Peru considers putting the TRC on the curriculum - and it had better hurry up

I have just watched the Youtube video above and I am genuinely shocked and saddened.

For the non-Spanish speakers, it shows young Peruvians being asked about their country's recent history and revealing that they know...well... nothing. They were unable to identify a photo of Abimael Guzman - a man responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of people in their country within the last 30 years ("Is he an artist?" "A film director?"). The words "Lucanamarca" and "Tarata" mean nothing to them.

The sample size was undoubtedly small and the survey not representative - there are young people who know about the conflict. But the fact that the examples shown in the clip above could even be found is scandalous. I live in Germany, and it's pretty much the equivalent of a young person here not being able to identify Hitler or recognise the word Auschwitz. That's simply not possible because the German school curriculum deals with the issue from every angle - not just in history lessons - with the explicit aim of teaching the next generation and making sure such a thing can never happen again.

Now the Peruvian education minister says she is "considering" including material from the truth and reconciliation commission (CVR) in the curriculum from 2013. I would say that this move is urgently needed and as many young people need to visit exhibitions like Yuyanapaq as well. Otherwise, when someone from a movement like Movadef asks them for a signature, they won't have any idea what they're signing up to.

Truth Commission Report Could Be Added To Curricula In 2013 – Minister (Peruvian Times)
Informe de la CVR será considerado en los textos escolares del 2013 (El Comercio)