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time and efforts to her younger siblings, setting aside the academic development
she was achieving. She attempted suicide once, as she felt that with her brother
missing there was nobody else in the world who could defend her and care for her.
Both her siblings and her mother agree on the fact that of all the family members,
she is the most affected by the forced disappearance of Mr. Santiago GómezPalomino.
When her brother disappeared, Mrs. Rosa Palomino-Buitrón was ten years old. She
took classes until she reached first year at high school. At present, she is
unemployed. Ms. Margarita Palomino-Buitrón, the youngest sister in the family, was
seven years old at the time of the forced disappearance of Mr. Santiago GómezPalomino. She went to school until she reached first year at high school, and she is
single. As they were very young children, their brother was a very important
paternal referent. After his disappearance, they both were nurtured with their
mother’s depression and abandonment, which has negatively affected the formation
of their personal identity.
All the members of the family of Mr. Santiago Gómez-Palomino experienced a
depression at the family level which has become chronic, and was caused by the
traumatic event that was the disappearance of a son, a father and a brother. This
depression has caused family dysfunctions and psychological conflicts that have
made this a chronic condition due to the stagnation of the mourning process. Such
situation has barred the continuation of the family’s life-projects, especially in
connection with the younger siblings. This family’s suffering was been deepened by
the thirteen years of ongoing impunity that prevails in the instant case. Each
circumstance or event evidencing such impunity triggers psychological suffering.
The expert recommended that the next of kin of Mr. Santiago Gómez-Palomino
should undergo psychotherapy. In turn, the expert recommended encouraging and
facilitating that the siblings of Mr. Gómez-Palomino should complete their primary
and high school studies, which were interrupted as a result of the forced
disappearance of their brother, and that the search for the remains of Mr. GómezPalomino should continue because while his body remains missing, the state of
anxiety affecting the family will be perpetuated and the elaboration of the mourning
process will be prevented.
Regarding Mrs. Esmila Liliana Conislla-Cárdenas, the expert conducted a one-hourand-a-half interview in order to assess the psychological impact and sequelae
affecting her as a result of the disappearance of the person who once was her
common-law husband. Mrs. Conislla-Cárdenas suffered from a chronic posttraumatic stress disorder, in terms of the international classification used. Such
condition lays emphasis on the alteration in her psychological economy as a result
of a sudden traumatic event affecting the life of Mrs. Esmila Liliana ConisllaCárdenas. In order to reach this diagnosis, an assessment was made on Mrs.
Conislla-Cárdenas responses to the facts, which were characterized by intense fear
and horror; persistent re-experiencing of the facts through memories or dreams
causing distress; efforts to avoid thoughts, feelings or conversations about the
traumatic event; avoidance of activities, places or people bringing back memories of
the trauma; and the burden of a feeling of guilt that has led her to think that but for
her, Mr. Santiago Gómez-Palomino would not have disappeared. She feels guilty
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