While reading Testimonio, I was very moved by how tight knit Menchú’s family and community was. That being said, the way in which the progression of events was written made them even more heartbreaking. Menchú’s community moved as a unit and everyone took care of one another. Keeping that background story and information in mind when reading the second half of this story really brought emphasis on what desperation can force a person to do. We see pure desperation when Menchú’s brother is sold out for 15 quetzales, by a member of a community that he once supported and in turn they supported him. We see how these brutal treatments and torture physically effect communities, but also how they can try to turn them against one another. Moments like this in history are so brutal and key to the destruction of families, cultures and communities. These events not only pain a moment in history but can transcend generations. This reading was so difficult for me personally, as I distanced myself from the reading, to make me feel like this moment in time happened further from the present than it really did. I believe it is always important to keep in mind how close these times are to people and how they still impact our living relatives to this day, or even ourselves. They are not events of the past, they are events that have occurred in the life of those still living. It was hard reading all the way through to the end, to see how they organize and are resilient was moving, while I also kept in my mind how my family chose a different route to a similar situation. To flee and forget. There is a lot of pain fighting the urge to forget these history’s, but what this reading has brought to light for me, was the importance of telling the story, not forgetting history, and not becoming dull to the pain. While writing this, I cry for my family, for those who had to bear witness to such tragedies, and those who fell victim to these brutalities.
Hi Sofia,
I agree with you a hundred percent. I sometimes distance myself when I read hard reading like Menchú’s. And there is always a part of me that tries to say, “but it won’t happen again.” And yet it does. We see it happening today, in Palestine, like we talked about in class. This reading was a tough read, but like you said, we have to remember and talk about it in the hopes that it will stop and won’t happen again. With Menchú, the beauty is in her community. How, we weren’t sure if a brother was her biological brother or not. But that didn’t matter. For her, for her community and family it was and that is how it felt to her. I have so much respect for Menchú and telling her story. For myself, it can be so hard to talk about difficult topics in my life, and Menchú was discussing true trauma and terror. She is an incredibly strong and amazing woman.
Hi Sofia,
I agree with your thought of “important to tell the story and not to forget the history”. Remembrance Day and other commemorative events are our modern ways to memorize what happened in the past decades. We have to remember that peace is hard to achieve and the world is always complicated. We need to treasure what we have today.
The story of Menchú happened in the “Cold War” period ironically. Compared with the recent Palestine tragedy, the world is still in great inequality of political power. The destiny of most people is controlled by some superpowers. It made me feel a sense of hopelessness, just like when Menchú’s family and the whole community were witnessing the torture and the execution.
I appreciate your observations about how important the progression of episodes is to a full picture. Including the scenes from Menchú’s early life provides necessary context to fully appreciate the state violence — as well as Indigenous resilience — of later scenes. Thanks for that detail.
Your comments about staying versus ‘to flee and forget’ made me think of a recent talk by Black Studies scholar Christina Sharpe. She was reflecting on documentary that portrayed the African “migrant crisis,” in which many individuals attempt to reach Europe by the sea to escape internal conflict, genocide, economic devastation, political persecution, etc. The film showed two dear friends who were saying goodbye; one was staying in their home country (I believe it was Algeria) to take care of his mother and one was taking a boat to Europe. They both recognized that either of them could die and that they might never see each other again. Sharpe identified courage in both men — the courage to stay and the courage to flee — and she insisted that, when faced with hatred, there is no “right answer.” Maybe Sharpe’s reflections can help you see that there is also courage in the decision “to flee and forget.”
Thanks for your thoughts on this reading and for your contributions to class discussion and the blog, Sofia.