imaginable horrors by the “democratic” Guatemalan government in order to persuade them to adapt to the system: “Subversives deserved to be punished and to die” (701). After Rigoberta’s brother was “tortured for more than sixteen days” (702), he and the other prisoners were paraded to the center of the village for punishment. All nearby civilians were required to attend and witness the punishment, including Rigoberta and her family. The civilians were corralled with jeeps, armored cars, and helicopters in order to prevent them from leaving. The bleeding and disfigured prisoners were marched out to stand for hours while “the captain gave a panoramic description of all the power they had, the capacity they had. We, the people, didn’t have the capacity to confront them. This was really all being said to strike terror into the people and stop anyone from speaking” (705). The dying prisoners were dragged “along to this place, where they lined them up all together within sight of everyone” (706), and soaked with petrol. After being lit on fire, the tortured people that could still scream and beg for mercy did. Others collapsed and twitched. The Guatemalan soldiers justified their actions by labeling the villagers “communists”. This is racial oppression in its most hideous form.Crimes like those committed by the Guatemalan government have taken place very recently in Afghanistan. Apparently, the Taliban uses terror tactics against its own minorities. CNN reported a 17-year old boy being skinned alive in front of his family, which was forced to watch. But their actions against the U.S. have also spawned the answer to racial oppression: Unity.Sandra Maria Esteves, a Latina of Puerto Rican background, writes in her poem “Weaver”:Weave us a song for our bodies to singa song of many threadsthat will dance with the colors of our peopleand cover us with the...
