Massacre by the army at the finca La Estrella Polar

Voices and images: Mayan Ixil women of Chajul

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1: La Violencia and Its Effects

3. Massacre by the army at the finca La Estrella Polar

There were two hundred people massacred in 1982 in the village of the Finca La Estrella. We feel extremely resentful because of this terrible tragedy and we are saddest of all for these victims who were murdered so suddenly. They didn’t know that they were going to die because they were campesinos, workers, who were guilty of nothing. They didn’t owe anything to anyone, but what is saddest is that the children and babies were murdered and they were only children, no more. But despite that, their lives on this earth were taken from them. And the assassins -- who were they to take the lives of human beings? So, just like the young boys and girls, the adults ought to have lived longer, but they were murdered. And the saddest thing is that they are buried in a single clandestine grave and this is something that will never be forgotten. The soldiers came to this village for no reason. Why did they murder these innocent people? The people saw each other die and we don’t know what kind of suffering they had to endure before dying.

Those of us of the Catholic faith often remember our deceased loved ones and the rest of the people who were killed. There are some whose names have been identified through investigation and each year a Mass is celebrated to pray to God for all of them. It would be wonderful if there could be an exhumation in the finca for the sake of the family members. Then they could rebury their dead in the cemetery so they could to rest in peace. This terrible situation has inflicted great suffering on their family members because many of the victims have not been identified by their families. As a result of the massacre, many people were disappeared without anyone knowing where they were murdered or where their bodies were tossed.

At present we are in the peace process and now that the people are rebuilding their spiritual and material lives, we are fighting so that this peace will continue and grow within each one of us. Perhaps what was lost before is being rebuilt anew, although with a lot of suffering and scars in our hearts, because after so much destruction, a huge wound remains.

But enough now of hurts and wrongs. May there never again be another massacre. The indigenous people, of different ethnicities, have a right to live in peace and be happy with their families. It is difficult to rebuild but el pueblo will advance. The times of la violencia destroyed much of our patrimony that is now impossible to retrieve. But we will persevere with our struggle so that this war never returns, because what happened has no meaning and even less, forgiveness. Nobody deserved it because we are human beings and it is our responsibility to build our peace, since peace comes from inside of us. It is born in our hearts so that we can live in harmony.