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Faith and political leadership

May 14, 2013 — 4 Comments

Following the historic ruling in the genocide trial of Guatemala’s former dictator Rios Montt on Friday, it’s been fascinating to watch the varied reactions on social media, especially from Christians with very different interpretations of the character of the man now sentenced to 80 years in prison. They also differ widely in their understandings of who bears responsibility for the events of the war, and how Guatemala could best heal from the (relatively undisputed) wounds of the past.

I respect those with differing viewpoints on this issue, and I affirm the overwhelming complexity of the matter. Everyone interprets these events through the lenses of their experiences, values, and allegiances, and I’m no different. But amidst the tweets ranging from jubilation to disbelief, I was reminded of a story I’d read several years ago that offers us a different vantage point. It’s not a comprehensive account of the war’s atrocities, to be sure, but rather a glimpse of a moment in time – an eerie one at that – which sheds light on Rios Montt’s faith and the extent to which it impacted his political leadership.

It comes from Ruth Padilla DeBorst (the daughter of René Padilla) who gives leadership to the Latin American Theological Fraternity (FTL) in addition to her more recent work with World Vision. This story first appeared in an interview with Andy Crouch in Christianity Today in 2007 as part of its Christian Vision Project:

My husband was part of a group from Calvin College that personally interviewed many of these political leaders. They sat with Ríos Montt, who had been president of Guatemala in the early 1980s, in his office in 1987. He welcomed them effusively and gave an impassioned speech about brotherhood in Christ and about how blessed he was in receiving these guests from North America. He knelt in front of them and led them in prayer for his nation, with great passion. And then they started interviewing him.

They asked about the condition of the people in his country and how he viewed the statistics on malnutrition and poverty. They asked, “How do you see your government bringing light to these situations?” When they began pressing these questions, he worked himself into an absolute fury and threw them out of his office. They were afraid for their lives. They had to get out of Guatemala in a hurry.

He had the jargon. He was the founder of a church. Only God knows what was in his heart. But there did not seem to be any connection between his faith and his political leadership. Some of this is simply symptomatic of a young church—Christians who have had very little exposure to public policy and administration of public affairs.

That’s why the core of our proposal in the FTL is that Christian mission is, or must be, “integral mission.” God is Lord over every last corner of the world. And that has to do with interpersonal relations and with our relationships with him, but it also has implications for the way society is organized—who gets favored and how.

You can read the rest of the interview here.

[Photo: Jorge Dan Lopez/Reuters via guardian.co.uk]

In Justice faith, genocide, Guatemala, human rights, Rios Montt, Ruth Padilla DeBorst

Repaso: November 30, 2012

November 30, 2012 — Leave a comment

1. The wisdom of a wanderer
Kyle Bennett is at it again (in a very good way, of course) with this essay for Comment:

Most Christians have never read Nietzsche. My students have; I make sure of it. Most of my students are stupefied by this reading assignment, at least at first. But it always happens: something profound resonates—a fear, hope, delight, frustration, insight, argument, or word. They come to appreciate Nietzsche more than any other thinker they’ve thought with. And that’s just what I tell them Nietzsche is: a thinker to think with. Yes, he was a confessing atheist, referred to himself as a “Wanderer” and “anti-Christ,” and remarked that Jesus would have “recanted his teaching had he reached my age.” Did he make some heretical remarks? Sure. Was his rhetoric rather unsettling and divisive? Indeed. Was he borderline insane and psychotic? Certainly. But the brilliant wit. The creative intelligence. The covert wisdom. My, oh, my.

2. Human dignity and holiday giving
Last Friday, Katie had a helpful post challenging us not just to emotionally respond to charitable marketing campaigns without really thinking through our Christmas giving:

Do we choose the organization to give our donations based on the cuteness of the bunnies in the catalog pictures? Or do we ask questions about the organization providing the bunny? Do they have proven and effective programs providing resources along with training and transformational development so the family can multiply the gift into a small business or sustainable way of providing for their children long term? Do they come alongside the community, working with them and not for them?

3. Art and hamsters
Art historian and cultural theologian Dan Siedell has some things to say to evangelicals about their engagement with the arts:

Our little theological hamster balls isolate rather than reconcile. Given the state of evangelical involvement in the arts and culture throughout the twentieth century, the hamster ball is a decided improvement; it has been formed by Christian arts ministries, arts and culture programs in Christian schools, theology and the arts programs, and other networks, institutions, and organizations. All very good things. Yet it is not quite gospel.

4. Foreign witness to Guatemala’s war
By now it has become pretty clear that Guatemalan ex-dictator Rios Montt was responsible for some particularly awful stuff during the country’s long civil war. That’s hindsight for us. Jean-Marie Simon, a photojournalist who, like my family, lived in Guatemala throughout the 80s, writes about prevailing attitudes in the country at the time (HT Central American Politics):

Guatemala is deceptive. I know people think that in the 80’s it was a war zone. But the country was very different from that. You knew things were going on, you sort of arrived in the capital and you did see soldiers all over the place but it was not like they were sand-bagging the main streets and car bombings and green zones and people running around in flak jackets… What was actually striking in the first few days after the coup was a sense of euphoria and relief. There was a huge rally in the park in front of the National Palace and people waving posters saying “we believe in the army”, “we want peace” because urban repression had been so intense under the previous government headed by Lucas Garcia that people thought – it turned out wrongly – that anyone, even another military man, had to be an improvement on what they had suffered previously.

5. Free music for Advent and Christmas
Noisetrade is always great, but never better than this time of year. Sufjan Stevens, Over The Rhine, Rosie Thomas, Sleeping at Last, and many others are all giving away seasonal tunes. Though, really, for the church calendar purists among us, most of it is music better suited for Christmas (which is still a few weeks away), not Advent (the time of waiting which begins this Sunday and continues up until Christmas Eve). If you listen to Christmas music early, though, I won’t tell anyone.

6. Broken hallelujah vs. victory march
I hope you’ll pardon Derek Webb’s one choice word here as he discusses his way of understanding God’s goodness and sovereignty in the face of the world’s sin and brokenness. I love this line towards the end, when the interviewer alludes to the classic Leonard Cohen song, Hallelujah: “Yeah, it’s a broken hallelujah, but from a perspective that far transcends and eclipses mine, it’s very much a victory march.”

Repaso is intended as a thought-provoking compilation of news and commentary from the past week related to the intersections of faith, development, justice and peace. As always, I welcome your thoughts on any of the links and ideas in this roundup!

[Image credit: detail of "Self-Portrait As Young Nietzsche" by Basil Baroda via frostburg.edu]

In Repaso art, Christmas giving, civil war, cultural engagement, Dan Siedell, Derek Webb, evangelical, gift catalogs, Guatemala, hallelujah, Jean-Marie Simon, Katie Hoiland, Kyle Bennett, Nietzsche, Repaso, Rios Montt, The Work of the People

Granito: How to Nail a Dictator

July 23, 2012 — Leave a comment

I’ve blogged before about Rios Montt, the former dictator of Guatemala who is facing two genocide charges for the role he played during the country’s long and ugly civil war. Guatemala’s justice system doesn’t have a particularly great track record, and these days it’s known more for impunity than for maintaining order and defending the victims of crime. So it has been a big, somewhat unexpected step forward to see a former head of state standing trial for war crimes.

Interestingly, key evidence leading to Montt’s indictment was provided in a 1983 documentary called When the Mountains Tremble, directed by Pamela Yates and featuring narration by Rigoberta Menchu, who went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize nearly a decade later (though she later became embroiled in controversy).

Yates has now released a new documentary called Granito: How to Nail a Dictator, “The extraordinary story of how a film, aiding a new generation of human rights activists, became a granito — a tiny grain of sand — that helped tip the scales of justice.” Here’s the trailer:

The film aired on PBS in late June, and is available for viewing online in its entirety through the end of this week. I assume this goes without saying, but it’s probably not fit for family viewing.

I’d also add that while I think it’s clear the Guatemalan government was responsible for the vast majority of the atrocities committed during the war, that doesn’t mean the guerrillas were particularly good guys either. My take is that a great many poor Guatemalans found themselves caught between the two sides of the conflict, and both sides terrorized them. The distinction is that one of those sides had the resources and the inclination to sow far more terror than the other. I’m not sure the filmmakers of Granito would agree with that assessment, but it’s the conclusion I’ve reached and I think it’s an important point to make.

For those interested in learning more about the latest developments in human rights work in Guatemala, the Washington Office on Latin America is hosting an event this Thursday called Obstacles to Justice: Accountability for Human Rights Violations in Guatemala. The event will be live streamed at WOLA’s site and will feature, among others, Fredy Peccerelli (the forensic anthropologist featured in Granito) and Óscar Ramírez (who I blogged about here).

[Image credit: Skylight Pictures]

In Justice dictator, documentary, genocide, Granito, Guatemala, human rights, justice, Pamela Yates, Rigoberta Menchu, Rios Montt

A massacre, an adoption, and the hope that all things will be made new

June 4, 2012 — Leave a comment

A week and a half ago, This American Life aired the story of Oscar Ramirez, a Guatemalan man living in Boston. It’s a story that Oscar himself didn’t fully know until very recently. Here’s the teaser blurb:

In 1982, the Guatemalan military massacred the villagers of Dos Erres, killing more than 200 people. Thirty years later, a Guatemalan living in the US got a phone call from a woman who told him that two boys had been abducted during the massacre — and he was one of them.

It’s a tragic story but it’s also, in a bittersweet way, a hopeful one. Most of all, it’s masterfully told. I hope you’ll listen to it. The story is also available as an essay from ProPublica and as an eBook. Accompanying the essay is a slideshow, character guide, and timeline. It’s all very well-done.

The massacre at Dos Erres in December 1982 took place during the short-lived and brutal presidency of former army general Rios Montt. Earlier this year he was formally charged with genocide and crimes against humanity for the atrocities that occurred under his watch, and in late May a judge ruled he’d stand a genocide trial for the Dos Erres massacre as well.

I’ve blogged about Rios Montt before, mentioning that I was born in Guatemala during his presidency. The very fact that Montt is finally facing trial is extraordinary, given the widespread impunity that has been the norm in Guatemala since the war. And even more remarkable is the fact that he is being charged during the early days of the presidency of Otto Pérez Molina, another former military leader who, according to the U.S. State Department, “was stationed during the civil war in a region that saw some of the conflict’s worst atrocities against civilians.” One might imagine that this president specifically would prefer the secrets of the past to remain hidden.

What happened in the Dos Erres massacre is horrible, almost beyond words. But the story needs to be told. You can’t understand the proliferation of violent crime in Guatemala and elsewhere in Central America — or the tens of thousands of undocumented immigrants who have left these countries for the United States — without understanding this history and its legacy today.

If you don’t know very much about what took place in Guatemala (too few do), I’d encourage you to learn Oscar’s story. As you’ll see, it’s a story of tragic loss, but it also gets at the complexity of it all, when Oscar considers the mixed legacy of his adoptive father. It reminds me of the words of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn in The Gulag Archipelago:

If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?

I am grateful that Rios Montt is facing trial for his crimes, even as I mourn with the families of his victims. And I’m grateful that Oscar has been reunited with his biological father, even as I mourn the many losses that have marked his life. Most of all, while stories like these serve to remind us that this is not the way the world was supposed to be, I live with the expectant hope that one day, all things will be made new.

[Photo credit: Matthew Healey for ProPublica]

In Justice civil war, genocide, Guatemala, justice, Oscar Ramirez, Otto Perez Molina, peace, ProPublica, Rios Montt, This American Life

Repaso: Guatemala’s war years; The MBA Oath; Dakota prison letters; working poor in Latin America; religion vs. science

February 3, 2012 — Leave a comment

1. Photos from Guatemala’s war years
Last week I mentioned that in Guatemala, the court would be deciding whether former dictator Rios Montt would be charged with crimes of genocide. Last Thursday he was formally charged, and he’s now under house arrest. Here is a photo essay from the New York Times’ Lens blog with some historical perspective.

2. The MBA Oath
We’ve all heard of the Hippocratic Oath – an ethical pledge for medical professionals “to do no harm.” In December I wrote about a similar oath for those working among the poor. Here now is an oath for business school grads, developed by Max Anderson and his classmates at Harvard Business School. It’s an idea whose time has come.

3. Dakota prisoner letters
Minnesota Public Radio has a segment about letters that have emerged from “concentration camps” in Minnesota where members of the Dakota tribe were held 150 years ago. This is a painful story for everyone to face up to, but for Clifford Canku, a Dakota elder who teaches at North Dakota State, the story needs to be told. (HT Richard Twiss)

4. The working class in Latin America
Sara Miller Llana writes for the Christian Science Monitor about how life is changing for the working class in urban Latin America, the region where the gap between the richest and the poorest is most stark in the whole world. While I don’t think that life for rural indigenous people has improved enough for the issue to be pushed aside, I do appreciate this broadening of the focus:

For two decades, social movements in Latin America have centered on indigenous rights. Today the indigenous have earned new political representation, and open mistreatment will draw complaints. Yet daily life across Latin America is replete with symbols of stubborn class inequality that go unchallenged, such as condominium buildings that have separate elevators for domestic workers.

5. Religion, science and naturalism
NPR’s Weekend Edition interviewed Christian philosopher Alvin Plantinga about the common ground between religion and science, saying the real disparity is between religion and naturalism.

[Photo credit: Jean-Marie Simon via New York Times]