Seeking Justice and Digging Up Bones: The Plight of Mayan Survivors in Guatemala

A Talk by Manuel Calel Morales

Monday November 17, 2008
7:00 p.m.
Kohlberg 115

In Guatemala, anthropologists and villagers are uncovering the past. They unearth secret graves containing remains of victims of the mass murders carried out by Guatemala's military and death squads (backed by the U.S. military). Manuel Calel Morales is a villager from El Quiché. After serving against his will in the Guatemalan Army, Calel Morales became a human rights activist, a mass grave finder, and a community leader. He directs the K'amalb'e Rech Tinamit Ixium Ulew, a group seeking justice for the survivors of the massacres.

The Guatemalan Human Rights Commission, based in Washington, DC, invited Calel Morales to conduct a speaking tour to inform the public about the plight of so many. Calel Morales has also spoken before the U.S. Congress and the United Nations.

Sponsored by Forum for Free Speech, Latin American Studies, The Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility, Peace and Conflict Studies, and the Provost's Office