Guatemala: The Secret Files from the Civil War
(This image is a memorial of the Santiago Atitlan massacre.)
Through a fellow Twitterer, Worldstechpod, I found out about an interview he conducted with Guatemalan human rights investigators and Benetech, regarding Guatemala's violent 36-year bitter Civil War. Thousands of archived papers from the 1950's onward were discovered in a warehouse, evidence of a very brutal war that killed thousands of innocent Mayans, suspected to be guerillas, or communists. Because these documents needed to be scanned and digitalized for historical safe-keeping, Benetech stepped in and offered their assistance.
The interview is now online, at FRONTLINE/World. You can see an amazing video about the secret files here.
See the timeline of Guatemalan's violent history (1944 - 2008) here.
The brutal civil war resulted in the deaths or "disappearance" of more than 200,000 Mayans, intellectuals, human rights activists and more. More than 40 villages were wiped off the map. It was a devastating time of Guatemalan history, with the origins closely tied to the US.
Recommended readings:
1. Silence on the Mountain by Daniel Wilkinson
2. Searching for Everado by Jennifer Harbury
3. Unfinished Conquest: The Guatemalan Tragedy by Victor Perera
4. The Art of Political Murder by Francisco Goldman
Children at War: "Innocent Voices"
Innocent Voices is a compelling documentary about the brutal Civil War in El Salvador, seen through the eyes of Oscar Torres, an 11 year old boy, who miraculously survived to tell his story. The film could easily be set in Guatemala, a neighboring country, as they endured a similar violent Civil War. You can listen to an NPR podcast about "Innocent Voices" here.
During the 1980's, El Salvador's armed forces were recruiting twelve year old boys, abducting them from schools, homes, villages and streets. Chava, the main character, is an 11 year old boy and the "man" of his household, after his father escaped to the United States. Chava has only one year of innocence left before he will be forced to train and fight against his own people, or "guerillas", of the FMLN. The movie follows Chava's journey in this worn torn country, where we see him escape the perils of death at the hands of the military and survive violent gun fire in his village. His story, poignant and touching, is a story worth seeing.
Here is my question: How can a country (or world!) justify the kidnapping and training of children for war? It is absolutely repugnant to me; I grieve over the innocence lost. We must stop this now.
Go rent the movie today.