'For me, this unrelenting culture of fear that keeps the past silenced and repression alive is shockingly immoral...'

Holly Bruford left London to live and work in Guatemala. In her second column, she finds out more about the fear that still haunts many of the country’s communities.

Since the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century, Guatemala’s society has been divided between the strict, brutal control of a wealthy minority and the repression of the opposition, the people of the countryside - the Maya.

Over the past century, repression has been achieved by complete military control, government corruption and continuous international military aid supporting supposed counterinsurgency measures against a perceived communist threat.

It was this heightened level of repression against the Mayans that became the major reason for supporting the armed alternative: guerilla groups who had unified to develop a movement in reaction to the deterioration of their social and economic situation.

Eradication

And it was therefore these indigenous communities, illiterate, remote and uncomprehending of the politics behind their country’s war , which were hardest hit as the military executed its eradication approach towards these alleged  ‘communists’.

Having recently moved to the small highland town of San Pedro, I was intrigued by the effects of the repression in such a community. These are stories of the last twenty-five years: fresh, raw memories.   Memories of an era which cost 150,000 lives, destroyed 440 villages and a further 50,000 disappeared.

What I regrettably discovered was that the culture of fear remains strong - strong enough to keep the stories silenced of a recent and real past. The repression therefore, although in a more disguised form, continues to exist.

The local museum, for example, holds no written documentation of what happened here in San Pedro. There is no record of how many were killed nor who their killers were. These facts would tell too much.

In an interview with a local villager his request for me to change all names illustrates the fear of even now being labeled as a ´talker´ and what the consequences might be.‘Juan’ was a former member of the Civil Defense Patrols (PACs), bands of predominantly voluntary soldiers who patrolled under military command as a further tool in the extermination of the guerilla movement. These men were unpaid and claim they were forced to serve, as those who refused were denounced as subversives and assassinated. “We had no choice, either we patrolled or we were killed.”

‘Juan’s’ story is that of every other man from San Pedro. Further sources described it as a social event, “We would get together, all the men in our patrol, bring food and stay up talking and joking all night.” These comments describe an innocent participation distinct from the claims of human rights groups that the PACs were responsible for thousands of human rights violations committed during the war.

Compensation

In the current press there is much attention surrounding the PACs who have been protesting for payment as compensation for their work in the Patrols. Reparations, however, seem an insult to the dignity of the survivors whose human rights were violated, exacerbated by the fact that payment to the PACs well exceeds the compensation promised to the victims. There is also talk of blatant political bargaining with parties promising payment as a way of buying pre-election votes.

The talk of receiving money is a distant discussion for the village men of San Pedro. Payment, if ever given, is limited to 260,000 named in an archived government registry of patrollers even though 626,000 people applied for the money.

For me, this unrelenting culture of fear that keeps the past silenced and repression alive is shockingly immoral in a country which claims to have moved on since the singing of the Peace Accords in 1996, and something that should continue to command international attention.

For the people of San Pedro, village life has returned to a routine of normality and wounds are beginning to heal. Perhaps that in itself is enough in comparison to the bloodshed that the thirty-six year civil war brought to these innocent communities.

These are personal comments and not necessarily the position of Christian Aid or its partners.

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