Seeking truth, justice and redress for rights abuse victims is necessary to ensure guarantees of non-repetition
On March 24, the international community commemorates the International Day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims.
The date was specially chosen to pay tribute to El Salvador’s Monsignor Oscar Arnulfo Romero, who was shot and killed by a sniper while celebrating Mass at the Divine Providence Chapel in capital San Salvador on March 24, 1980.
In one of the most prophetic homilies in contemporary times, Archbishop Romero’s last words the day before his assassination reverberated in all nooks and crannies of the tiny country: “In the name of God, in the name of these suffering people whose cries rise to heaven more loudly each day, I implore you, I beg you, I order you in the name of God: stop the repression.”
This same homily, said more than four decades ago by San Romero of the Americas, whose transformation from a conservative bishop into one of the most progressive and courageous men-of-the-cloth in contemporary times, remains as relevant as ever.
The killings of the poor campesinos, caught in the crossfire for their alleged affiliation with or support for the guerrillas, the persecution of priests, nuns and other church workers, the enforced disappearances of both children and adults alike, the massacres of Basic Christian Communities — all these prompted Archbishop Romero to never turn his back on his suffering people.
In words and in deeds, he responded to the signs of the times. As he said: “I will not tire of declaring that if we really want an effective end to violence, we must remove the violence that lies at the root of all violence: structural violence, social injustice, exclusion of citizens from the management of the country, repression. All this is what constitutes the primal cause from which the rest flows naturally.”
“A tale of a lady who felt euphoric and felt like being elevated to the clouds when she was reunited with her child after two decades remains vivid in my memory”
I visited El Salvador twice, first in 1999 with the survivor of the Jesuit massacre, the late Father Jon de Cortina, SJ, and in 2010 during my one-month stay in nearby Guatemala.
I was blessed to have visited the families of the disappeared in the once militarized town of Guarjila, Chalatengo. I went to the houses of some families of the disappeared whose children, snatched by Salvadoran soldiers during the war, have been reunified with them. Thanks to the excellent work of the Asociacion Pro-Busqueda de Ninas y Ninos Desaparecidos, of which Father Cortina was the founding director, through DNA the group successfully traced the whereabouts of the disappeared children and reunited them with their biological parents.
A tale of a lady who felt euphoric and felt like being elevated to the clouds when she was reunited with her child after two decades remains vivid in my memory. So strong was her faith in Msgr. Romero that she unceasingly prayed for his intercession, which she believes was heard by God.
In San Salvador, I also had the opportunity to visit the Universidad Centro Americana where the museum of the massacred Jesuits and their two helpers are located. Bloodstained clothes of the massacred Jesuits were displayed and so was the bullet fired at Father Cortina while he was driving. Luckily, it missed the target.
The last place I visited was the historic chapel where San Romero of the Americas was brutally murdered.
Eleven years later, in 1999, I went back and met the then director of Pro-Búsqueda, Ester Alvarenga, who took me to San Salvador Cathedral where I visited the tomb of Msgr. Romero.
We proceeded to the Universidad Centro Americana to light candles by the tombs of the massacred Jesuits and of Father Cortina, who died in 2005.
“Ester bitterly lamented that despite being a victim of the armed conflict, she has been revictimized by the present government that pretentiously speaks of peace and reconciliation”
Ester’s story as a child of 14 years old sent shivers down my spine. In a recent media interview, she excruciatingly recalled how she with Jesus Galdames, another girl of her age, witnessed children blown up, shot to death and killed with bayonets.
Crossing Honduras, Ester and Jesus were in the custody of Honduran soldiers who turned them over to Salvadoran soldiers. Believed to be Hondurans, they escaped the Salvadoran soldiers’ madness and survived to tell their story and those of many others who were either made to disappear or killed during that crazy bloody war that killed 75,000 people and forcibly disappeared 8,000.
Ester bitterly lamented that despite being a victim of the armed conflict, she has been revictimized by the present government that pretentiously speaks of peace and reconciliation. This government has discredited and defamed her work as a human rights defender.
Prior to my visits to El Salvador, Father Cortina visited the Philippines in 1997, where with his encouragement we co-founded what is now the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances.
In a small laboratory, we showed him some skeletal remains of disappeared people. Apparently in pain, he shared that in their work in El Salvador finding disappeared children alive after many years and reuniting them with their biological parents is the most humanly gratifying thing in our work against enforced disappearances.
“In El Salvador, we find the disappeared children alive. Here in the Philippines, you find disappeared people dead,” he said.
El Salvador has its own challenges. Impunity remains the order of the day. Yet I very much admire and even envy the determination of Pro-Búsqueda in paving the way to the truth on the whereabouts of the disappeared children.
Their success in tracing children’s historical identity stems from a love so profound that no length of time can hinder. This is an integral part of ferreting out the truth of what happened, understanding its whys and wherefores, knowing who were involved and what were the circumstances. In so doing, victims are empowered, they are healed.
Asked about the significance of the martyrdom of San Romero of the Americas, Neris Gonzales, an El Salvador torture victim, said: “San Romero sacrificed his life for the defense of the human rights of the poor and defenseless in front of aggressions and injustice brought about by a cruel capitalist system in El Salvador. His canonization represents the dignification of his legacy — the total dedication of his life in defense of his people. His love for his defenseless vulnerable people against injustice was the reason for his martyrdom. He lives in the hearts of the poorest; that is why he is our Saint Romero, a strong defender of human rights.”
“How can they forget the continuing victimization of Rodrigo Duterte’s ‘war on drugs,’ those who were extrajudicially killed and those who, without documentation, remain disappeared and are believed to have been thrown into the ocean?”
On the occasion of the International Day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for Dignity of Victims and on today’s 42nd anniversary of San Romero’s martyrdom, preoccupied with the upcoming Philippine elections, candidates and voters alike should never forget the victims of more than two decades of Marcos-imposed martial law.
The names of Father Rudy Romano, who involuntarily disappeared, and of assassinated priests Father Zacarias Agatep and Father Edgar Kangleon are among those of hundreds of martial law victims engraved on the Wall of Remembrance. Many more offered their lives so that future generations may savor a better tomorrow.
How can they forget the continuing victimization of Rodrigo Duterte’s “war on drugs,” those who were extrajudicially killed and those who, without documentation, remain disappeared and are believed to have been thrown into the ocean?
This day also brings me back to the persecuted church people under Duterte. There have been many, but to name those killed during this present administration against the same landscape of the war on drugs, we remember Fathers Mark Anthony Ventura, Marcelino Paez and Richmond Nilo. For their preferential option for the poor, their prophetic voices were met with the brutal hand of this administration.
Pondering on the significance of this day, reflecting on the Salvadoran situation and thinking of the thousands of victims of human rights violations in my own country, I reckon that the Philippines needs more prophetic voices to stop the repression, a situation which sadly seems normal to many.
As we pay tribute to San Romero of the Americas who offered his life for the ransom of many, let us also remember them and many others who were killed, disappeared or incarcerated as they accompanied the little ones of God’s flock.
Ferreting out the truth, searching for justice, obtaining redress for victims of human rights violations are necessary steps towards ensuring guarantees of non-repetition.
This day, like other internationally recognized days for victims, is an avenue for education of the public, the organizing of communities to attain common goals and the mobilization of their political will to recognize and memorialize the achievements of humankind.
In commemoration of today’s red-letter day which coincides with the Lenten season, we pray to San Romero of the Americas and many other martyrs of our faith that we may not tire in our search for truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence.
Reconstructing the historical memory of those who should never be forgotten is a necessary step in breaking the chains of impunity.
* The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official editorial position of UCA News.
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