IFCH at Unicamp pays posthumous tribute to researchers from the Department of Philosophy

Hundreds of people were at the Institute of Philosophy and Human Sciences (IFCH) this Thursday afternoon (31) to pay posthumous tribute to researchers Maria Érbia Cássia Carnaúba, aged 32, and Carolina Blasio da Silva, aged 33, former students from the Department of Philosophy at Unicamp. Both died last Saturday (26) in the same car accident at Viracopos International Airport, in Campinas. Carolina Blasio defended her thesis on Friday (25), one day before the accident.

Family members, teachers, staff, students and friends of the researchers were at the IFCH ceremony, in addition to their advisors: professors Marco Antonio Caron Ruffino (Carolina's advisor) and Marcos Nobre (Maria Érbia's advisor).

Marco Ruffino highlighted that Carolina's research work was of a very high level. “I met her in 2010, in Ouro Preto-MG. She was a psychologist, then came philosophy, metaphysics, logic. She knew a lot. She was creative and had very original ideas. She fell in love with logic and spoke about the topic as if she were talking about poetry," she expressed. "Carolina was very happy with the defense, as it was a long journey. While she was writing her thesis, she had a baby, traveled a lot and lived in Germany. I don't know how she managed to finish such a laborious, dense thesis and dominating contemporary bibliography like no one else. It was a great loss for us and for research,” she pointed out.

Speaking to Professor Marcos Nobre, he recalled that Maria Érbia threw herself completely head first into her projects. He recalled that she was a very courageous person and understood that academic work should always be linked to her experience of activism. "She never gave up her life experience. She was a person of firm convictions," he recalled. During his speech, Nobre read two pages of Erbia's doctoral thesis. The excerpt addressed themes such as sensitivity and reason, the fight against violence, morality, culture and aesthetics, among other points. In the text, Erbia said "that victims of power have been the basis of this culture".

Friends and colleagues from IFCH spoke remembering the honorees. Mária Érbia's brother, accompanied by family members at the ceremony, reported that his family came from the northeastern backlands and that they experienced very difficult times economically. “We face deep poverty in a place where people who are leaving are always looking for a better place. It was like that with Erbia. She left the backlands and went in search of her dream in Campinas, the United States, England, Spain and several countries around the world. It was showing its light. Now I believe that the most comfortable place for her is in each person’s heart.”

Américo, Maria Érbia's husband, thanked the IFCH for the tribute and said that his wife was a charming, sweet, welcoming person and a warrior. João Marcos, Carolina's husband, sent a message from Germany also thanking him for the honor. He commented that, just hours before she passed away, they exchanged messages of love. He ended by saying that everything they experienced together was worth it.

After the speeches, everyone attended the ceremony of planting a tree – a manacá-da-serra – in the institute's garden, in memory of the researchers. The photographic records taken during the tributes will form a dossier to be sent to the families of former Unicamp students.

See note of regret from the Rectory of Unicamp.