Jan. 4, 2012

Source: Aljazeera.net

JUSTICE DELAYED 30 YEARS IN GUATEMALA:

By Lauren Carasik and Grahame Russell

Springfield, Massachusetts - On the morning of March 13, 1982, 10-year-old orphan Jesus Tecu Osorio woke up in his rural Maya Achi village of Rio Negro, Guatemala, with the crushing burden of satisfying the most basic needs of survival for himself and his siblings. A month earlier, his parents, along with 70 other Rio Negro villagers, were killed by Guatemalan soldiers and civil defence patrollers from the neighbouring village of Xococ.

By the end of that harrowing day, Jesus had witnessed the brutal slaughter of 177 women and children. Jesus was "spared" to serve as a conscripted servant for one of the paramilitary members who massacred his community, including his two-year-old brother who was yanked from his arms, garroted and smashed into rocks as Jesus watched in horror.

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ACTION: WRITE TO THE WORLD BANK & THE INTER-AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK

 

Send copies of this opinion piece; demand that they take the necessary steps to ensure that they - along with the government of Guatemala - immediately fund and support a comprehensive Reparations Plan, that the government of Guatemala has agreed to, in principal, but has not acted upon. (More information: info@rightsaction.org)

NAMES / ADDRESSES

Robert Zoellick

President, World Bank

1818 H Street, NW

Washington, DC 20433

Luis Alberto Moreno

President, Inter-American Development Bank

1300 New York Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20577