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Guatemala: Never Again!
Available October 26
ISBN 1-57075-294-X
$30.00
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Book Detailing Guatemalan Military Involvement in Human Rights Atrocities Published In United States
Orbis releases English version of report on Guatemalan atrocities
By Barb Fraze
Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Orbis Books has released its English translation of last year's church-produced report documenting atrocities during Guatemala's civil war.
``This book is like a Holocaust Museum for the people of Guatemala,'' said Michael Leach, executive director of Orbis Books. At a Washington press conference Oct. 26, Leach said the book, "Guatemala: Never Again!'' documented ``a war of genocide against the Mayan people.'' The one-volume English translation is taken from four volumes issued by the Archdiocese of Guatemala human rights office's Recovery of the Historical Memory Project.
Representatives from National Public Radio, CNN-Spanish, Associated Press and numerous Latin American media outlets attended a news conference announcing the release of Guatemala: Never Again! The speakers included (left to right): Adriana Portillo-Bartow, whose family members disappeared during the war; Michael Leach, Executive Director of Orbis Books; Maggi Popkin, Acting Director of the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights; Kathy Ogle, translator from EPICA; Bishop Mario Enrique Ríos Coordinator of the Human Rights Office of the Archdiocese of Guatemala; and Thomas Quigley, U.S. Catholic Conference. |
``We don't expect `Guatemala: Never Again!' to be a best seller,'' Leach told reporters gathered at the Longworth House Office Building. ``It wasn't written by Stephen King, but it's more horrible than anything he could write.'' The book, published in cooperation with the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights, was abridged from the original Spanish and addresses the suffering of the population, how repression functioned, the consequences of repression, and demands for the future. It documents more than 400 massacres, thousands of murders, rapes and cases of torture.
Dr. Roberto Cabrera (right) speaks about the work of the Recovery of Historical Memory (REMHI) project, in which pastoral workers received the testimony regarding thousands of murders, rapes and cases of torture. Kathy Ogle of EPICA translates Cabrera's remarks from Spanish to English.
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The book is based on information gathered during the historical memory project. It is based on interviews with survivors, witnesses and even perpetrators of the abuses, most of which were carried out by the Guatemalan military. Roberto Cabrera, who coordinated the historical memory project, said that although ``presenting a work of literature is something that often is a work of joy,'' for his colleagues presenting ``Guatemala: Never again!'' was ``a moment of reclaiming the rights of the victims of Guatemala.'' One victim, Adriana Portillo-Bartow, who now lives in Chicago, told reporters at the press conference that her father, stepmother, sister-in-law, baby sister and two daughters were kidnapped and disappeared in 1981. Portillo-Barlow said that in 1997 she told her story to the archdiocesan project and to Guatemala's Historical Clarification Committee. ``I was in pain, and I was in fear, because I grew up in fear,'' Portillo-Barlow said, describing her testimony. ``Impunity runs rampant in my country,'' she said.
Bishop Mario Enrique Ríos was named Coordinator of the Human Rights Office of the Archdiocese of Guatemala (ODHAG) in May 1998, following the murder of Bishop Juan Gerardi. He poses with the newly released Orbis book, Guatemala: Never Again! a condensed English version of the Recovery of Historical Memory (REMHI) project.
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The former coordinator of the archdiocesan human rights office, the late Auxiliary Bishop Juan Gerardi Conedera of Guatemala City, issued the four Spanish volumes of ``Guatemala: Never Again!'' April 24, 1998, two days before he was bludgeoned to death outside his parish home. Two prosecutors and a judge have resigned from the murder case, which remains unresolved. Bishop Gerardi's successor as head of the human rights office, Auxiliary Bishop Mario Enrique
Adriana Portillo-Bartow is Director of the "Where Are the Children" project, which seeks to discover the whereabouts of Guatemalan children who disappeared during the war. In 1981, Portillo-Bartow's father, sister and two young daughters vanished without a trace.
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Rios Mont of Guatemala City, said the bishop's murder and other crimes will not be solved until there is ``absolute independence for this work'' and ``security for those involved.'' After the press conference, Bishop Rios told Catholic News Service that to resolve the case, Guatemala needed ``independence of the different powers in government.'' He said that with publication of ``Guatemala: Never Again!'' he hoped ``the entire world will become familiar with our reality.'' However, he added that he was ``a little fearful of what will happen'' now that the book has been released in English. ``Every action that we take always has its consequences,'' he said. |
