Monday January 12, 2009
During our visit to El Mozote, we walked down to see where and how Rufina was able to escape, where she lived, and the massive hole made by the 500 lb bomb that was dropped on the village. As I watched, listened and learned, I saw both the suffering and the pain as well as the hope for the future. These people may be a suffering people, but they are not a sad people. Everywhere you go in El Salvador, you see beautifully painted murals of love, peace and hope. El Mozote is no exception. The beautiful paintings on the church demonstrate the hope for the future that these people maintain, while still being willing to reflect upon the death and destruction that they have been through.
These types of experiences that we have been through today can be very difficult and Rufina knew this. Whenever she would go with a group and share the story of El Mozote, she would always be sure to take them to one of her favorite places which is along a nearby river bank with waterfalls and a place to swim or at the very least to dangle your feet in the water. She would encourage people to wade or swim in the water and to be “rebaptized” in the understanding that the living need to continue living and that they need to continue to tell the stories so that those who died will never be forgotten. So, we stopped by that beautiful place and rested for a time, wading in the water, washing the dust of the village streets off our feet and remembering those who lost their lives and those who did indeed live to continue to tell their stories. We were reminded in that place of beauty, that we are now a part of the history of this place and the duty and responsibility that Rufina carried with her for the rest of her life, that duty and responsibility to tell the story, will now fall to people like us and now to you who are reading this.
We then took the long bus ride back down those narrow mountain roads to Perquin for lunch, and then we went to the place that I would call “The Rebels Strike Back.” (sorry about the Star Wars reference)
Our little town of Perquin was quite the rebel stronghold during the armed conflict, and even more, it was the home of the rebel radio station, Radio Vencerenos, which broadcast on the side of the FMLN or Guerrilla Army during the armed conflict. This was also the radio station that played such a prominent role in the movie “Innocent Voices” This radio station became the most significant target of the El Salvadorian government, a target which they would never get and one that would cost them the life of one of their most brutal officers.
The story goes like this: Lieutenant Colonel Domingo Monterrosa Barrios, who was the officer responsible for giving the orders for the massacre at El Mozote and Copapayo, desperately wanted to stop the transmission of the Guerrilla radio station. So, with that in mind, the rebels set a trap, using a military tactic which traces its history back to the Trojan War over 3000 years ago. The Guerrillas, knowing how prized the radio station was and how much of a priority that Monterrosa placed on its capture, created an elaborate ruse. They led a group of government soldiers to believe that they were chasing a group of Guerillas, and when the soldiers came upon the scene they found torn uniforms, blood everywhere, (chicken blood) tracks where it looked like the wounded had been dragged away and radio broadcasting equipment that looked to have been abandoned rapidly. Could they have been so lucky?
They immediately called in a report to headquarters, Monterrosa, tuned his radio into Radio Vencerenos and discovered that they weren’t broadcasting, and immediately ordered the soldiers to secure the area that he was on his way. A few hours later, his helicopter arrived on the scene and he examined the radio equipment, finding it all in working order he ordered that it all be loaded into his helicopter so that he could take it back to headquarters. He then picked up the prize, the transmitter, and got into his helicopter, holding the transmitter firmly on his lap. One of his bomb experts asked Monterrosa if he shouldn’t examine the components first, to which Monterrosa replied that he had already done that. The helicopter took off, and once it reached about 200 feet in the air, BOOM, The guerrillas had placed explosives inside the transmitter and once they saw that the helicopter had taken off, they pressed the button on the detonator and Monterrosa was dead. His death had a tremendously demoralizing effect on the army and was heralded with praise and adulation by the Rebels.
Today we had an opportunity to see the museum for the Guerilla Army which is very near Perquin. This was also the primary location for Radio Vencerenos during the war, although, it was very mobile and extremely difficult to track. We also saw the wreckage of Monterrosa’s helicopter which they were obviously quite proud of. Very near the radio station was a large bomb crater. The Government of El Salvador came close, but were never successful in shutting the Radio Station down.
We ended the day back at the Hotel/Cabins. Dinner will be in about 30 minutes and tonight we are having a group session. These past several days have impacted me greatly and I have been struck by what I have seen. I am especially troubled because the serene backdrops of these tremendous atrocities are those beautiful mountains which I love so much. I am not at all a poet, but last night I began to think about the carnage that I have seen and I have struggled to wrap my mind around how it is possible for humans to hate and murder their fellow people without so much as seeming to care. I also understand that each of us, no matter how much we protest that it isn’t true, each of us are capable of committing these atrocities if given the right set of circumstances. This has been shown over and over again throughout history by the Nazis, by our treatment of the Native Americans, Vietnam, Korea, China, Russia, Darfur… With all of these things buzzing around in my head, I wrote a poem that I will plan to share with the group tonight, if I get up my nerve.
During our visit to El Mozote, we walked down to see where and how Rufina was able to escape, where she lived, and the massive hole made by the 500 lb bomb that was dropped on the village. As I watched, listened and learned, I saw both the suffering and the pain as well as the hope for the future. These people may be a suffering people, but they are not a sad people. Everywhere you go in El Salvador, you see beautifully painted murals of love, peace and hope. El Mozote is no exception. The beautiful paintings on the church demonstrate the hope for the future that these people maintain, while still being willing to reflect upon the death and destruction that they have been through.
These types of experiences that we have been through today can be very difficult and Rufina knew this. Whenever she would go with a group and share the story of El Mozote, she would always be sure to take them to one of her favorite places which is along a nearby river bank with waterfalls and a place to swim or at the very least to dangle your feet in the water. She would encourage people to wade or swim in the water and to be “rebaptized” in the understanding that the living need to continue living and that they need to continue to tell the stories so that those who died will never be forgotten. So, we stopped by that beautiful place and rested for a time, wading in the water, washing the dust of the village streets off our feet and remembering those who lost their lives and those who did indeed live to continue to tell their stories. We were reminded in that place of beauty, that we are now a part of the history of this place and the duty and responsibility that Rufina carried with her for the rest of her life, that duty and responsibility to tell the story, will now fall to people like us and now to you who are reading this.
We then took the long bus ride back down those narrow mountain roads to Perquin for lunch, and then we went to the place that I would call “The Rebels Strike Back.” (sorry about the Star Wars reference)
Our little town of Perquin was quite the rebel stronghold during the armed conflict, and even more, it was the home of the rebel radio station, Radio Vencerenos, which broadcast on the side of the FMLN or Guerrilla Army during the armed conflict. This was also the radio station that played such a prominent role in the movie “Innocent Voices” This radio station became the most significant target of the El Salvadorian government, a target which they would never get and one that would cost them the life of one of their most brutal officers.
The story goes like this: Lieutenant Colonel Domingo Monterrosa Barrios, who was the officer responsible for giving the orders for the massacre at El Mozote and Copapayo, desperately wanted to stop the transmission of the Guerrilla radio station. So, with that in mind, the rebels set a trap, using a military tactic which traces its history back to the Trojan War over 3000 years ago. The Guerrillas, knowing how prized the radio station was and how much of a priority that Monterrosa placed on its capture, created an elaborate ruse. They led a group of government soldiers to believe that they were chasing a group of Guerillas, and when the soldiers came upon the scene they found torn uniforms, blood everywhere, (chicken blood) tracks where it looked like the wounded had been dragged away and radio broadcasting equipment that looked to have been abandoned rapidly. Could they have been so lucky?
They immediately called in a report to headquarters, Monterrosa, tuned his radio into Radio Vencerenos and discovered that they weren’t broadcasting, and immediately ordered the soldiers to secure the area that he was on his way. A few hours later, his helicopter arrived on the scene and he examined the radio equipment, finding it all in working order he ordered that it all be loaded into his helicopter so that he could take it back to headquarters. He then picked up the prize, the transmitter, and got into his helicopter, holding the transmitter firmly on his lap. One of his bomb experts asked Monterrosa if he shouldn’t examine the components first, to which Monterrosa replied that he had already done that. The helicopter took off, and once it reached about 200 feet in the air, BOOM, The guerrillas had placed explosives inside the transmitter and once they saw that the helicopter had taken off, they pressed the button on the detonator and Monterrosa was dead. His death had a tremendously demoralizing effect on the army and was heralded with praise and adulation by the Rebels.
Today we had an opportunity to see the museum for the Guerilla Army which is very near Perquin. This was also the primary location for Radio Vencerenos during the war, although, it was very mobile and extremely difficult to track. We also saw the wreckage of Monterrosa’s helicopter which they were obviously quite proud of. Very near the radio station was a large bomb crater. The Government of El Salvador came close, but were never successful in shutting the Radio Station down.
We ended the day back at the Hotel/Cabins. Dinner will be in about 30 minutes and tonight we are having a group session. These past several days have impacted me greatly and I have been struck by what I have seen. I am especially troubled because the serene backdrops of these tremendous atrocities are those beautiful mountains which I love so much. I am not at all a poet, but last night I began to think about the carnage that I have seen and I have struggled to wrap my mind around how it is possible for humans to hate and murder their fellow people without so much as seeming to care. I also understand that each of us, no matter how much we protest that it isn’t true, each of us are capable of committing these atrocities if given the right set of circumstances. This has been shown over and over again throughout history by the Nazis, by our treatment of the Native Americans, Vietnam, Korea, China, Russia, Darfur… With all of these things buzzing around in my head, I wrote a poem that I will plan to share with the group tonight, if I get up my nerve.
If These Mountains Could Talk
Dedicated to the innocent souls who died during the armed conflict in El Salvador and who still await justice.
If these mountains could talk,
What would they say?
Under the cover of darkness,
Or naked light of day.
If these mountains could talk,
It seems so unclear,
Would they tell of great hope,
Or scream out in fear?
If these mountains could talk,
Would they speak of their pain,
Of death in the night,
Or terror in the rain?
I wish I could listen,
What stories would they tell?
Of the suffering of a people,
Of war and of Hell!
If only they could talk to me,
I wish I could hear.
How would they change me?
Is it the truth that I fear?
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