Uncovering the Crimes of Others

Machette the jungle brush

November 25: Today was the day to finally uncover the crimes of others. In the process, I have learned what it means to families to finally have something done after the horrible mass crimes of the 36 year civil war. But I also learned that despite the "peace processes" that denounce the violence and call for amends, little is set up to accomplish anything. Despite the international show of reform it is incredibly hard and complicated for victims who have suffered mass atrocities at the hands of their governments to ever feel like there is any sense of justice or closure.


Orienteering

We leave bright and early in the truck into the mountains. We have all our tools packed and we alternate sitting in the bucket. It is a very bumpy ride! On route, we do stop to eat,at a tin shack overhang where the ground all around was mud. We were a little worried our foreign stomachs may not be able to handle this meal but it ended up being some of the best tamale and fried chicken (perfectly seasoned and crispy) I had ever had. The horchata (rice and cinnamon drink) was exceptionally good as well. After going up some final hills (I did not think the truck was going to make it), we arrive in the area of Silquil where we had been asked to excavate immediately after the two hours of driving. After balancing all the tools and gear we set off with some of the family and the owners of the property who had volunteered to help. The direct family had even farther of a distance to come to meet us. They live in another far distant mountain side, even less accessible costing them far more to travel. All this for a family who has very little money to begin with. It costs them literally everything they have to be here today. 


The family waits

   We walk down a steep mountain side and after only 10 minutes the line of people halt with some shouts in Ixchil and Spanish. Apparently we had reached the estimated site already (us girls had all been set to bush-wack for an hour!). With the assisted information from witness testimony and our orienteer, our EFI team get our compasses, locating north and taping off the area. Some local men and a couple family member volunteer themselves to help with much of search digging, and boy, did we end up being grateful with the 6 feet holes we ended up digging. Before, we start with the major digging though, we leave time for the members to give thanks and say prayers. Since the uncovering of the body is for the family, we follow their wishes foremost. Our EFI members remind them this is a safe space, so whatever form of belief or ceremony they wish to follow they can do so without hesitation. 


Interviews

While the local men and us girls take turns digging, Oscar, another member of EFI followed through with interviewing the family. From their standard report, he started off with the most basic information like facial characteristics, any known previous injuries, what he did for a living (so to match indicators of bone wear) in order to gain a profile. As the teeth are part of the major indicators for age, he asks if he could take pictures of some of the families teeth in order to have a relative comparison. One reason, Oscar and other interviewers start off with the most basic information is so that family may feel comfortable, and only then, they begin getting into detail for other clues that will be helpful when presenting the final case to the Reparations Program.


Digging, Digging, and more digging

So who are we looking for you wonder? Well we were looking for the father of the daughter and nephew who were here with us. During the conflict, people were set in great fear and distrust. The government and the military had friends and neighbours turn on each other. During the conflict, the father had been picked up by the army and forced to be a guide for them in the mountains. After a year he was set free. But when he got back to his hometown, members of the guerrilla movement called him a traitor. But how can you be a traitor when you had to leave your home against your will? Once again, he was torn from his home and his family. Witnesses recall they bound and beat him, stripped him naked and then hung him, leaving him to slowly die. The witness, more recently before he had passed away, had made sure to tell a community member where he knew the man was buried. It was because of his clue that we knew the approximate place to start digging.


 

Digging

There have been many uncovered mass graves that this initiative and others like it have found. But one thing Cristian had pointed out (as it has defined in different genocides), is that the case of Guatemala has defined a mass grave as one containing five sets of remains (in Bosnia and Croatia it was 3). While other initiatives focused on these larger graves, those of murdered family members have not been deemed as important so the cases of one or two are often ignored. That is why the members of EFI have started to put more focus on the these small graves, because these families are just as important.
  

Digging

Digging straight down around our blocked off area, we began to realized from the colour of the soil that this area was not the right spot. The lighter soil indicated that this area was too dense and had not been disturbed. We began to move further left and right using standard shovels and large hoes. Still no sign. More people had come to watch. We decided to dig up northward. Then all of a sudden, thousands upon thousands of stinging ants came spewing out! It looked like black lava! The soil was moving like water! Someone spoke to us in English that this had to be a good sign (that we were close)! Sure enough, the next thing we spotted was a portion of a Humerus. We halted digging at once. The volunteers carefully moved the large portion of soil around it and then Cristian asked Amanda and Kalista to assist Juan Carlos with the beginnings of the fine brushing process. Similar to archaeological digs, you have to treat everything with extraordinary caution since you cannot risk damaging anything, especially when quality of the bone is all you have in identifying the individual. If you accidentally break something you immediately lose quality of evidence on determining anti-mortem, peri-mortem, and post-mortem of trauma.

The uncovering begins: humerous and part of skull

We use fine tools such as small brushes, trowels and sifters to carefully remove the soil around the body, holding loose bones down when brushing around them. There is no sign of clothing, so our witness' accounts seem to match. 
 

The emotions

 In the mean time, I have been recording and taking photos of the process, while doing some sifting,  to make sure we do not miss any teeth or small bones. Cristian gets us to switch it up. I continue working around the skull and ribs. Many roots have grown around and through the bones. We cannot pull the roots out, because of the risk of breaking bones, so we cut them with shears. Continuing sweeping and removing the dirt, and trying not to get bitten by the ants, I continue to think about this individual, his family around us, and what he could possibly have done to deserve such a cruel death. "Nothing", I concluded. The horrible reality in conflicts and wars is that reasons for killing and justifications to do so become incredibly shallow and misguided. If only, the persons holding the guns would actually hear out what the other has to say. So many deaths were results of misunderstanding or not being given a chance to explain what was happening. Some incredible raw footage of what was actually happening during the Guatemalan Civil War while the American and Guatemalan government where spewing hate propaganda against so-called Communists (people who didn't even know what Communism was) is located below. I would highly recommend taking a look at “When the Mountains Tremble” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4rG8nmgRw4). One young member of the military of the state was asked why he was in a small village of peasants to kill. He responded he did not know why or for what reason; he was just doing his job. What an all too familiar response. While in the aftermath we call it a horrific atrocity, but at the time it could have been prevented.


'Steady as she goes'

We get to the point where we had uncovered all of the bones. He was laying in an unnatural kneeling position facing us. We pause again, this time to take official pictures with the case number which will later be sent to the Public Ministry and National Reparations Program. Before us girls got started with carefully removing the bones, the family and onlookers stopped us and thanked us for our work. There is a train of translation from Ixchil to Spanish to English, but the chilling feeling of being at the bottom of a 6 foot hole surrounded by the family members who have been grieving for 35 odd years, is fully felt.

A Prayer for the loss

They express, how long they have unfulfillingly mourned the murder and disappearance of their father, uncle and grandfather that they will never get to meet, except for the remains of a naked body that lay there now. They ask why their family like so many were forced apart by much injustice and bloodshed, and for what? Nothing good came out of those 36 years of bloodshed. They continue to thank us and how much it means to know people worlds away care, while so many in their own seem to not. She then apologizes greatly for not being able to provide food or offerings for us, but the distance and money it took to get to this location has left them with very little. I get goosebumps despite the 25 C weather on this November day. 
While feeling speechless, I respond that it is truly an honour being here today. What had been done to their, and so many others families, is a horribly sickening thing that continues to happen. None of this should have and should never continue to happen. "I hope that with more acts of kindness, respect and justice, the process of grieving will be eased."


The on-lookers

We begin to carefully remove the bones from the rest of the soil. With the knowledge that we have as a group have been able to separate the bones left and right. Still snipping away at the roots, the skull is the last to be removed. Oscar takes the bones into individual bags for the different sections. To ensure we have not missed anything, we shift through more soil. We have recovered the body.

'Steady as she goes': sweeping and categorizing

Before we clean up, our members remind the family that the stage of recovery is complete, and that the next stages will begin. These stages may take more time, depending on the duration of the government process. But no matter how long it is going to take they are always welcome to contact us, or to come by the city to see the process. The time when we can finally return the remains and reparations is upon them. We then all pitch in to fill the hole back in. You do not realize how much you have dug until you go fill it back in. I started hearing some giggling from the children. Every time Amanda would say her name, the children would giggle. We wondered why. We found out the next day, asking one of Ixchil men that "amanda" means "home-wrecker" or "mistress". We had a good laugh about that.


Uncovered and bent

Earlier during the hours of digging, I had given some of the children a jump rope. Having fun trying to communicate non-verbally to start them with jump skip rope, I had remembered I had Canada pins. Showing them on myself of what they were for I offered it to them. Allowing me, I carefully stuck them to their beautifully sewn huipils. I remembered after, what some Guatemalans had thought of Canada, having heard and done much previous research on Canada's diminished reputation on the world stage in the last 9 years. This had included a few Canadians being abducted and murdered from the human rights violating mining work that had been ordered to deploy from Ottawa. 
With all the gear packed back up, we all headed back up to the truck. Despite the feeling of great satisfaction and relief, leaving seemed to be the hardest part. I felt bad just leaving them, with their remains. The nephew though, was coming with us back to Nebaj, to complete some paperwork as the uncle's birth certificate. 


Canada pins

The two hours back on the off-roads had was a lot more excitement. Everything was so bright and beautiful. Despite the endless hard work and injustice these families have dealt with over and over, they smiled back as I waved. And that is what is wonderful about human nature, despite all horrible things that others have committed, with just a smile and honest acts of kindness, you can make others days or lives, just that much more positive and optimistic.

Buenos Tardes y Mucho Gracias