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During the 36-year Guatemalan civil war (1960-1996) government soldiers kidnapped and murdered many people. The Commission for Historical Clarification estimates over 200,000 people were killed or disappeared during the conflict. Government soldiers often rounded up men and boys from villages and executed them to instill fear into the residents. These soldiers were often supported or trained by the U.S. In fact, in
1999, President Clinton expressed regret to the Guatemalan people for
the role the U.S. played in the Guatemalan civil war. I talked with individuals who experienced this terror and who lost fathers, husbands or sons in the violence.
In spite of, and in the face of, this violence many Guatemalans hold on to hope for peace and justice in their society. They are determined the horrors of violence and war will never again envelope their country. In the next several blog posts I will chronicle several past and present efforts to demonstrate this commitment to peace and justice.
The Santiago Atitlan Massacre, December 2, 1990: (Documentation of this event is given in the Americas Watch and Physicians for Human Rights Report)
During the civil war there was an army garrison in Panabaj, a small village about 1 mile from Santiago Atitlan. Santiago Atitlan is a beautiful city of about 40,000 people, located 45 miles from Guatemala City and situated on the shore of Lake Atitlan. For many years the army had been harassing local residents, indiscriminately killing farmers and other citizens. On December 1, 1990, four soldiers entered a bar and began harassing patrons. As the evening progressed the soldiers visited other bars and became more rowdy. People gathered and a struggle ensued. One of the soldiers fired into the crowd and injured an 18 year old boy, Diego Ixbalan. The soldiers then returned to their garrison.
A group of citizens then went to the Catholic church in town and at 1:00 a.m. rang the church bell for an hour to summon the town people. Over 3 thousand people, including the town mayor and mayor-elect, gathered in the middle of the night and marched to the army garrison one mile away in Panabaj. The purpose of the march was to peacefully demonstrate against the violent actions of the government soldiers. As the mayor and mayor-elect asked to speak to the army commander, the soldiers opened fire on the gathered citizens. Thirteen people, including a number of children, were killed.
In the days that followed, thousands of people signed a petition asking the government to remove the military garrison. Under pressure from the citizens and human rights groups, the government miraculously agreed to the demands, and by the end of the month the military post was abandoned. However, the soldiers responsible for the massacre were never held accountable. The people of Santiago Atitlan formed their own security patrols "armed" with only whistles and white banners. Several months later army patrols attempted to enter the city but were driven away by the residents.Today a peace park has been constructed at the site of the demonstration. Stones from the army garrison were used to build the park. Memorials for the massacre victims are in the park.
On October 5, 2005, the village of Panabaj suffered another catastrophe when rains from Hurricane Stan triggered a massive mudslide on a mountain adjacent to the village. Several hundred people were buried in mud that was 10 feet deep in some places. But again, people gathered together with resilient hope and rebuilt the village. I visited the village in January and saw mud-stained buildings - evidence of the mudslides more than three years ago. I stayed with a woman named Ana and her family in her rebuilt home. Ana belongs to ANADESA, an organization formed to provide employment for women in Panabaj and to promote tourism in the area. Juan Carlos Azurdia worked with ANADESA for a year after he returned to Guatemala from Goshen.
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