The following was written by a Guatemalan man, Julio Cochoy, after participating in a trauma healing workshop. Julio is an indigenous man who was 13 when Guatemalan Army soldiers occupied his town, Utitlan, terrorizing the residents. His uncle was killed brutally by the soldiers, and the family (or at least the boys) stayed inside their house for a year, afraid they would meet the same fate. His first book, “Voces Rompiendo el Silencio de Utatlan” (Voices Breaking the Silence of Utatlan), includes testimonies from 36 families from the town. He’s now working on his second book, My Journey from Hate to Hope.

Tears
Today you came to me
…
I felt you in the warmth of my tears
your wrinkled face laughed with me
I felt again your energy
You are not physically present
but you are close to my soul
you live in my mind
you remain in my heart

The injustice of your death
no longer hurts me
because in the memory of my people
you live on
You live in the voice of your family
you live in the minds of your grandchildren
Dear Uncle, today I rediscovered you
in eternity

©Julio Cochoy September 11 2012