Geronimo's Story
Along the trail from Nebaj to Todos Santos we stayed with families, eating the rice and beans that they cooked and sleeping on their floor or in the few available beds. After a candlelight dinner on the third night (the electricity was out), we sat around the table and talked with, Geronimo, the dad about his family and his life. We asked him what he remembered from the war. Slowly, softly he began his story...
In 1980 the guerrillas came and called the people in the village of La Ventosa together for a meeting. The people hadn’t ever before heard of the guerrillas and came to the meeting out of curiosity. When they arrived they were surprised to see that the guerrillas dressed as they did in traditional clothes. They were even more surprised that the guerrillas seemed to understand and sympathize with the hardships of their lifestyle. The guerrillas promised many things to the people that all equated to a better life for the campesinos. They also said they would warn and protect the people if the army ever came into the region. In return they asked that the people share their food with them and support their cause. Most people thought that in general it all sounded good, but some people were more reserved than others. Those who wanted to actively support the guerrillas were invited to another meeting where they would learn tactics to defend themselves against the army, choose a code name to go by and sign their allegiance to a piece of paper.
After thinking it through, Geronimo’s uncle directed the family to take a neutral stance, so no one in Geronimo’s family went to the second meeting. Those in the town who did, however, started to carry out tasks for the guerrillas. They did such things as blowing up the bridges that the army used to pass through the area. The guerrilla supporters did all of this by night and nobody in the village knew who exactly was involved.
A few weeks later, on the 29 of March 1981, the army entered directly into La Ventosa early in the morning. At this time Geronimo's wife was pregnant with their second child (he now has 13 children in total) and he was up early because he was planning to travel to another town to work for the day. Geronimo's wife begged him not to leave until the sun rose because she reasoned it was too dangerous. While they were talking they started to hear dreadful screams coming from their neighbors’ houses down the hill. Out of all the possibilities that ran through their head as to what could be happening, it never occurred to them that the screaming could be caused by the army’s arrival. A few minutes later there was a knock on their door. Geronimo opened the door to find a gun pointed directly at his head. “Are you a guerrilla?” they interrogated him. Of course he replied no. “Why did you open the door for us?” they asked next. Trembling he replied something to the effect, “Because I was on my way out to work and I had no reason not to open the door.” The army knew that the guerrillas had instructed supports to barricade the doors if the army ever arrived. Thus they distinguished those who were involved in guerrilla networks from those who were not by whether or not people opened the door. After these questions Geronimo’s wife and he were ordered out of their house and into the town center with the rest of the villagers.
In the center of La Ventosa the army began recording everyone’s name. Once they had people’s names they ordered six people to the side. The army had somehow gotten a hold of the list of people who had agreed to support the guerrillas and had signed their name accordingly. To display the power of the state, the army brought one of the six men to the front of the group. In front of everyone, they dropped big rocks on his head, crushing and killing him. During this process one terrified woman who had a baby on her back tried to run away. The soldiers responded by shooting her down. While they killed the woman, they did not kill the baby. The baby, now a grown woman, still lives in the village to this day.
The army’s next victim was Geronimo’s uncle. Geronimo’s uncle wasn’t actually involved with the guerillas but he had the exact same name, both first and last, as someone who had signed their allegiance to the guerrillas. The army beat his uncle with the butts of their rifles until he became unconscious. All the while they were asking him for information, but of course he didn’t know anything because he wasn’t actually involved. After he had been unconscious for a while they burned his ears and his buttock to be sure he was dead. Leaving him on the ground, the army addressed the campesinos, telling them that the state held the power and the weapons. Thus they would be wise to completely eliminate any thought of the guerrillas from their mind. Before departing for the next village the army raided all of the houses, stealing anything of value including radios and food. They also raped a number of the women. During the whole incident everyone in the town was sobbing and wondering where the guerrillas with their promised help could be.
Geronimo and his dad were left to pick up the body of his uncle. They brought the body into their house and set it to the side. During this process they thought they saw his uncle twitch but assumed they were only imagining things. An hour later, however, his uncle started to move a little bit more and miraculously regained consciousness. All they had to treat his uncle’s wounds with was a little bit of alcohol. Using the alcohol they were slowly able to nurse Geronimo’s uncle back to life. His uncle survives to this day.
Meanwhile, the army moved down the road toward Todos Santos. Finding the villages deserted, the people had fled up into the mountains, the army burned everything in their path including all the food that the people had stored. Arriving at the bigger town of Todos Santos, they rounded up those who were still their homes and locked them in the town jail. Since night was coming on the army decided to use the food from the local stores and cook dinner for themselves.
That night Geronimo’s grandpa turned on one of the few radios that the army hadn’t found to try to get news about what was happening. The first sound they heard was Rios Montt’s voice. A coup had just occurred in the government and Rios Montt had taken power for himself. Over the radio he order the fighting to stop and for the troops to return to the capital. According to the orders the army left the region the next day… temporarily. Rios Montt would go on to orchestrate the most brutal massacres of the 30-year civil war.
The same day that the army departed, the guerrillas arrived in Geronimo’s village. Instead of apologizing for not helping the campesinos in their time of need, the guerrillas started to blame the people for giving information to the army. In an equally horrific manner (Geronimo didn’t precisely explain the details) they “retaliated” by killing more of the people in the town. This lead Geronimo and the other campesinos to conclude that although the guerrillas seemed to be fighting for the campesinos, in actuality both sides were equally horrible.
Eventually, given the option of death or helping the army, Geronimo succumbed to the army’s force and spent the next seven years doing patrols for the army. He was never compensated in any way for his work and because the patrols meant that he couldn’t cultivate his fields his family often went hungry during this time. Though he expressed how grateful he was that during this time he never actually found anything of importance and never had to shoot at anyone. He said that many times during the war period he had accepted and thought that he was going to die. “I am happy to be standing here with you today, but sad for the memories I have,” he finished.
In 1980 the guerrillas came and called the people in the village of La Ventosa together for a meeting. The people hadn’t ever before heard of the guerrillas and came to the meeting out of curiosity. When they arrived they were surprised to see that the guerrillas dressed as they did in traditional clothes. They were even more surprised that the guerrillas seemed to understand and sympathize with the hardships of their lifestyle. The guerrillas promised many things to the people that all equated to a better life for the campesinos. They also said they would warn and protect the people if the army ever came into the region. In return they asked that the people share their food with them and support their cause. Most people thought that in general it all sounded good, but some people were more reserved than others. Those who wanted to actively support the guerrillas were invited to another meeting where they would learn tactics to defend themselves against the army, choose a code name to go by and sign their allegiance to a piece of paper.
After thinking it through, Geronimo’s uncle directed the family to take a neutral stance, so no one in Geronimo’s family went to the second meeting. Those in the town who did, however, started to carry out tasks for the guerrillas. They did such things as blowing up the bridges that the army used to pass through the area. The guerrilla supporters did all of this by night and nobody in the village knew who exactly was involved.
A few weeks later, on the 29 of March 1981, the army entered directly into La Ventosa early in the morning. At this time Geronimo's wife was pregnant with their second child (he now has 13 children in total) and he was up early because he was planning to travel to another town to work for the day. Geronimo's wife begged him not to leave until the sun rose because she reasoned it was too dangerous. While they were talking they started to hear dreadful screams coming from their neighbors’ houses down the hill. Out of all the possibilities that ran through their head as to what could be happening, it never occurred to them that the screaming could be caused by the army’s arrival. A few minutes later there was a knock on their door. Geronimo opened the door to find a gun pointed directly at his head. “Are you a guerrilla?” they interrogated him. Of course he replied no. “Why did you open the door for us?” they asked next. Trembling he replied something to the effect, “Because I was on my way out to work and I had no reason not to open the door.” The army knew that the guerrillas had instructed supports to barricade the doors if the army ever arrived. Thus they distinguished those who were involved in guerrilla networks from those who were not by whether or not people opened the door. After these questions Geronimo’s wife and he were ordered out of their house and into the town center with the rest of the villagers.
In the center of La Ventosa the army began recording everyone’s name. Once they had people’s names they ordered six people to the side. The army had somehow gotten a hold of the list of people who had agreed to support the guerrillas and had signed their name accordingly. To display the power of the state, the army brought one of the six men to the front of the group. In front of everyone, they dropped big rocks on his head, crushing and killing him. During this process one terrified woman who had a baby on her back tried to run away. The soldiers responded by shooting her down. While they killed the woman, they did not kill the baby. The baby, now a grown woman, still lives in the village to this day.
The army’s next victim was Geronimo’s uncle. Geronimo’s uncle wasn’t actually involved with the guerillas but he had the exact same name, both first and last, as someone who had signed their allegiance to the guerrillas. The army beat his uncle with the butts of their rifles until he became unconscious. All the while they were asking him for information, but of course he didn’t know anything because he wasn’t actually involved. After he had been unconscious for a while they burned his ears and his buttock to be sure he was dead. Leaving him on the ground, the army addressed the campesinos, telling them that the state held the power and the weapons. Thus they would be wise to completely eliminate any thought of the guerrillas from their mind. Before departing for the next village the army raided all of the houses, stealing anything of value including radios and food. They also raped a number of the women. During the whole incident everyone in the town was sobbing and wondering where the guerrillas with their promised help could be.
Geronimo and his dad were left to pick up the body of his uncle. They brought the body into their house and set it to the side. During this process they thought they saw his uncle twitch but assumed they were only imagining things. An hour later, however, his uncle started to move a little bit more and miraculously regained consciousness. All they had to treat his uncle’s wounds with was a little bit of alcohol. Using the alcohol they were slowly able to nurse Geronimo’s uncle back to life. His uncle survives to this day.
Meanwhile, the army moved down the road toward Todos Santos. Finding the villages deserted, the people had fled up into the mountains, the army burned everything in their path including all the food that the people had stored. Arriving at the bigger town of Todos Santos, they rounded up those who were still their homes and locked them in the town jail. Since night was coming on the army decided to use the food from the local stores and cook dinner for themselves.
That night Geronimo’s grandpa turned on one of the few radios that the army hadn’t found to try to get news about what was happening. The first sound they heard was Rios Montt’s voice. A coup had just occurred in the government and Rios Montt had taken power for himself. Over the radio he order the fighting to stop and for the troops to return to the capital. According to the orders the army left the region the next day… temporarily. Rios Montt would go on to orchestrate the most brutal massacres of the 30-year civil war.
The same day that the army departed, the guerrillas arrived in Geronimo’s village. Instead of apologizing for not helping the campesinos in their time of need, the guerrillas started to blame the people for giving information to the army. In an equally horrific manner (Geronimo didn’t precisely explain the details) they “retaliated” by killing more of the people in the town. This lead Geronimo and the other campesinos to conclude that although the guerrillas seemed to be fighting for the campesinos, in actuality both sides were equally horrible.
Eventually, given the option of death or helping the army, Geronimo succumbed to the army’s force and spent the next seven years doing patrols for the army. He was never compensated in any way for his work and because the patrols meant that he couldn’t cultivate his fields his family often went hungry during this time. Though he expressed how grateful he was that during this time he never actually found anything of importance and never had to shoot at anyone. He said that many times during the war period he had accepted and thought that he was going to die. “I am happy to be standing here with you today, but sad for the memories I have,” he finished.
posted by Amy | 7:55 AM
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