September 4, 2009, Lima, Peru: Hundreds of Peruvians gathered Aug. 28 in Lima’s historic Plaza San Martin to literally open their umbrellas for the relatives of the country’s disappeared.

The “flash mob” demonstration, organized by the Peruvian Forensic Anthropology Team (EPAF), was meant to call attention to the need for an institutional framework, or “humanitarian umbrella,” that promotes and protects the relatives’ right to know the truth about the fate of their loved ones.

EPAF is a partner of The Advocacy Project (AP), and Peace Fellows Jessica Varat and Zach Parker helped to organize the event.

At 1:15 pm, participants began to arriving in the Plaza San Martín and took their places forming concentric circles in front of the Hotel Bolivar. Minutes later, Jose Pablo Baraybar, the Executive Director of the Peruvian Forensic Anthropology Team (EPAF), thanked the crowd for their participation and emphasized the need to support the families of the disappeared in their efforts to identify and recover the remains of their loved ones. This support is of special importance, he stressed, given that only 769 sets of remains have been exhumed since the end of the armed conflict, and only 238 of these have been identified (just 1.5 percent of the estimated 15,000 disappeared in Peru).

Immediately thereafter, the assembled crowd opened their umbrellas one by one in a solemn gesture of protection for the families of the disappeared. Once the final umbrella opened, the participants broke the circle formations and joined together in a symbolic act of union and solidarity. The entire activity took place during 10 minutes of complete silence.

In addition to the demonstration in Lima, people around the world showed their solidarity by sending in photos of themselves opening umbrellas to the event’s blog.

EPAF and AP wish to thank all those that participated in the first Open Up Your Umbrella! campaign by attending the demonstration in the Plaza San Martín or by sending in photos of themselves with their umbrellas. The campaign continues, so if you have not yet done so, please send your photo to openupyourumbrella@gmail.com.

For more pictures from the Open Up Your Umbrella! flash mob, visit their blog.

People open umbrellas as part of the flash mob in Plaza St. Martin in Lima