Víctor describes how the population in Arcatao fled to Mesa Grande, a refugee camp in Honduras, as part of the “May Guinda” in 1982.
- Chapter:
- Chapter 3: The Years of "Guindas"
- Interviewee:
- Víctor
Transcription
After the invasion in May, many people left for Mesa Grande. They had to go to Mesa Grande, because there was no other alternative, there were already refugees in La Virtud who had been taken to Mesa Grande. The people who stayed there and who wanted to leave had to have a contact the internationals in order to get out, because otherwise the Honduran troops could kill them. It was a very large invasion, it was very sad, because, well… I haven’t mentioned that there were people here from Cabañas, there were people from Chalate, there were people from Cuscatlán, during that invasion, from other municipalities of Chalatenango as well. It was a very sad invasion, we went ten days without eating and without, well I almost didn’t drink any water. We were carrying a jug of water that ran out, and we had four children with us, so we went ten days without food. Maybe we got lucky or something, I don’t know, but in May there are carao seeds and honey, and that’s what we ate. We chewed on carao seeds and ate them. That’s how we survived. Avocados, also. We found the trees and we ate avocados that had fallen, without salt or tortillas, that’s what we ate.