Annotations for Uncategorized: Entrevista

Pasó porque habían tomado la villa las fuerzas de FMLN, dijeron que iban a venir a tomarse la vuelta a donde allí entró la policía de Torola de primero.

At this moment, the mobile unit of Radio Venceremos is with a lady who is a victim of repression in El Mozote, jurisdiction of Meanguera, in the department of Morazán. Lady who managed to survive the massacre perpetrated by the repressive forces in that place and in other villages in the department.

Partner, could you tell us your name?

Rufina Amaya

How old are you?

38

Comrade, we understand that you were a witness to the massacre and a victim of it in the town of El Mozote. Could you tell us how the events happened?

On Friday, December 12, they took people out of their houses at 5:00 AM and lined them up in the small square in front of the Hermitage. From there they had them, there the naked children enduring the cold.

From there they took them to the houses to lock them up, the men locked them in the church, they locked us in Alfredo Márquez's house. From there they were kept hungry and thirsty until six in the afternoon.

At 12:00 PM they killed the men.

At 2:00 PM they took the girls to the hills, took them and kept them until 6:00 AM the next day. From there they killed them and burned them. They all raped them. After they were raped, they were killed.

The men bandaged them, from there they killed them. I was seeing them there where the men were killing through a small window where they had us locked up.

From there I watched how they did them, how they threw them away, then they killed them. The soldiers showed ingratitude to the men because they gave them their guns. Since they didn't have guns, they weren't part of any organization, they all died unjustly there, why? Because they didn't have anything to deliver.

They have done it with an ingratitude of killing all these children out of personal hatred, for all things, they believe that they are killing guerrillas and no, it is children and women who kill. These murderers must put their hands on their chests, which is what they are doing in El Mozote, in all the departments that are killing women and children.

The old women took them out first to kill them. They killed Margarita Márquez and Vicenta del Cid first. From there they killed the other ladies, one Gurelia, another Bartola, who were elderly, who could no longer even walk, they were at least 80 years old each.

From there they killed the elderly, Israel Márquez, Leoncio Claro, that Leoncio did not drive nor could he walk. To Lorenza, who was Don Leoncio's wife.

Rufina, could you explain to our people how you managed to save your life?

Yes. I can tell you how I was saved. When they took us out to line them up where they were going to kill us, I stayed, I hid from them next to an apple tree, a pineapple bush, there I stayed, bending a twig with my finger, there I covered myself and then The murderers didn't see me. So, they killed all the women there, and I saw clearly when they finished killing them and burning them.

As best I could, after they killed all those people, they killed all the people, they went to the bazaar. I had a little chance of getting out because the boots didn't see me where I had stayed. There I was, where I had stayed, they came in front of me to talk. The lieutenant was also there with them, all the troops surrounded there, to talk that they were not from this place, from here, but that they were from other parts, that they had been sent to kill people, they had not been sent to tolerate people.

Comrade, could you tell us what else you heard in the talks held by the criminals who at that time had just committed the El Mozote massacre?

I heard people say that it was Lieutenant Ortega who killed people, ordered the children to be killed and everything. There were some who said that they did not want to kill children, that they killed women, because there were men and women, because they knew, that they knew why, that they had not left, but the children did not.

Lieutenant Ortega said that a single bullet was going to hit the one who did not want to kill children.

The clothes they wore were flagged, black, and they also said that they were from the Death Squad. They had fallen from the plane there on the plain.

In front of me they began to tell how they were going to kill the children, who they said were going to be beheaded and hanged. I saw when they were making the pitas they were making to hang the children after the others killed them.

I believe it is true that they have hanged and slit the throats of the children because I was listening, shots were not heard, the children only cried and screamed at the mothers who were killing them.

They burned all the children and all the women said that they would not leave until they finally saw that witches could come out of those they were burning.

In the end, then, from there, from the hamlet of El Mozote, not a single person left, only me, because they killed everyone there along with their entire family.

The four children and the husband, whose name was Domingo Claro, killed me. He was visually impaired, he did not see, he only saw with glasses. The children, one was called Cristino Claro, the other girl was called Lolita Claro and the other girl was called Lilian Claro, the baby girl who was killed, eight months old, was called Isabel Claro.

Rufina, to finish this interview, we would like to know if you have any message for the people of the world, for the Salvadoran people as a mother, as a peasant woman who is a victim of the repression unleashed by the Christian Democratic Military Junta against the Salvadoran people.

I had a message, to ask that all these people, whether Republic or people that show repugnance, not kill children or women. Let them show solidarity with us who are victims of repression. Let's say that the people's struggle is not in vain because they do not kill children or women.

I also ask the Salvadoran woman to join in to defend her family and her children so that what happened to us does not happen to them because they trusted us, that the military authorities were not going to kill them.

I would also like to ask the murderous soldiers to think about what they are going to do, that they do not kill the children, that they reincorporate, that the children have nothing to do with the guerrillas, that before carrying out those orders they see who they are murdering.

These have been the statements of Rufina Amaya Márquez. Peasant woman, from the El Mozote hamlet, jurisdiction of Meanguera, victim and only survivor of the criminal repression unleashed by the Christian Democratic Military Junta on December 12 of this year in the department of Morazán.