madriguera mia: basta ya, 30 years later

Yesterday was a historic day for Guatemala and human rights: Rios Montt, former dictator during 1982-83, became the first Latin American ruler to be accused of genocide. Head of both the Guatemalan state and military during the worst years of the "scorched earth" campaigns, Montt oversaw the military counter insurgency plans that massacred hundreds of indigenous communities, including Rabinal's Plan de Sanchez.

While friends and fellow interns attended the trial yesterday in Guate, I stayed at the Fundacion to see a play put on by a traveling theatre group, "Bajo las hojas secas, el cemento y la broza" (a tricky way of describing what lays buried beneath the ground we walk on: the past), which told of five characters' relationship with the armed conflict. Beautifully done, and by the end students were standing to share their own families' stories. Quite a day... even if it comes 30 years later.