#painfulmemory

     In front of the Capitol of Puerto Rico in San Juan, a movement regarding the victims of the catastrophic hurricane María developed. This silent way of grieving is a way to remember the many victims this natural disaster left behind. The idea consists of leaving a pair of shoes of a loved one who passed away due to the complications that emerged during those dark times for the puertorrican population. This method of grief was developed by a group of people with the determination of helping our community heal and remember the ones that couldn't survive this tragedy. This place has been visited by many individuals seeking for a place to demand justice for those that left us behind and as a way to raise our voice to defend those who can't be heard anymore.

     The injustice and incompetence we felt as we were abandoned by our own leaders in times of need were transformed in a silent protest that now serves as a tangible painful memory in front of the capitol. This movement of pain and anger leads a way for us to reach the path of acceptance, releasing those emotions that we keep deep inside ourselves. The only place where we preserve painful memories is in our minds, hearts and the expressions that cover our faces when we visit a painful site. Only the living, can hold in their souls thoughts of life’s joys and of the suffering of the dead (MacCanell, 2011, p.179). We are the voices of those that can’t fend for themselves anymore. Is our duty to carry on the memories of the people we loved and lost, whose lives where cut short caused by something we couldn’t control. Remembering is our ally and our enemy, but is important to keep in mind that is also our greatest weapon against preventing history to repeat itself.

     We should be greatful for the artists and people who gave us the precious few effective symbolic representations we have. We should be grateful for the ones  making places for us to pause and remember the suffering of the victims and natural violence (MacCanell, 2011, p.177). Forgetting our past is a step forward into repeating the same tragedy and creating an infinite cycle. Movements like this one help us remember that we can always do something different, that we can always keep improving in the political field, our natural decisions or personal mindsets. Places like this help us remember that we are allowed to hurt but we are also allowed to heal and move on. Even though mixed emotions get in our ways when it comes to something we can’t control or an act of injustice, we should always remember that we should always act as a nation and not as individuals. 

     Personally, this place represents a big portion of our history and our memories. Is difficult for any human being to detach themselves in a physical way from someone that we desire to be close to. This movement overwhelms me with different emotions and encourages me to keep surviving and living the greates life I can in behalf of those that are gone. This movement serves also as a wake up call for humanity, emphasizing on the fact that life is unpredictable and we are not meant to live forever. It’s an eye opening situation, a reminder that we should always cherish the ones we love while we can. 

Bibliography:

1- https://www.primerahora.com/noticias/gobierno-politica/nota/colocanzapatosenelcapitolioenmemoriadelasvictimasdemaria-1285386/, “Colocan zapatos en el Capitolio en memoria de las víctimas de María”, Femmy Irrizarry Alvarez, January 6, 2018.

The Japan's Aokigahara Forest located in Mount Fuji, also better known as the Suicide Forest, is the second most popular location for citizens to commit suicide. Japanese spiritualists believe that the forest is haunted, due to the many suicides that take place in this location, generating a massive history of paranormal activity and causing many people getting lost within the forest’s depths. (Atlas Obscura, n.d). Because of the vastness of the forest, it's impossible to reach out to the many visitors that visit this grounds with no desires to come out alive. Due to this situation, many organizations came up with the idea of putting up signs with possitive messages throughout the different paths of the forest, as a desperate attempt to change someone's mind.

Every pleasurable and painful memory converge in one location that also portrays the interest between the wonderful and the dreadful (MacCannell, 2011, p.168). Viewing this location through the perspective of MacCannell, this forest represents for the people all around the world a place where they can contemplate its beautiful natural components but also its tragic content and history that wanders through its depths. "To say tourists go in search of pleasure and happiness is only to say they seek repression and displacement of painful memory" (MacCannell, 2011, p.168). Many tourists commonly gravitate towards places they feel have a connection with a painful memory or event that nobody can ever forget. This forest is visited by many people that want to grief or feel the heavy sensation that this forest leaves behind. The tragic history of this forest is of massive interest for those who want to contemplate the ongoing pain that society suffers.

A place like this to me represents a massive amount of history and tragedy that we as a community need to keep present in our minds. This place deserves the attention it needs to help those lost souls that gave up on life. This forest needs to be cherish for its beauty but also respected for its victims. We need to comtemplate its beautiful traits but also find a way to end the purpose it hides in its depths. The pain this place holds and the many visitors it attracts should be a powerful weapon to help those in need of light and to help this on-going history of agony meet its end.

Bibliography:

1. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/aokigahara-suicide-forest, "Resting in. Mount Fuji's shadow, the world's second most popular suicide location", n.d

2. http://mentalfloss.com/article/73288/15-eerie-things-about-japans-suicide-forest, "15 eerie things about Japan's suicide forest" Kristy Puchko, January 8, 2016.