Shaufina Pirani: Testimonies of 2 former Guerilla Leaders

Imagine yourself in a foreign place in the global south, living with 18 strangers for a two week period.  I’ll admit I didn’t know what to expect upon signing up for the Guatemala Field School tour, but in the end, I have come out with a new outlook on life, and 20 new extended family members.  This experience has been life changing for me, to say the least.  Before going to Guatemala, I had never really traveled abroad. 

Now, after having experienced life in the global south, seeing poverty and sufferance first hand, and hearing the testimonies of people who have been victimized by many decades of civil violence, I can say that I am a changed woman.  Although 20 years has passed since the worst human rights violations in Guatemala, former Guerilla leaders Yolanda Colom and Sylvia Solorzano affirm that the challenges facing Guatemala “after Peace,” continue to become worse than during the period of civil violence in Guatemala when hundreds of thousands of people disappeared. 

I felt so helpless while listening to each of them speak about their individual experiences, but it made me realize that every country is problematic in its own regard, and creating a change in the world should begin by creating changes in your own home or country, so I have decided to dedicate more time towards volunteering around Vancouver at various non-profit organizations.

Yolanda talked about how justice in post-war Guatemala is beginning to surface, and Sylvia talked about how rural Guatemalans are slowly coming to terms with a horrific past through the trials of people who participated in the bloody massacre in Guatemala.  

This experience showed us how testimonies play an important role in reviving and restoring history after a period of forgetting when referring to the history of impunity in Guatemala, as they help outsiders like us understand the meaning of the experience of survival.  Meeting with the former Guerilla leaders was a meeting I will never forget.

Going on this Field School was the most life changing adventure of which I have ever had the honor of being a part of. I would encourage you all to take this opportunity because it was one of the best adventures of my life and I have no doubts that you’d have a good time too!