KIDNAPPINGS IN COLOMBIA

Kidnappings... Last week, my group did a presentation on the topic of Kidnappings in Colombia. We were assigned "News Of A Kidnapping" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It seems like those kidnapped in Colombia were treated in a more "humane" way. They are fed and not all of those kidnapped are tortured. The captors don't always "hate" those kidnapped. The captors, at times, had friendly relationships with those kidnapped. Would I be a horrible person if I said that I would rather be a kidnapped victim in Colombia than someone tortured in 1970's Argentina? I feel that the question is irrelevant; human rights violations are human rights violations!

Even more interesting, is all the factions that are involved in a kidnapping and their stories. One of my colleagues did her presentation on children in the guerrillas. The facts are interesting. 30% of those in the Guerrillas are children and two-thirds are under the age of 15. Average age of recruitment: 13.8 years in 2002 →12.8 years in 2006. Many times, they are forced to join the guerrillas but at times, they volunteer. These children are trained to kill and experience a life that is not meant for them. Garcia Marquez often makes reference to these children soldiers in the book. They are often the ones monitoring those held captive. There are those held captive and their families. My first presentation was on Ingrid Betancourt and it is very clear from reading her children and her mother’s plead to the guerrilla, that they were deeply impacted and hurt by their loved one’s capture.

Garcia’s book also shows the role of the authority. Many times, there is nothing that they can do.

Violence or Non-Violence

The Instructor in class made an interesting observation. He felt that a violent response to any type of repression is not necessary and unjustifiable. This took me aback because part of me finds a non-violent response to be cowardly. How can I stand aside and watch as loved ones are killed and tortured? I am ignorant about the history of non-violence. I know of Mr. Luther King Jr. and Ghandi and their involvement in movements that were non-violent but when thinking of acts oppression on my family and myself I’m not sure if I would not resort to violence.

I brought this topic up to my co-workers, supervisor, and friend. My friend Consuelo said that violent responses would only give authorities reason to detain you and that non-violent responses are better. She also felt that one must rise above those doing the oppressing. If you use their same means then you are at their level, you are no better.

My friend Laura said that it depends on the severity of the issue. Laura is from the Dominican Republic and she felt that if she were living in the days of Trujillo that she would take up arms against him if he attacked members of her family. She feels that although a non-violent response is better, she wonders if, when faced with a scenario like the one mentioned, she could step-out of herself and not resort to violent acts.

Bishop Romero and El Salvador:

I was talking to tia Olga about the many abuses that took place in Central America in the 70's and 80's and asked her if she remembers any of them. Mi tia Olga, who was born and raised in the Dominican Republic and later in her adult life migrated to the US, said that she remembers reading about them. I brought up the assassination of Bishop Romero and bang! she says she remember this vividly. I was surprise because soon after my aunt's comment about the assassination, my oldest sister interjected and said that she also remembers his assassination. My sister Gabby who is 31 added that Ruben Blades wrote a song about it. I laughed because we had seen Blades' video in class. Part of the reason why I discussed this topic with my tia was because one of her daughters is dating someone from El Salvador. I wondered how he and his family were affected by the civil war and the government's violations of human rights.

Bishop Romero’s life story is inspirational. Oscar Romero, a conservative priest who did not necessarily represent the growing number of liberation theology practicing priests in El Salvador, was appointed Bishop in 1977. He would become more vocal about his opposition to government sponsored genocide after one of his colleagues in the movement of liberation theology, father Rotelio Grande, was murdered. Romero would publicly denounce his assassination and later the government’s role in the killing of civilians. One of his speeches stands out as it is directly ties the government to the killings in El Salvador. It takes guts to recite a statement like this during one of his masses and I must say that I was deeply touched.

"I would like to make a special appeal to the men of the army, and specifically to the ranks of the National Guard, the police and the military. Brothers, you come from our own people. You are killing your own brother peasants when any human order to kill must be subordinate to the law of God which says, "Thou shalt not kill." No soldier is obliged to obey an order contrary to the law of God. No one has to obey an immoral law. It is high time you recovered your consciences and obeyed your consciences rather than a sinful order. The church, the defender of the rights of God, of the law of God, of human dignity, of the person, cannot remain silent before such an abomination. We want the government to face the fact that reforms are valueless if they are to be carried out at the cost of so much blood. In the name of God, in the name of this suffering people whose cries rise to heaven more loudly each day, I implore you, I beg you, I order you in the name of God: stop the repression."

The Massacre at El Mozote

Image 1: Excavated site: The Massacre at El Mozote
Image 2: Image of El Mozote today
Image 3: Child in El Mozote today


As I read "The Massacre at El Mozote" by Mark Danner, I thought of how scary it would be to live in a place where the authorities are the ones responsible for terrorizing and committing acts against its citizens. In the case of El Salvador, the military targeted the most vulnerable populations, Mayan in rural communities. I was devastated, outraged, and disturbed by some of the accounts that I found in the novel.

What is most disturbing is the US's role in these dark years of El Salvador's history. They heavily funded and politically backed the Salvadoran military and its death squads. The US's backing of the military was a death sentence to all these people.

Even as I kid growing up in the Dominican Republic, I remember strikes and some social unrest but I don’t remember ever feeling persecuted. I do remember stories about Trujillo’s dictatorship from family members. The only person that is old enough to remember life during the Trujillo regime is my abuelita Tita. Tita is 90 and Tita usually points out the positives. She does mention some distant relatives who were persecuted but it seems like she was not necessarily negatively impacted by the assassinations and the terror. I’m not sure if she was even aware that these acts against humanity were taking place. Mi abuelita, Tita, is also not Haitian and our family was not on the political left. Tita is a white lady from a middle class family: she was at one point a teacher and a school principal. There was no reason for my Tita to fear that Trujillo would go after her or her family.

Rufina Amaya presented the most devastating story. As I read her account of what took place on the day of the massacre, my stomach was churning and my heart broke. I don’t know if there is anything worse than experiencing the death of your children. Rufina managed to escape from line-up of women who were about to be killed. This was what happened afterwards. I will quote Rufina at length because this was the quote that stood out the most for me.

“Then I heard one of my children crying. My son, Cristino, was crying, ‘Mama Rufina, help me! They’re killing me! They killed my sister! They’re killing me! Help me!’ I didn’t know what to do. They were killing my children. I knew that if I went back there to help my children I would be cut to pieces. But I couldn’t stand to hear it, I couldn’t bear it. I was afraid that I would cry out, that I would scream, that I would go crazy. I couldn’t stand it, and I prayed to God to help me. I promised God that if He helped me I would tell the world what happened here."

“Then I tied my hair up and tied my skirt between my legs and I crawled on my belly out from behind the tree. There were animals there, cows and a dog, and they saw me, and I was afraid they would make a noise, but God made them stay quiet as I crawled among them. I crawled across the road and under the barbed wire and into the maguey on the other side. I crawled a little farther through the thorns, and I dug a little hole with my hands and put my face in the hole so I could cry without anyone hearing. I could hear the children screaming still, and I lay there with my face against the earth and cried.”

After reading this, I felt helpless and overcome by rage. The last time I felt this way was after watching “Hotel Rwanda.” Where could we have gone so wrong? And how can the people who commit these atrocious acts live with themselves?


(Image above:Aftermath years after the massacre.)