On the windowsill next to his desk, History Prof. Herbert "Tico" Braun keeps a photograph clipped from The Washington Post, that of a man in an orange jumpsuit, cringing in fear from a dog held at bay by U.S. soldiers in Abu Ghraib.
"A very good friend once said that we in America were so distant, so removed from torture that we couldn't understand it -- that we could hide from it, that we could think that it wasn't really part of our lives," Braun said. "What she said to me rang true and it shocked me, because it's part of my life. This picture doesn't leave my eyesight for more than 48 hours at a time. It's not that I need to remind myself of it, but I think I ought to."
Braun's opinions on the subject of torture, which he often discusses with students in his classes and also with other professors, prompted the Charlottesville chapter of Amnesty International to invite him to speak last Sunday at a vigil for the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.
Braun is "very close to the issue," said Randolph Pope, Spanish Prof. and member of the Charlottesville Amnesty International group."As a professor of Latin American history, he's very aware that situations in which torture have been present in the past -- in Uruguay, Argentina and Chile -- are still being dealt with today."
Born in Colombia, Braun has seen first-hand some of the pain torture can cause. In 1988, his brother-in-law, an American oil executive, was kidnapped and tortured by guerillas in Colombia until Braun and others negotiated his release.
The event last Sunday included a silent vigil followed with brief remarks by Braun. About 20-30 people from both the University and the Charlottesville community attended the meeting held at the Friends Church downtown.
"I tried to make a moral statement, not a political one," Braun said in regard to his remarks at the meeting.
Similar events were held at Amnesty sections around the world, according to Alistair Hodgett, Media Director of Amnesty International.
"We measure [our success], by people's participation and in the effect we have on the debate here in the U.S.," Hodgett said. "It's still too early to say definitely, but some polling results suggest that Americans are ill-at-ease with tolerating torture."
Both the international Amnesty organization and members in Charlottesville plan to continue sponsoring events opposed to torture. One major goal of Amnesty International is lobbying for an International Independent Commission to investigate allegations of torture and abuse at U.S. detention facilities, most notable allegations which have arisen out of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The White House maintains that detainees at Guantanamo Bay have been treated humanely in accordance with the Geneva Convention standards for prisoners, according to White House Press Secretary briefings.
Officials from the White House did not return calls for comment.
The issue of torture "is one of the key, salient issues in the world today," Braun said. "My sense is that there is an emerging groundswell of disgust and dissent in America that is catching up to the dissent that has been taking place all over the world. And we'll be a small part of that."
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