Unfinished Sentences and the UW Center for Human Rights extend our deep gratitude to the Seattle-area community members and University of Washington students who contributed to a fundraiser on Sunday, March 2. The event raised $1300 , which will fund psychological support for survivors of crimes against humanity in El Salvador, via the UWCHR’s partnership with the Human Rights Institute of the Central American University (IDHUCA).
At the event, Prof. Angelina Snodgrass Godoy, Director of the UWCHR, and student members of the Unfinished Sentences team provided an overview of the research, historical memory, and communications initiatives they have undertaken to support survivors struggling for justice in El Salvador.
From March 28-30, the Unfinished Sentences team will travel to Santa Marta, in the department of Cabañas, El Salvador, for the sixth annual International Tribunal for Restorative Justice. The Tribunal, organized by IDHUCA, offers survivors of human rights violations an opportunity to publicly testify before a panel of international jurists, often speaking for the first time about their experiences. While the Tribunal is not legally binding, it offers survivors a measure of reparations by honoring their stories. Many choose to simultaneously file criminal complaints demanding legal accountability.
This year, the Tribunal will focus on a series of massacres committed by the Armed Forces of El Salvador and their paramilitary adjuncts in the region of Santa Marta. In November 2013, a survivor filed a criminal complaint against retired Coronel Sigifredo Ochoa Pérez, a sitting member of the legislature, for the November 1981 Santa Cruz massacre.
Attendees of the March 2 fundraiser also had the opportunity to speak via Skype with Salvadoran radio journalist Vilma Lainez, from the community of Santa Marta. Born in Honduras after her family fled Cabañas, Ms. Lainez later had the opportunity to interview Col. Ochoa Pérez, asking him about the Army’s brutal methods. Though he denied knowledge of massares, he expressed no regrets for his actions during the war. She hopes that her work in journalism and human rights will one day lead to accountability.
The March 2 fundraiser was made possible by the work of community and student volunteers, who acknowledge generous donations by Doctors for Global Health, Heart of the Sky Fair Trade, Lily’s Salvadorean Catering, Guanaco’s Tacos, Tiko Riko, Central Co-op, Capitol Hill Trader Joe’s, and Madison Safeway. We also thank the many individual attendees who participated and made contributions to our cause.
