About this item
Highlights
- Between the late 1970s and the mid 1980s, Guatemala was torn by a civil war which came to be known as La Violencia.
- About the Author: Victoria Sanford is Professor and Chair of Anthropology and Founding Director of the Center for Human Rights and Peace Studies at Lehman College, City University of New York, USA.
- 313 Pages
- Social Science, Anthropology
Description
About the Book
"Buried Secrets" chronicles the journey of Maya survivors of genocidal violence in Guatemala as they seek truth, justice, and community healing.Book Synopsis
Between the late 1970s and the mid 1980s, Guatemala was torn by a civil war which came to be known as La Violencia. During this time of mass terror and extreme violence, more than 600 massacres occurred in villages destroyed by the army, one and a half million people were displaced, and more than 200,000 civilians murdered. 83% of the victims were Maya, the indigenous people of Guatemala. Buried Secrets brings these chilling statistics to life as it chronicles the journey of Mayan survivors seeking truth, justice, and community healing and demonstrates that the Guatemalan army carried out a systematic and intentional genocide against the Maya. Victoria Sanford provides us with an insider's look at the workings of the Commission for Historical Clarification through the exhumation of clandestine cemeteries. The book is based on exhaustive research, including more than 400 testimonies from massacre survivors, interviews with members of the forensic team, human rights leaders, high-ranking military officers, guerrilla combatants, and government officials. Buried Secrets traces truth-telling and political change from isolated Maya villages to national political events, and provides a unique look into the experiences of Maya survivors as they struggle to rebuild their communities and lives.Review Quotes
'No book on this topic has approached the thoroughness and raw impact of Victoria Sandford's Buried Secrets.' - Christian Parenti, San Diego Union-Tribune
'...Sanford critically and eloquantly documents the U.S. sponsored violations of human rights in Guatemala.' - Lilliana Patricia Sandeman, San Antonio Express-News
'This landmark book reaches out to those who are trying to understand Guatemala...' - Jim Przepasniak, El Paso Times
'Victoria Sanford leads us into a powerful and heartbreaking history of testimonies. Her journey into this war zone ... is clear-eyed, haunting and, above all, close to the ground.' - Michael Ondaatje, Author of Anil's Ghost
'The genocide in Guatemala and how survivors have dealt with it constitutes, in Victora Sanford's gripping and compassionate tale, a crucial lesson in ways in which to keep memory and hope alive.' - Ariel Dorfman, Author of Death and the Maiden
About the Author
Victoria Sanford is Professor and Chair of Anthropology and Founding Director of the Center for Human Rights and Peace Studies at Lehman College, City University of New York, USA. She is a member of the anthropology doctoral faculty at the Graduate Center, City University of New York. She holds a doctorate in Anthropology from Stanford University where she studied International Human Rights Law and Immigration Law at Stanford Law School. She was a Bunting Peace Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies, Harvard University.