It was towards the beginning of the 20 years of internal violence that Peru suffered when the Shining Path terrorist group was, well, terrorizing the people in the Andean hamlet of Putis, so they fled to the mountains to save their families. Then, the military moved in, and the Shining Path departed. The military men found the campesinos hiding in the hills and convinced them to come to Putis. They would be protected there, and there was work to be done. So, many of them went. The work was digging new trout beds. When the work was finished, the 123 men, women and children (19 under the age of 7) were forced into the shallow graves and mowed down by machine gun fire. The military covered the bodies and sold the people's livestock, hoarding the profits.
Saturday was the 24 year anniversary of the massacre.
I wrote a blog that day about Putis, and it was all thoughtful and biblical and completely forced. So, I deleted it and didn't post it. I want to be genuine in this blog, and that was anything but. I want you all to know about Putis because it seems like a story from a movie, that never really happened; a group of people pinned between their government and terrorists, losing everything. But it did happen. It is real.
In May and June of this year, a group of forensic scientists came and exhumed the graves. Survivors watched as the scientists worked, hoping to see a shoe or a piece of clothing that would identify a loved one. I think about these people and what they have suffered these past 24 years and I think no wonder they don't trust their government, no wonder they don't trust their neighbors, no wonder they don't trust me. And right now there are three people being investigated for human rights violations, but the government won't release their real names.
If you want to know more about Putis, google it. There is also a website you can check out (sorry it's in Spanish) http://www.justiciaparaputis.org/.
To be honest, I am having a hard time finding words to express what I think about this, what the point of this blog is, etc. I guess it is just to make people more aware of our world and what happens in it. I don't know what we can do for the people of Putis, how to help them, if we can. But I think the first step is being aware.
all for me, for now.
.k
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