In 2006, Colombian writer Hector Abad Faciolince published Forgotten We’ll Be (El olvido que seremos, in the original Spanish), a book that transcended genres and borders and which has become a fundamental work for understanding Colombia’s recent history.
The book – also published in English as Memories of My Father and Oblivion: A Memoir – mixes personal memoirs with historical chronicles. It is centered on the author’s father, Hector Abad Gomez, a Colombian doctor and human rights defender who was assassinated in Medellin in 1987. In the book, this family tragedy serves as a starting point to explore the violence that marked Colombia during the 1980s.
The book is not only a tribute to an exceptional man, but also an intimate and painful portrait of a family fractured by violence. The recent film adaptation, directed by Spanish filmmaker Fernando Trueba and starring Spaniard Javier Camara, has brought this story to a new audience, bringing a visual and emotional perspective that complements the literary depth of the work.
Hector Abad Gomez: physician, advocate, father and protagonist of Forgotten We’ll Be
Hector Abad Gomez was a singular figure in the Medellin of his time. As a physician, he dedicated his life to public health, focusing on the city’s most vulnerable communities. As a human rights advocate, he tirelessly denounced the violence that was taking over the country, drawing on his strong commitment to social justice.
For his son, Hector Abad Faciolince, Abad Gomez is both an admirable and a tragic figure. Forgotten We’ll Be reconstructs the relationship between father and son while also showing the reader a man who, despite the threats and risks, never stopped fighting for a more just country. It also depicts how this struggle led to an inevitable outcome: the assassination of Abad Gomez in 1987 by hired assassins.
The literary work presents the father not only as a victim of violence, but as a symbol of moral resistance in a context where fear and corruption seemed to rule. Concurrently, it shows that Abad Gomez understood that health was not only the absence of disease, but also the presence of social justice, education and peace.
Forgotten We’ll Be depicts violence of 1980s Colombia
The historical context that frames Forgotten We’ll Be is crucial to understanding the importance of the book. Medellin in the 1980s was marked by the rise of drug trafficking, led by the notorious Pablo Escobar.
The city, once known as the “silver cup” of Colombia for its beauty and development, had become the epicenter of a violence that permeated all aspects of society.
In this atmosphere of chaos, the work of people such as Hector Abad Gomez became even more vital and dangerous. As cartels and paramilitary groups imposed their law with blood and fire, activists and human rights defenders were seen as obstacles to be eliminated.
Abad Gomez’s murder was a blow not only to his family, but also to a society that was beginning to lose its moral reference points.
Fernando Trueba’s film adaptation: art, narration and memory in Colombia
In 2020, Spanish film maker Fernando Trueba brought “Forgotten We’ll Be” to the big screen, a monumental task that involved translating the emotional and political complexity of the book into a visual language.
The film, shot in and around Medellin, sensitively captured both the warmth of family life and the brutality of the historical context.
Spaniard Javier Camara, who plays Hector Abad Gomez, delivers a moving performance that embodies the character’s humanity and bravery. His portrayal of the doctor and activist highlights not only his social struggle, but also his role as a loving and pedagogical father.
The film has been praised for its faithfulness to the spirit of the book and its ability to balance the intimate and the collective. Trueba manages to capture not only the personal tragedy of the Abad family, but also the drama of a country that, although deeply wounded, continues to fight for its memory and its future.
Forgotten We’ll Be and the importance of remembering in Colombia
Forgotten We’ll Be is more than a book or a film; it is a testimony of how memory can become an act of resistance. In a Colombia still dealing with the consequences of decades of violence, remembering figures like Hector Abad Gomez is fundamental to building a more just society.
The title of the book, taken from a poem attributed to Jorge Luis Borges, highlights the transience of life and the inevitability of forgetting. However, Abad Faciolince’s work demonstrates that remembering is an act of love and justice. By keeping his father’s memory alive, the author also invites us to reflect on our collective responsibility to history.
Ultimately, both the book and the film remind us that, although forgetting may be a constant threat, remembrance has the power to transcend time and transform pain into a source of hope.
The story of Hector Abad Gomez belongs not only to his family, but to all those who dream of a world where human dignity is not a distant ideal, but an everyday reality.