Weeping Guatemalans honor remains of indigenous victims of civil war

Record ID: 1651509

  • Title: Weeping Guatemalans honor remains of indigenous victims of civil war
  • Date: 16th December 2021
  • Summary: SEPUR ZARCO, GUATEMALA (DECEMBER 9, 2021) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF LOCAL RESIDENTS WALKING TOWARDS LOCAL CHURCH TO RECEIVE BODIES OF EXHUMED LOVED ONES LOCAL CHURCH VARIOUS OF COFFINS WITH REMAINS BEING TRANSPORTED TO CHURCH INTERIOR VARIOUS OF COFFINS BEING TRANSPORTED UP CHURCH AISLE VARIOUS OF RELATIVES LAYING FLOWERS ON COFFINS OF EXHUMED REMAINS FLOWERS ON COFFINS RELATIV
  • Embargoed: 30th December 2021 14:15
  • Keywords: Guatemala civil war exhumations exhume remains
  • Location: SEPUR ZARCO, GUATEMALA
  • City: SEPUR ZARCO, GUATEMALA
  • Country: Guatemala
  • Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,South America / Central America,Civil Unrest,Editors' Choice
  • Reuters ID: LVA001F8ADEFB
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Chanting prayers and laying down flowers over small wooden coffins, indigenous Guatemalans honored the remains of over one hundred people killed decades ago in the country's brutal civil war in a ceremony aimed at healing still open wounds.
    Mourners from the Maya q'eqchi community gathered in a small Catholic church in the Guatemalan hamlet of Sepur Zarco, about 125 miles (200 km) northeast of the nation's capital. Then they walked in a solemn procession, many hoisting the coffins above their heads, before placing them in a recently constructed mausoleum designed to keep their memories alive.
    Only 21 of the 110 individual remains have been identified so far, according to the Forensic Anthropological Foundation of Guatemala (FAFG), but all were almost certainly killed during the country's more than three-decade-long civil war ending in 1996. More DNA tests are scheduled for January.
    The remains were recovered near the old Finca Tinajas military base.
    During the civil war, almost a quarter million mostly indigenous Maya were killed, while more than 40,000 others remain missing and unidentified, likely killed but their bodies never found.
    "These bones represent the history, the suffering, the secrecy that prevailed all this time," said Jose Suasnavar, the foundation's associate director.
    "We are very grateful to the relatives who have trusted us with touching the bones."
    Amid sobs and quiet contemplation, a Catholic priest blessed the coffins with incense while several women did the same.
    "For me, it's so emotional to receive these remains," said Mariano Mez, who is hoping to find those of his father. "Many of us are still waiting."
    The simple, whitewashed mausoleum marks the final resting place for the victims, and also serves as a memorial to the grandmothers of Sepur Zarco, indigenous women who were kidnapped and forced into domestic slavery at an army camp in the 1980s.
    (Production: Sandra Sebastian, Rodolfo Pena Roja, Paul Vieira)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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