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Our third book, entitled Reclaiming Stolen Lives was conceptualized
and
eventually saw the light of day on the eve of the 2008 commemoration
of the
International Day of the Disappeared. Its birth year is also the
decennial
commemoration of the birth of the Asian Federation Against
Involuntary
Disappearances (AFAD) and the 60th anniversary of the Universal
Declaration of Human
Rights. This book should never have been necessary if it were not
for the thousands
upon thousands of desaparecidos whose lives have been treacherously
stolen from
the bosom of their beloved families and from the society where they
belonged.
To the desaparecidos of Asia and the rest of the world, whose
inspiration has
urged the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD)
to conceive
this book and whose unknown fate has urged us to reclaim their
stolen lives, from the
bottom of our hearts, we express our most profound gratitude. The
shadow of their
memory that guides our work with each passing day has given us the
courage and
energy to conceive and give birth to this book lovingly dedicated to
them. They will
always be our inspiration in this uphill struggle for the truth,
justice, reparation and the
reconstruction of their historical memory.
To the families of the disappeared who, in their sufferings as well
as
courageous crusade to find the truth about their disappeared loved
ones, have been
linking arms with us in this seemingly never-ending journey towards
a world without desaparecidos, we thank them for being a valuable source of
information necessary
in the writing of this book. Without their in-depth sharing of love
and life in the context
of enforced disappearance during our various psycho-social
rehabilitation sessions,
we would never have realized the magnitude of this crime against
humanity hopefully
never to be repeated in history.
To the Honorable Santiago Corcuera, Chair of the United Nations
Working
Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance, who, despite his
hectic schedule,
took his precious time to write the book’s inspiring epilogue, we
give our most sincere
commendation.
To the Honorable Sri Lankan Minister of Parliament Mano Ganesan, who
filled in the gap, owing to our not having a member-organization in
Sri Lanka, by
providing us with the list of cases of enforced disappearances in a
country continuously
ravaged by the darkness of this phenomenon of enforced
disappearance, we convey
our heartfelt gratitude.
To all the researchers and writers of this book, whose deep
conviction in the
cause of the desaparecidos and whose research and writing abilities
have made it
possible to put in paper and ink the dominion of cruelty of the
perpetrators of injustice
and the spark of light capturing the paradox of despair and the hope
of the families of
the victims, we convey our never-ending indebtedness.
To the rest of the members of the book committee - our editor;
proofreader
and indexer; researcher and our layout artist who worked at various
times of the day
and the night, notwithstanding their anxiety due to time constraint
to ensure the
completion of the project, we say thank you ever so much for your
commitment to
finish this precious gift of love to all desaparecidos of the world.
To all our partners and innumerable others who, in one way or
another, have
contributed to the realization of this project, we say, thank you
very much, indeed.
In whatever worthy endeavor, we always recognize the presence of the
One
Above, the Supreme Being, without Him or Her, we would not have the
capability of
conceiving and giving birth to Reclaiming Stolen Lives – our modest
contribution to
the realization of a world without desaparecidos and the attainment
of God’s Kingdom
Here on Earth.
THE ASIAN FEDERATION
AGAINST INVOLUNTARY DISAPPEARANCES (AFAD)
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