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Enviar a un amigoAs part of the on-going REMHI (Recovery of Historical Memory) Project, several dioceses of the Catholic Church in Guatemala mobilized their own members to collect testimonies from victims of state violence. These testimonies were compiled in a report to disseminate and return that history to the affected communities and individuals.During Guatemala’s 36-year civil war, nearly 200,000 people were killed, disappeared or suffered other human rights abuses primarily by state security forces. The REMHI Project began in 1994, one year before the 1995 Peace Accords, as an initiative of the Human Rights Office of the Archbishop of Guatemala, under the leadership of Archbishop Juan Gerardi. While a truth commission had been outlined as part of an earlier Peace Accord, the commission had not been established and the church felt that it would not be able to meet expectations due to the extreme divisions and the degree of violence suffered by the society.
Therefore, REMHI decided to use the structure of the church and the enormous network of people associated with it to open a space for dialogue on the violence and to facilitate the work of a future truth commission. The church publicized the project through posters, flyers and radio spots. Each participating parish nominated two parishioners as ‘facilitators of reconciliation.’ REMHI’s approach has differed from other reconciliation efforts in its grassroots mobilization of individuals, especially victims of the violence who often served as facilitators. All across the country, close to 800 facilitators collected testimonies from people who had suffered violence, torture or the loss of a family member. Through the project they collected and analyzed 5,000 to 7,000 interviews. The collection of testimonials was carried out at great risk to the church and members involved since violence was still occurring.
Analysis of the testimonies demonstrated state security forces were responsible for most of the human rights abuses during the war. A final report, “Guatemala: Never Again” was released in four volumes and presented to the public on April 24, 1998. Tragically, Archbishop Gerardi was assassinated two days after the report was released; military personnel were later convicted for his death.
Despite the Archbishop’s death, many of the same facilitators have continued the project. They presented the participating communities with the results of the project, which helped place the individuals and communities experiences in a historical and national context. When translations are available in local languages, participants are given copies of a popularized version of the report, which is meant to be read aloud in group discussion. From the report, they learn that what happened to them was not their fault and that it happened to many people throughout the country. The facilitators also accompanied the communities in their reconciliation efforts, working to contribute to the construction of a culture of peace by promoting nonviolent methods to resolve conflicts in the communities. This process occurred in conjunction with the ongoing exhumations and reburial of victims’ remains, which form an important part of the healing process in Maya culture. Lastly, when the Guatemalan Truth Commission (the Commission for Historical Clarification) was established REMHI’s work contributed to the commission by supporting witnesses, the participation of community organizations and providing testimony
History is traditionally written by those in power. Victims of abuse – whether they are poor communities or civilians caught in the middle of a civil war – rarely have their say, even after the abuse has ended. In this next tactic, a group in Guatemala created a way to bring isolated communities ravaged by the war into the process of writing the history of that war. Concretely, the outcome of this process is a report, but the creation of this report began a process of reconciliation at the local level and gave a voice to people who otherwise would have had one.
REMHI’s tactic could be used in other countries to help facilitate or contribute to the work of a truth commission. Additionally, this tactic could be used in other situations where there is not a truth commission or where those most affected by human rights abuses cannot participate in processes like truth commissions and litigation.
In Guatemala this tactic was effective largely because of the extensive institutional structure and reach of the Catholic Church. Without a pre-existing, trusted network it would be difficult to gather personal stories on this scale. Funding is also necessary to carry out this tactic. In Guatemala, financial resources were limited and work was distributed among the individual dioceses.
Furthermore, the risks that can exist by using this tactic need to be taken into account. The project of REMHI generated hostility from the army and paramilitaries, especially given that many of the human rights violators continue in positions of authority in the army and government, and they have responded with threats and even assassinations of those associated with the project.
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