La justicia, sí es possible

I had the opportunity to participate in two marches for the martyr, Bishop Juan Gerardi. Juan Gerardi is a hero in Guatemala, and a hero in my heart. I need to give you a small amount of information on the life of Juan Gerardi, so this post might be a little long.

On May 9, 1967, he was elected Bishop of Verapaz, where he emphasized pastoral work among indigenous communities and in 1974, he was appointed Bishop of Quiché. Between 1980 and 1983 El Quiché saw increased levels of violence in the conflict between the Army and various rebel guerrilla factions. The worst violence and human rights abuses were seen in the department of El Quiché. Hundreds of Roman Catholic catechists and heads of Christian communities, most of who were of Maya origin, were brutally murdered. Gerardi was highly outspoken against the military and demanded that they stop the violence against his catechists and the population of Quiché and Guatemala in general.

In 1980 Geradi closed the diocese of El Quiché, making a very public statement to the world about the violence occurring there. He left the country for the Vatican, was denied re-entry into the country, and was exiled to El Salvador and Costa Rica until 1982. In 1984 he was appointed bishop of the department of Guatemala (which is the equivalent to a state, like Verapaz and El Quiché). While working in the department of Guatemala Gerardi became involved in the creation, and became the head of the Office of Human of Rights of the Archbishopric (ODHAG), which is still active in the assistance of victims of human rights violations today.

After the 1994 Oslo Agreement (an essential peace agreement during the war that preceded the 1996 Peace Accords) ODHAG began the creation of the Recovery of the Historical Memory, or REMHI project, to discover and present the truth of the 36 year civil war. The actual REMHI report is huge, but it essentially looks at the impact the violence had on Guatemala. It looks at how the violence was carried out and includes thousands of testimonies of witnesses and victims of the war. The report looks at the violence carried out by both the army and the guerillas, but in the end it places the blame for 89.7 percent of the violence to the government and 4.8 percent to the guerillas. The UN sponsored Historical Clarification Commission, which came out after the REMHI report, actually places 93 percent of the atrocities to the government and only 3 percent to the guerillas. The report discusses the historical context of the war, providing a through description on why the war started and where its roots were, following the various military governments up to the Peace Accords. The REMHI report also focuses on social reconstruction and how Guatemala can repair the damage of the war and preserve the historical memory of the war.

On April 24, 1998, the REMHI report was published, to the obvious dislike of the government and army. Two days later, on April 26, Gerardi was brutally assassinated in his garage by three army officers. It was not until 2001 and after a long and tumulus fight, that the officers were convicted of his murder. This was an important achievement for Guatemala, because it was the first time members of the military had faced trial before civilian courts

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Every year the anniversary of Gerardi’s death is celebrated, and this year marked the 12 anniversary. Here in San Marcos we celebrated the anniversary on the 17^th of April, with a large march and mass afterwards. It was beautiful to see so many people come from all of the aldeas all over San Marcos, I even saw many of the women we work with from various communities. Our march was during the day and had a somber feel to it, there was music playing, but people were not singing nor chanting. I had to leave during the mass for a YAV retreat, but I was glad have been in solidarity with the Guatemalans for the march. It is about remembering the life and death of Gerardi, and remembering that his desires and dreams for Guatemala can be achieved. The quote that accompanies Gerardi is,”” La justicia, sí es possible,” or “The justice, yes is possible.”

Bettina, another YAV, and I then went to Guatemala City for the real anniversary and march of Juan Gerardi. We arrived in the city in the morning and went to the parish house where Gerardi was killed. We went into the garage and saw the beautiful mural that has been painted in there in remembrance of his life and work, but also in remembrance of the war.

The mural is huge, covering three walls, and I took a lot of pictures of it, but I can’t post all of them here. We then went to the crypt of Gerardi behind the huge Cathedral in the Central Park of Guatemala City. The Mass took place at 5pm, and the Cathedral was packed, and the march was after. More people participated in the march in San Marcos, but it is dangerous to be out at night in Guatemala. During this march people were chanting and even though there was a small amount of people, there was plenty of energy. Bettina and I were laughing because the woman who was in charge of leading the chants was not very good, so a group of young men took over and they were competing with the woman on what chants they would use. The young men were obviously better and engaged the crowd more, but the woman did not want to give up her loudspeaker and it was pretty funny. The march ended in the park in front of the parish house, and people sang and gave speeches. They talked about how we have to continue fighting for the justice, and against the impunity here in Guatemala. Yes, it is a hard a long fight, but we have to be courageous and not give up hope.

Gerardi is a person that I have come to admire more and more during my time here in Guatemala. I have learned a lot more about his life, and I have read a lot more of his speeches and writings. Gerardi was firmly committed to the idea that the church is called to be involved in political and economic issues; the church is not confined to the space of spiritual ministries. Gerardi claimed that the church has the responsibility to protect the dignity of the human being, because the human being is at the center of the gospel. Gerardi saw the REMHI report as an announcement aimed at finding new ways for humans to live together. But it is also a theological piece that ¨works in the light of faith to discover the face of God, the presence of the Lord.¨(Gerardi´s speech during the presentation of the REMHI Report). Gerardi was committed to the truth because we can´t have peace without truth, so truth should be the goal of all of humanity. When we are truly truthful with ourselves and others we are forced to recognize our own responsibility in the happenings of the world, and then we have the responsibility to act. Because we can´t have truth without action.

Gerardi was a man of incredible wisdom, and I believe that wisdom came from deep faith and beautiful understanding of the gospel. Gerardi´s life was constantly in danger during the entirety of his ministry, but he never let fear stop him. He knew it is not easy to be a disciple of Jesus, but we are called to work for the reign of God at all costs, especially when it means putting our lives in danger, because that is were the justice is needed the most. We all admire martyrs, but who actually wants to be one? It is hard to have enough confidence and trust in your faith to allow yourself to put your fears aside. I would like to be at the place someday in my life, but right now I can only admire Gerardi and try to mirror some of his actions and philosophies. Right now I can listen to his call for truth and the direct and indirect responsibilities I carry, and how I should act them out. He is a man that still can teach the world so much about justice and peace, because he is certainly still teaching the people of Guatemala, which can be seen every year in the anniversary of his death.