Bárbara D'Achille explained

Bárbara D'Achille (1941-1989) was a Latvian-Peruvian journalist and conservationist.^[1] She was born in Latvia but spent most of her adult life in Western Europe and South America. She wrote for El Comercio, where she managed a regular ecology section.^[2] Brown describes her as Peru's foremost environmental journalist.^[3] She also consulted for the World Wildlife Fund and other international NGOs.

In 1989 she was killed by members of Shining Path while traveling in Huancavelica. She was 48. A colleague, Esteban Bohorquez, was also killed.^[4]

D'Achille had a daughter, Daina.^[5] Pampa Galeras – Barbara D'Achille National Reserve is named after D'Achille, as is the Manu parrotlet (Nannopsittaca dachilleae).^[6] D'Achille's murder is discussed in the final report of the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission.^[7] A character resembling D'Achille appears in Mario Vargas Llosa's novel Death in the Andes.^[8]

Notes and References

1. Fixemer, Maria. "Environmental Writing in Times of Terrorism: The Peruvian Journalist Bárbara D’Achille.” Environment & Society Portal, Arcadia (Spring 2019), no. 10. Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society. doi.org/10.5282/rcc/8498.
2. Book: Chastain, Andra, and Timothy Lorek. Itineraries of Expertise: Science, Technology, and the Environment in Latin America. University of Pittsburgh Press . 2020. 9780822987321 .
3. Book: Brown, Cynthia G.. In Desperate Straits: Human Rights in Peru After a Decade of Democracy and Insurgency . Human Rights Watch . 1990. 9780929692647 .
4. Human Rights Watch. Defending the Earth: Abuses of Human Rights and the Environment 1992. Page xiv.
5. Zapata, Javier. "Daina D’Achille: 'Mi madre fue asesinada a pedradas por Sendero Luminoso'". Peru21. 12/09/2023.
6. O'Neill JP, Munn CA, Franke I . 1991. Nannopsittaca dachilleae: a new species of parrotlet from eastern Peru. Auk. 108. 225–229.
7. https://www.cverdad.org.pe/ifinal/ Informe Fina
8. Isabelle Tauzin. Le déchiffrage archaïque et les démons du pouvoir: Lituma en los Andes. Isabelle Tauzin-Castellanos. L’Amérique latine écartelée: pouvoir et violence à l’épreuve de la fiction, PUF; CNED, 2012, 9782130606871. hal-02280578. Page 16.