Today was an emotional one in many ways. We heard of the genocidal attacks on the Maya people from three perspectives. One perspective was from Isabel Osorio, wife of Jesus Osorio Tecu, who survived the attacks to flee into the mountains, losing many of her friends and family. Another was from Jesus, as he discussed the work of the Rabinal Community Legal Clinic (ABJP). He spoke of how the Legal Clinic works to find justice for the Mayan people, as they struggle to reclaim stolen land, to bring their attackers to justice, and to get reparations for the women who suffered sexual abuse at the hands of soldiers. A third was from the Historical Memory museum in Rabinal, where they have worked to bring dignity back to those who were lost, sharing their photos, their names and their efforts to unite families with the remains of those who were lost, and by highlighting aspects of the Mayan culture that the people had to hide in order to protect themselves.
For me, the saddest and yet most moving thing I saw was the plaque to all the children who were murdered. Some names were listed with no ages beside them, because they were children who were newborn and not yet named, or who were murdered in utero, given names so they would not be forgotten.
There was such hope in the day too – Isabel and her beautiful family, in her kindness to us in not only reliving her story to tell us, but to show us her weaving, teaching us to make tortillas, her welcoming hospitality. There were also our visits to Qachuu Aloom, a learning centre that is growing and using traditional Mayan foods and medicinal crops and keeping some traditional crafts and skills alive.
This day we have learned so much that we that could never have found in books alone.
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