Throwing Stones at the Moon - (Voice of Witness) by Sibylla Brodzinsky & Max Schoening (Paperback)

About the Book

For nearly five decades, Colombia has been embroiled in internal armed conflict among guerrilla groups, paramilitary militias, and the country's own military. Civilians in Colombia face a range of abuses from all sides, including killings, disappearances and rape--and more than four million have been forced to flee their homes. The oral histories in Throwing Stones at the Moon describe the most widespread of Colombia's human rights crises: forced displacement. Speakers recount life before displacement, the reasons for their flight, and their struggle to rebuild their lives.

Book Synopsis

Since 1964, Colombia has been embroiled in internal armed conflict among guerrilla groups, paramilitary militias, and the country's own military. Civilians in Colombia face a range of abuses from all sides, including killings, disappearances and rape--and more than four million have been forced to flee their homes. The oral histories in Throwing Stones at the Moon describe the most widespread of Colombia's human rights crises: forced displacement. Speakers recount life before displacement, the reasons for their flight, and their struggle to rebuild their lives.

NARRATORS INCLUDE:

MARIA VICTORIA, whose fight against corruption as a hospital union leader led to a brutal attempt on her life. In 2009, assassins tracked her to her home and stabbed her seven times in the face and chest. Since the attack, Julia has undergone eight facial reconstructive surgeries, and continues to live in hiding.

DANNY, who at eighteen joined a right-wing paramilitary's training camp. Initially lured by the promise of quick money, Danny soon realized his mistake and escaped to Ecuador. He describes his harrowing escape and his struggle to survive as a refugee with two young children to support.

Download the corresponding lesson plans on the Voice of Witness website.

Review Quotes

"Here are the real and unforgettable voices of Colombia's long nightmare. They tell us of normal lives shattered by trauma, suffering, violence, and redeemed by love, resilience, courage or hard-earned wisdom. I read these oral tales with a knot in my stomach, frightened and moved, and finally amazed by this lesson: when people find the strength to tell us what has happened to them, no matter how horrendous, a terrible yet universal beauty somehow emerges, always casting light on the mystery of being human."
--Francisco Goldman, author of Say Her Name

"Outside the U.S. media's lights and whir, the largest crisis in the world of forced displacement from home is taking place in Colombia. Throwing Stones at the Moon makes it personal through these narratives of loved and difficult life, vivid and specific to Colombia's places and to the families torn and struggling amid the long war. Brodzinsky and Schoening convey these people's tender and bitter stories, of resilience and loss, of cruelty and solidarity, in their own full voices. Stories that don't end with an act of violence, but that call out for compassion, and for justice."
--John Lindsay-Poland, Director for Latin America and the Caribbean of the Fellowship for Reconciliation

"Poignant."--Kirkus

"Human rights journalists Brodzinsky and Schoening geographically organize intimate oral histories from individuals living through pervasive violence among Colombia's drug cartels, military forces, and rebels. Often astonishing quotes double as headings...piquing readers' curiosity and conscience...Readers concerned with human rights and Latin American politics will find this account of violence and survival both sad and inspiring."--Publishers Weekly

"Here are the real and unforgettable voices of Colombia's long nightmare. They tell us of normal lives shattered by trauma, suffering, violence, and redeemed by love, resilience, courage or hard-earned wisdom. I read these oral tales with a knot in my stomach, frightened and moved, and finally amazed by this lesson: when people find the strength to tell us what has happened to them, no matter how horrendous, a terrible yet universal beauty somehow emerges, always casting light on the mystery of being human."
-Francisco Goldman, author of Say Her Name

"Outside the U.S. media's lights and whir, the largest crisis in the world of forced displacement from home is taking place in Colombia. Throwing Stones at the Moon makes it personal through these narratives of loved and difficult life, vivid and specific to Colombia's places and to the families torn and struggling amid the long war. Brodzinsky and Schoening convey these people's tender and bitter stories, of resilience and loss, of cruelty and solidarity, in their own full voices. Stories that don't end with an act of violence, but that call out for compassion, and for justice."
-John Lindsay-Poland, Director for Latin America and the Caribbean of the Fellowship for Reconciliation

"Poignant."-Kirkus

"Human rights journalists Brodzinsky and Schoening geographically organize intimate oral histories from individuals living through pervasive violence among Colombia's drug cartels, military forces, and rebels. Often astonishing quotes double as headings...piquing readers' curiosity and conscience...Readers concerned with human rights and Latin American politics will find this account of violence and survival both sad and inspiring."-Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Sibylla Brodzinsky is a freelance journalist who has spent more than twenty years writing about Latin American politics, human rights, and social issues. She is based in Colombia and contributes regularly to the Economist, the Christian Science Monitor, and the Guardian.

Max Schoening is the Colombia researcher for Human Rights Watch. He has written extensively about human rights issues in Colombia, including forced displacement, transitional justice, and abuses against Afro-Colombians.

Ingrid Betancourt is a Colombian politician, former senator and anti-corruption activist. Betancourt was kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in 2002 and was rescued by Colombian security forces six and a half years later in 2008. She has since continued her activism work and has written a memoir about her experience.