta, Donna Schenck-Hamlin

Case History of a KPP Project

Significance of CDyA as an Archive; Understanding & Encouraging Volunteerism

• Nearly half a million official records from the Dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner 1954 - 1989

• Paraguay’s CDyA is one of numerous emerging human rights archives in the Americas, e.g.

– Chile: Fundación de Documentación y Archivo de la Vicaria de la Solidaridad (“La Vicaria”)

– Argentina: Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS)

– Guatemala: National Police Archives

– Brazil: Nunca Mas Archive

Archives of Terror in CDyA

Guatemalan Police Archives (Photo - © Daniel Hernández-Salazar)

Going to CDyA Online

• ABC Color video on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTG2gfwqZ-M&feature=channel

• Paraguayan website (Palacio de Justicia) http://www.pj.gov.py/cdya/documentos.html list of document types

• National Security Archive website (George Washington University) http://www.aladin.wrlc.org/gsdl/collect/terror/terror_e.shtml

What CDyA Contains

“Operation Condor” Chilean-based network across Southern Cone for transfer of dissidents and suspects across national lines.

Communication between Pastor Coronel, Chief of Investigation in Paraguay and Manuel Contreras, Director of National Intelligence in Chile

Operation Condor in the U.S.

• Car bombing in Washington D.C. of former Chilean Ambassador Orlando Letelier in 1976 revealed involvement of U.S. covert operator Michael Townley with other Chilean assassins.

What CDyA Contains

Photographs, fingerprints and descriptions of those detained, tortured and sometimes killed.

Police record of Argentinean Dora Marta Landi, captured by Paraguayan police and returned under Operation Condor agreements to Argentina, where she was never found again.

Use of the Archives

• Truth Commissions• Habeas Data • Judicial Research• Public Education• Southern Cone

Scholarship

CDYA’s Progress since 1992• Paraguayan civil society groups advocacy• Supreme Court housing on 8th. Floor• Co-directorship established with Dr. Luis Maria

Benitez Riera and Lic. Rosa Palau Aguilar• 2001-2002 National Security Archive (NSA) digitizing

project• Backups of digitized images and database

– 2 copies with Paraguayan Supreme Court– 2 copies at NAS in George Washington University

• Storage upgrade and move to 1st. Floor 2007

Collaborators on NSA/CDyA Project, 2000-2002

• CDyA• NSA• UCA: 5 Interns

accomplished the work of microfilming, digitizing, and some selective catalogingCarlos Osorio (NSA), Raúl Sapena

Brugada, (President of the Supreme Court) Carmen Quintana de Horak, (Dean of Social Sciences, Catholic University of Asunción) Rosa Palau Aguilar (CDyA)

CDyA priorities in 2003

• Stabilization and preservation of documents

• More cataloging, of images and manuscripts

• Expansion of CDyA into a public education center

How to Understand and Encourage volunteerism for KPP?

• The CDyA Projects has 3 common elements with other KPP volunteerism:

– CONTEXT what motivates volunteers– REQUIREMENTS for joint efforts– LIFE-CYCLE or evolution of projects

CONTEXT: What attracts volunteers?

• PEOPLE: relationships

• GOAL: a need to be needed

• PLACE: geographical, institutional, social, cultural interests focused on Paraguay

• ACTIVITIES: the tasks themselves

CONTEXT for the Archives of Terror • PEOPLE who helped connect KPP :

– Paraguayan PhDs at KSU, Drs Marcial Antonio Riquelme* and Martin Almada, Dean of Libraries Brice Hobrock*, ESL Professor Naomi Ossar*

– Rosa Palau Aguilar, Luis Maria Benitez Riera, Alberto Granada, Carlos Osorio

– Celina Trushell*, Arla Jones*, Gwen Alexander*

* Members of Kansas Paraguay Partners

CONTEXT for the Archives of Terror

• GOAL: Information Access

– Only c. 60,928 records are accessible from a collection of nearly 400,000

– Many documents are hand-written manuscripts that must be interpreted

– Names are the most important element to acquire and manually insert into the cataloging records

– Carlos Osorio proposed a KPP/NSA/CDYA partnership– Permission was obtained from the President of the Supreme

Court to allow selected volunteers to “pilot test” cataloging a selected microfilm roll from one of the NSA copies of the database.

Guidelines for Names (revisions after March 2009 consultation with Dr. Benitez Riera)

• Syntax: [Lname1] [Lname2 or Lname2_initial] , [Fname] [Mname or Mname_initial], [official title] ;

• Separate a succession of persons’ names with the semi-colon delimiter.• Only enter individual names that you can actually decipher: do not guess

the spelling of a name! Enter entire character strings of names, not partial: e.g. “Carlos” not “[C]arlos” (Reasons: utility in searching; probability of review and revision)

• Enter the characters exactly as written, with or without diacritical marks. Know that sometimes there will be inconsistencies in the original, such as “Jose” or “José”

• Enter initials if they are written. Do not assume that you “know” the full name, or substitute it.

• Do enter officials’ titles, which often have standard abbreviations. A typed list of officials was provided that we have copied into the ATDnames (access) database.

• If only a given name is provided, enter it, e.g., “Ruben”.• If you need to verify a name that is difficult to decipher, and you believe

already exists in the database, perform a search (see next slide).

CONTEXT for the Archives of Terror

• PLACE: CDyA, Paraguay

– Started in a small 8th. floor office of the Palacio de Justicia– Now in an environmentally controlled suite of rooms with

museum and public meeting space on 1st. Floor– Country whose history is linked to ours, which shares many

attributes with Kansas

CONTEXT for the Archives of Terror

• ACTIVITIES: Manual cataloging

– Looking at digitized images of documents, and typing in names, dates, place information

– Involves deciphering different styles of handwriting, maintaining a reference list of names to check against

– Teams cross-checking each others’ work

REQUIREMENTS OF JOINT EFFORTS:

• KPP/CPK don’t just work with each other: we also coordinate with other Paraguayan and U.S. organizations (CDyA, NSA)

• These relationships can be complex.

• Let past successes inform new ideas.

• Involve the younger generation.

REQUIREMENTS

• What KPP/CPK have done for CDyA 1. Raise awareness: communicate its significance 2003 CDyA Directors lecture tour of KS sponsored by

KPP and Amnesty International2004 Return visit to CDyA, consultation with Alberto

Granada2007 KPP Paraguay history tour, other visits2009 Emporia State University graduate student

study tour

REQUIREMENTS

• What KPP/CPK have done for CDyA2. Contribute cataloging of selected records

2008 visit by Carlos Osorio from the National Security Archive, George Washington University

Review of cataloging rules assisted by Paraguayan law graduates at Washburn University

2009 pilot test begun: Celina Trushell, Arla Jones, Karen Acosta

REQUIREMENTS

• What KPP/CPK have done for CDyA3. Advocate for support from additional sources

2010 grant application to National Endowment for Democracy would fund:

- Cataloging by library and law students from Universidad Nacionál and Universidad Católica

- Part of a larger effort at educating students on the role of public records management in government accountability and transparency

REQUIREMENTS

• Some required “P’s” for long-distance partnering

Persistence

Patience

Perspective

Positive Attitude

LIFE-CYCLE OF A PROJECT: Differences between Paid &Volunteer

• Funded by an outside agency (not the recipient of aid) Self-donated resources

• For a finite period of time (deadlined) Scheduled as available

• Specific “deliverables” are to be fulfilled Participation may be as important as the outcomes

LIFE-CYCLE OF A PROJECT: Differences between Paid &Volunteer

• Projects are won through competition Collaborations arise through acquaintance with people and issues

• Proposals demonstrate ability in advance There may be no proposal, only a volunteer’s reputation and offer to help

LIFE-CYCLE OF A PROJECT: Differences between Paid &Volunteer

• If project goals aren’t met, at least show reasonable progress, positive outcomes, and a way forward. Volunteers share responsibility with their partners for this.

• You might/might not receive funds to continue. You may not be welcomed back.

EVOLUTION OF VOLUNTEERISM: Initiating, Sustaining, Completing

• Volunteers may effectively contribute to only one stage, then pass the torch to non-volunteers. It’s OK to quit, let someone else on.

• A project may evolve into other projects with slightly different goals and a new set of participants; – mission creep isn’t always bad!

• As ready volunteers, KPP/CPK will never be short of new opportunities.