By WALNICE NOGUEIRA GALVÃO*
Heleny Guariba will join the list of murdered former students, those who had already graduated when they were caught by the claws of repression
The Faculty of Philosophy, Literature and Human Sciences of the University of São Paulo has just awarded posthumous diplomas to all of its students who were murdered by the dictatorship. And there were many, 15 in total, three of them my students, giving this educational institution the sinister record among all those in the country.
It's been about half a century – but that doesn't tarnish the achievements of those selfless young people who gave their lives to the fight for freedom.
The ceremony was attended by a panel of the University's highest authorities, including the rector and vice-rector, as well as the director of the unit. The presidents of the UNE (National Student Union), the UEE (State Student Union) and the DCE-USP (Central Student Directory of USP) were also present.
Bringing the students to the ceremony was a great idea. They came in an organized manner and commented on the ceremony by chanting rhyming slogans, bringing life to such a sad occasion and bringing the vibe of a public event to the event. The organization of the event was impeccable: they investigated and found family members or other relations of all 15.
Social movements have been taking on the responsibility of keeping alive the flame of denouncing the crimes committed against these young people for a long time. In general, it is the family members who carry the torch of justice. Over time, protest committees have been created to sue the State and whoever else was necessary, winning or losing, but advancing in the fight with each step. These are events from the early 1970s that happened half a century ago. Little by little, the State has tended to recognize its responsibility for the crimes – but the number of “disappeared” people is still high, when they are not accused of suicide or accidental escape.
USP created its own Truth Commission to investigate the facts, made up of historians and jurists. The result was the monumental publication of a Report in 10 volumes, available on the internet, of which the FFLCH is responsible for an entire volume, number 7. It shows how cruel the repression that befell the school was.
Among the pioneers was the extraordinary commitment of the Truth Commission of the State of São Paulo, whose president, Deputy Adriano Diogo, coordinated the work and gave it visibility by holding sessions to commemorate each deceased person in the auditorium of the Legislative Assembly. The ceremony, which included the relatives of the deceased at the head of the proceedings, celebrated their lives with dedication. I attended two of them, that of Norberto Nehring and that of Luiz Eduardo da Rocha Merlino, and I can attest to their high dignity.
In the case of FFLCH, there was some hesitation, generating controversies that were soon clarified, regarding the inclusion of the name of my friend Heleny Telles Guariba, a Philosophy student. Heleny Guariba, after returning from an internship at City Theatre, by Roger Planchon, in France, was working in Santo André, at the City Hall theater, staging a play by Molière, Jorge Dandin. The production won all the São Paulo awards that year. Heleny Guariba still taught classes and held workshops at the Teatro de Arena dramaturgy seminar, as well as at the Alliance Française, disseminating the teachings of Brechtian theater that she had learned in France.
Today, her name adorns several institutions, such as the Heleny Guariba Auditorium, part of the Santo André City Hall, in recognition of her dedication to the development of local theater. The Heleny Guariba Studio is located in Praça Roosevelt, in downtown São Paulo, and the Cultural Center in Diadema bears her name.
Well, her name was included on the list of murdered students, until it was discovered that Heleny Guariba had already graduated. Her name was then removed from the list, but there was much debate about the reason for this. Now, she will be included on the list not of students, but of murdered ex-students, those who had already graduated when they were caught by the claws of repression.
There are several besides Heleny, including my friends and generational colleagues Iara Iavelberg, Vlado Herzog and Norberto Nehring. The latter was in Chemistry and so may be on another list. I am requesting that all of them, since their careers were also interrupted, receive a doctorate. Honorary.
*Walnice Nogueira Galvão Professor Emeritus at FFLCH at USP. She is the author, among other books, of Reading and rereading (Sesc\Ouro over Blue). [amzn.to/3ZboOZj]
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