Story-telling might reveal truths in traditional ways that resonate with populations differently than the official processes. They may be especially favored by those who lack access to official forums and among those whose point of view might be unwelcome. These informal means of communication often reveal hidden truths and allow for expressing them in ways which may be more socially acceptable. The person telling jokes, writing cartoons, or composing songs may also be able to use the tools of irony and metaphor in creative ways to tell stories which cannot as easily be expressed under the constraints of the language of conversation. Similar to humor, rumor, and song, public artforms challenge official narratives of past events.
Some performances grow out of organized resistance and seize public space.
By exposing these alternative truths we hope to bring light to those truths that struggle for expression, their process of seeking that expression, and the tensions they evoke in societies undergoing transitions from authoritarian rule. These are likely to be truths told by groups that remain outside the political power structure, such as women s groups, or racial, ethnic, religious or minority groups. These might involve criticisms around the commissions interpretation of events, its proportionality or fairness in casting blame, the silences in the report, etc. These might involve the truths of perpetrators who renounce or confess, or whose truths are excluded from the official truth commission process. Taboo truths might also include the private truths of victims who were sexually abused or tortured and are ashamed to discuss it until something changes to allow them to feel comfortable making public statements.