What sadness does this peaceful green landscape hide? I ask myself as I stand observing the small city of Huanta from its rather prominent overlook, accompanied by a 50-some foot statue of Christ. It’s a strange sensation – to oscillate between the children playing with shadow puppets and their father recalling the years of conflict, assassinations, massacres, and torture that plagued this region. In that field, the army brought people to be tortured and killed. At that church, 6 young men were dragged out during a worship service and executed. You can still find human remains in those mountains…and thus his memories continue to unfold sadly before my eyes. I wonder, if this contented, middle-aged, father can so quickly conjure up these bloody accounts of the past, what remembrances whisper across the thoughts of the people I am daily passing in the street? Of the little old lady selling sweets on the corner, of the men talking in the street, of the women walking their children to school? What remnants of the violence continue to haunt their lives?
Panorama of Huanta
I have yet to blog concerning the violence that wracked Peru for 20 years, shaking the country and society to its core. It’s a complex issue, and one to which I wish to do justice (as ironic as that word seems when recounting such a history). Let me say right here that I will fail to do that – I will fail to communicate the pain, fear, and helplessness that I know many people experienced. Neither will I be able to express to you the hope, inspiration, and defiance that others felt. I will, however, try to tell you what happened.
Violence broke out in Peru in the early 80s, instigated primarily by Marxist intellectuals, as a desperate response to the dire poverty and social inequality that had spread throughout the country. The most prominent Marxist (soon to be termed ‘terrorist’) group was the Shining Path. They focused their efforts in the communities of the Andes, where the poverty was, and still is, more concentrated, in hopes of converting the local populations to the cause of revolution. What began with lynching dogs from telephone poles, issuing threats, and stirring up unrest among youth, soon devolved into assassinations, explosions, and destruction of public and private property. The government chose to counter this movement with its own violence, and the general population found themselves caught in between two warring entities.
Although the Marxists never gained wide support from the local populations, the government began treating most Andean locals as terrorists or suspects. The Shining Path, likewise, persecuted the locals, often accusing them of collaborating with the government forces. In response to this, some communities formed self-defense committees, which at times worked to protect locals, and at times committed their own injustices. Thus what was meant to be a movement of liberation manifested itself in village massacres, bodies in ditches, destroyed infrastructure, torture, and further oppression.
Church where 6 young men were dragged out and executed by the army during a service
No one ever won. By the year 2000 the violence had subsided, partly due to the iron-fisted policies of President Fujimori. While some credit him with bringing peace, most see his policies for what they were – an abuse of human rights, and the use of terror to fight terror. He has since been tried and found guilty of these crimes in international court (it should be noted that his daughter is running for president in the 2011 election).
In the meantime, the country continues to rebuild itself. Some remnants of the Shining Path remain, but the majority of their activities are in connection to narco-trafficking. While some have been able to put the past behind them, others are still dealing with the ghosts of the terror. Many people disappeared during this time, and their bodies are still in the process of being found – when in Ayacucho I spoke with a woman who had finally had the closure of burying her father, just three weeks ago. Many families have yet to find the remains of their loved ones. Other people I know, not much older than myself, still struggle with the mental effects of having witnessed violence as young children, or the physical effects of the malnutrition caused by the upheaval. Communities and individuals continue to struggle to shed the cyclical nature of violence. Despite this tumultuous era, the people of Peru continue to move forward, working towards a prosperous and peaceful future, an effort that I have had the privilege of observing and participating in.
Christ statue overlooking Huanta
Anna this is beautifully written. Today Samuel told me that in many of the outlying areas in Huanta the military is still killing villagers. He said that they are trying to get national news to cover stories of these killings, but with pressure from the government, they remain silent. I dont know how much of this is still going on, or the number of people affected, but it is definitely troubling to say the least.