Haqkana villagers keep a vigil in the classroom where urns are kept. Guatemalan "jornada" website
On March 29, the village of Jacaná, a remote area of northern Guatemala, received the remains of 59 Mayan residents who fled persecution to the mountains during Guatemala's civil war (1960-1996) and eventually died for various reasons. Currently, the urn of the deceased is stored in a classroom in the Haqqana village public school, after which it will be buried in the cemetery in the village.
The Guatemalan website "jornada" reported that the remains were exhumed from a secret cemetery and that the dead were residents of the Guatemalan city of Chajul. In the 80s, these inhabitants had to flee to other areas to escape massacres and kidnappings by the army.
Although the urns of the deceased will be buried in Haqana village, the identification of the deceased will continue.
Diego Rivera, a 68-year-old Guatemalan resident and one of the survivors, said: "During the civil war, we had no food, no clothes, no school, no way to heal. We lost family and friends. ”
A villager carries an urn. Guatemalan "jornada" website
Andrés Brito, another survivor, said that during the civil war, the army massacred the inhabitants of their village and burned their homes. "We didn't get any help, the army treated us like livestock." He said.
When Brito was 3 years old, his father was taken away by the army. "I don't know where they killed my father, let alone how they disposed of the body: whether they threw him into the water, fed his body to the dogs, or buried him. I don't know anything. He said. After fleeing to the mountains, Britto was also attacked by the army. The army burned the crops of the indigenous population and dropped bombs from aircraft to destroy their new homes.
A man covers his face in front of an urn and cries. Guatemalan "jornada" website
Ricardo Pinto, a member of Guatemala's Foundation for Forensic Anthropology, said the persecution by the army forced indigenous people to flee to the mountains for refuge. Some indigenous people had managed to grow a few crops in the mountains, but once discovered by the army, these crops were also burned. Many indigenous people survived by eating wild vegetables from the mountains, only the strongest survived, and many children, the elderly, and people suffering from diseases died in the mountains.
Pinto said these people were not direct victims of the war, but were indirectly affected by it. Therefore, the "truth hidden in the mountains" must be made public, also in order to "save the history of Guatemala".
Guatemala's civil war has left 200,000 dead or missing, 93 percent of which is linked to military atrocities, according to the United Nations.
(Edited by Rafael)