RIGOBERTA MENCHU
In recent years, a new voice has been added to the world stage. It is the voice of Latin American women. Long oppressed both by their culture and their governments, these voices have risen in protest against the inequalities and injustices that have plagued their lives. The most notable example of this new genre to emerge thus far was published in 1992 and subsequently won the Nobel Peace prize for its author, Rigoberta Menchu, a Guatemalan Indian activist. Menchu's account of life in Guatemala is a tale of horror and savagery perpetrated on all those who would dare to try to improve the lives of Guatemala's downtrodden. For the "crimes" of teaching people how to read, organizing labor, or even protesting despicable conditions, people are routinely tortured in ways that rival the Spanish Inquisition. After continuous, unbelievable torture in which he was maimed beyond belief, Menchu recounts that she watched while soldiers burned her younger brother alive (177). He was sixteen and the excuse offered for this treatment was that he was a communist. Americans like to think of themselves as the "good guys" to the country that beat Hitler, rebuilt post-World War II Europe with the Marsha
Wirpsa, Leslie. "Silencing the social critics: an untold story in Colombia," National Catholic Reporter, v33 n33 (1997): July, p. 21. Voices such as Menchu's are revealing the truth about the role that the U.S. has taken in Latin America since the end of World War II. Throughout the Cold War era, the U.S. supported right-wing fascist regimes with the rationalization that at least these regimes kept communism from developing in this hemisphere. Menchu's account shows the truth behind these so-called "communists." Menchu's people weren't interested in communism; they were interested in simple survival. None of this narrative fits with the "official" story that is generally put out by the U.S. government in regards to such regimes. These accounts always picture noble government forces fighting back the insidious spread of communism. The picture Menchu paints of systematic, brutal oppression in Buckely, Gail L. " Over two-thirds of the officers cited for the worst atrocities are graduates of a school located in the United States and funded by taxpayers," America, v178 n16 (1998): May, p. 5.
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Approximate Word count = 1060
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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