Award-winning journalist Luis Alberto Perez Barillas visited U of T last Tuesday to share his struggles as a reporter in a country that was plagued by a 36 year-long civil war.
Quiet and timid by nature, Barillas, born in Rabinal, Guatemala, is this year’s recipient of the Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) International Press Freedom Award. The award recognizes Barillas’ commitment to uncover the governmental corruption, abuse of power and social injustice that remains prevalent in Guatemala today.
From the mid-19th century until the mid-1980s, Guatemala underwent series of military dictatorships with brief periods of representative governments. At the same time, hostility grew between the indigenous Mayan people and the Ladino, who are of mixed European lineage. In 1954, a U.S.-backed invasion led by Col. Carlos Castillo Armas took over the representative government. For the next 36 years, guerrilla forces such as the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG) denounced the Guatemalan military government which led to a series of atrocities and massacres of civilians. A United Nations commission released a report finding that 200,000 Guatemalans, mostly indigenous people, were killed in the period between 1978 and 1984. In particular, during 1982 to 1983, President Rios Montt led a campaign aimed to eliminate the guerrilla forces, one of the bloodiest campaigns conducted. Since then, a peace accord was signed in 1996 to bring formal closure to the conflict, but the corruption and human rights violations still persist.
Much of Barillas’ work is devoted to exposing government authorities who were responsible for these atrocities in the early 80s. One such official is Rios Montt, who has had immunity from prosecution since 1994. However, Montt recently lost his presidential bid and with that, he lost his immunity as well. As a result, Montt is likely to face charges for genocide committed more than a decade ago. Barillas also addresses problems such as water shortages in Guatemala, the establishment of a military base in Rabinal, compensations for family members of the massacres and many fundamental social issues that are vital to the development of a democratic and peaceful regime.
However, Barillas’ work is not easy and often irritates the government, which continually tries to silence him. Attacks have been aimed at Barillas ranging from physical violence to death threats. In September 2001, Barillas was physically attacked, but not robbed. In January 2003, he was followed and threatened by gang members. On July 4, 2003, a homemade bomb exploded in his house. Barillas was not wounded, but the incident prompted him to leave Rabinal and seek safety. Barillas is currently seeking asylum though he is reluctant to leave his country permanently.
Barillas reports his work on his radio show La Voz de la Parroquia (Voice from the Parish). He is the coordinator, radio announcer and operator of the one-hour news program. The program is popular among Guatemalans who often do not have access to newspapers. As well, he is a correspondent for the Prensa Libre and Nuestro Diario, the nation’s highest circulation dailies.
Barillas has endured much for his commitment to bring the truth out to the people of Guatemala and to the world. The award and the international recognition mean a lot to him. Through his translator, Barillas explains, “What’s happened to me [the attacks] in Rubinal was directly against me personally as a journalist,” he noted. “Journalism, both radio and written, has been for me hugely important to my life as being able to contribute to those efforts to speak for and about the people who cannot speak for themselves or about what their sufferings are.”
Cases like Barillas, such as attacks and threats, are not rare to journalists around the world. In Bangladesh, Vietnam, Cuba, Afghanistan, Iraq and many other war zone areas, journalists are often imprisoned and killed. This past summer, Canadian photojournalist Zara Kazemi died in an Iranian prison. So far, a total of 27 journalists are confirmed dead worldwide this year.
