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As regards the rest of the family members, the condition and poverty in which they
live, turns them “vulnerable.” They have had to overcome several difficulties to
survive along all these years, in very critical conditions, such as malnutrition. They
have had psychosomatic symptoms mainly associated to the stress caused by the
events. Several members of the family have reported to suffer difficulty to get
asleep. Crispín Baldeón has shown severe difficulty in this respect, “suffering from
insomnia, always associated to his concerns about the judicial process.” There are
also symptoms such as frequent headaches. Two of his sisters have reported to have
experienced chokes when thinking or speaking about their father’s case.
An important moment for all of them was the exhumation and subsequent burial of
the remains of the alleged victim; this was something “moving for all the family.” It
has provided certain relief. It is important to know that all they had claimed for has
been acknowledged, that his father is buried in his community and that they can visit
his grave on death celebration festivities, which are very important for them.
In spite of the experience they had to endure, the family shows persistency and
strength to continue in their quest for justice. This has brought about the
impossibility of taking care of the children in order to follow up the legal process. For
example, the children of Crispín have repeatedly requested their father to give up,
they say they are tired. For them, the time elapsed is discouraging. They warn their
father that something wrong, such as disappearing, might happen to him too.
The family lived in a rural community growing crops in their “farm” and taking
seasonal jobs in the coast to increase their income. After the events, they had to live
in extreme poverty; they lost everything, their land and the possibility to work in any
other “farm”, since they moved to the city.
Bernabé Baldeón-García was very important for his grandchildren too. Several of his
grandchildren were very little when the events took place. Bernabé provided
maintenance for some of them, becoming a paternal figure for them. One of his
grandchildren has stated the following: “I lived with my grandpa, I cried a lot, I was
very sad, I missed my school classes. I could not return to school. My grandpa
bought me all the things I needed for school as if I were his son. He looked after us.”
A key factor for the “family disintegration” has been the fact that the family had to
leave the community. Weeks after the event happened, they left the place and they
slept in the woods for fear of reprisals. This fact caused the fracture of the
“community cohesion and the permanent family separation,” and this is a stress
factor affecting all outcasts and refugees. In addition, this situation became worse
given the threats they received after the first complaint was filed.
The facts in the instant case have not only directly affected the family, but they have
also affected the community where they lived. Nobody could accept that something
like this could have happened to Bernabé Baldeón-García, a man who was
considered to be a good person. This generates a questioning of the basic beliefs of
the community, of the sense of confidence and justice.
To sum up, in the case of the next of kin of Bernabé Baldeón-García there are
several chronic conditions that have contributed to the subsistence of emotional
sequels, such as: a) the impact of an unexpected loss; b) the knowledge about the
details of how he was allegedly tortured, which in turn amounts to a permanent
torture for them; c) the impact of the displacement and the loss of community