The impoverished Mayan-Indian population of Guatemala is suffering  
 
The mental scars of torture, suppression and incredible violations of the most basic human rights, are etched in their faces, which for security reasons cannot be revealed. The Mayans leave it at putting the tears and the pain into words. Names and identities remain as anonymous as their faces.  
 
Listen to the interviews  
on The Testimonials page requires:  
 
(Text version and Mp3 files, on the The Transcripts page)  
 
 
In 1996 a peace agreement was signed. At that time the country had officially been at civil war for 36 years. But according to the Indians it all started 508 years ago - when Columbus discovered America in 1492. Although the war is over and the peace agreement in is place, the atrocities on the civil population continue, according to several of the interviewed in "Para Nunca Olvidar". However the worst part took place in the 80', from which most of them retrieve their memories of the atrocities.  
 
 
The war took its worst toll on the poorest - Guatemala's farmers and Indians. Massacres, disappearances, rape and torture have left the survivors and witnesses with deep scars of mistrust and sorrow. They hardly ever talk about their personal experiences with anyone. And yet, words and openness are the means to healing and to regaining their confidence. To make the Guatemalan farmers and Indians talk about their emotional traumas, the Danish Center for Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture together with the human rights office of the Catholic Church in Guatemala have initiated a psycho-social rehabilitation project. But rehabilitation of the victims themselves is currently not the project's focus, since few victims survive their torture. Instead the project is aimed at aiding the surviving relatives.  
 
Guatemala and the rest of the world for the first time ever will hear the accounts of the suffering from the Indian victims themselves. In 16 moving and very personal accounts the Mayan-Indians recount the atrocities, still being concealed by their own country. In both form and content the radio programs are completely extraordinary for Guatemala. Under the slogan "democratizando la palabra" (democratization of the spoken word) they will be broadcast there on FGER's (Federation of Educational Radio in Guatemala) local stations in both Spanish and in a number of Indian languages.  
 
The essence of the project is a wish never to forget what happened in Guatemala. To hope for a less bloody future and to show respect to the Indian population for a media, which they have always considered their most important - the spoken word. That which continues to be the most important media in a country with over 50% illiteracy. Everyone interviewed is Mayan-Indian, and all recordings took place around the country in the Indian villages. Anyone interested may purchase the collection of their accounts on audio CD on the web site of "Para Nunca Olvidar". Lectures are available upon request.  
 
Behind the project:  
 
Para Nunca Olvidar is produced by the Danish radio journalist Lotte Holmen. She has worked for Danish Radio in Copenhagen for many years. During an internship in 1997 at Radio Cabal in El Salvador she worked on initial stages of the project, Para Nunca Olvidar, which were broadcast locally. During the subsequent meetings with the now former general secretary for la Comisión para Esclarecimiento Historico (the UN Truth Commission), the Spaniard Fernando Castañón, the idea of continuing the project in Guatemala arose. From October 1999-February 2000, the Danish radio journalist visited a number of Indian communities in Guatemala. Here she recorded over 30 testimonials - accounts of the cruel atrocities that had been committed against the farmers and Indians throughout the 36 year civil war in the beautiful Central American country.  
 
Lotte Holmen has selected 16 of "the testimonies", which are available on CD in edited versions of 15-30 minutes which will be broadcast on FGER (Federacion Guatemalteca Escuela Radiofonica). Los Testimonios will be translated into in a number of Indian languages and broadcast. Thereby giving the Indians, who speak only their own language - and who are in many cases illiterate - a first time access to their own traumatic history.  
 
The International educational community is invited to work with the 16 published long testimonials. Follow the link to Education and find transcripts, illustrations and inspiration for course work in Spanish, Latin American affairs and the political and social history of Guatemala. These materials are kindly sponsored by Danida, the Danish development agency. 
 
Danish artist Jørn Bie lived for several years in Guatemala. Many times he followed local rumors of atrocities to make sketches from sites of massacres and to record the emotions of the affected people. A number of his drawings and his personal comments to them are published as Bie's collection.