When necronarratives travel: Latin American post-violence migration to Australia

Necropolitics have characterised Latin America’s contemporary conflicts and dictatorships. This article draws from 15 in-depth interviews with migrants from post-conflict and dictatorial Latin America (from Guatemala, Colombia, El Salvador, Venezuela, Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay) living in Australia, to explore what happens when memories travel in post-violence contexts. Based on the recollection of fragmented memories of violence and conflict, conceptualised as necronarratives , we narrate how these travel, how these feel in and through the body, and what these do for healing, activism, and survival. Through research that sought to decentre trauma and pain, we also query the role of necronarratives that people choose to remember and retell. In doing so, we contribute to underrepresented mnemonic narratives on Australian-Latin American histories, as well as discussions on non-linear post-violence diasporic memory work, which honours forgetting and remembering from people’s own terms.