Living in Bolivia and working in the radio programs aimed towards raising awareness and dialogue around social and environmental issues, teaches me something new every week. This past Tuesday was International Day in Support of Victims of Torture and as in the majority (if not all?) countries of Latin America, torture is a part of Bolivia’s recent history and some argue there are incidents in the present as well. We did an interview with a Bolivian non-profit that works in rehabilitation and therapy for people who have been tortured either physically or mentally.
Under international law torture is a crime and cannot be justified in any situation, because as the UN states, it “seeks to annihilate the victim’s personality and denies the inherent dignity of the human being”. In order to help people understand the reality that there are many men, women and children living today who have been tortured in some way, every year on the 26 of June there is a worldwide campaign to share about torture practices and their effects, as well as put pressure on governments to act against torture.
An example from Bolivia: In the year 2000 a 19 year-old male was detained under the law regarding the controlled substances and coca. According to information published in the national press, two times a week he went through what could be called “the pulling exercise” where two people sit on top of the person and two others pull the person. It was indicated that this exercise is practiced in the early stages of detention in order to get information. This practice was learned in formation at the School of Americas in Georgia. The detainee started coughing up blood as a result of this treatment and was given medicine for tuberculosis without a diagnosis and eventually went to a public hospital where he died within two weeks.
Whether the guy did horrendous deeds or not, it strikes me as cruel and unusual punishment, something I’m grateful to say I was taught at an early age in public schools is not only wrong but unconstitutional. This is an extreme example because there are plenty of people who are alive and functioning who have gone through tremendous experiences no human being should have to go through; they’re in Bolivia and they’re in the United States too.
Another example less drastic comes from a friend of mine. He told me the other day that in the 50’s he was teaching religion at a Catholic school and accompanied one of the Franciscans to his friary at lunch time. When they arrived, there were a group of political activists who accused my friend of being against them and a spy. As a result, they seized and held him captive for a week, which included not only verbal but also physical abuse in order to get information from him, of which he had none since he had nothing to do with the politics. They let him go, but he said it was quite an experience and still to this day as an 82 year-old man, he gets pain in his neck where they hit him.
I’m hopeful that with time there will be less and less stories like these because political parties, law enforcement, militaries etc. will not break this international law, and more importantly moral code. I think it starts as kids, learning that violence in words or deeds is not the best or “only” option to handle things. The toughest part is probably breaking the cycle because the effects can be life-long. I maintain hope!
5 Things I’m Grateful for Today: hot water in the shower; a new cake recipe that is delicious; progress made in various projects; sharing a good meal with good conversation; one more day.
