Rufina Amaya
Encyclopedia
Rufina Amaya was one of the few survivors of the El Mozote massacre
on December 11 and December 12, 1981, in the Salvadoran
department of Morazán
during the Salvadoran Civil War. Her testimony of the attacks, reported shortly afterward by two American
reporters but called into question by the U.S. journalism community as well as by the U.S. and Salvadoran governments, was instrumental in the eventual investigation by the United Nations Commission on the Truth for El Salvador
after the end of the war. The investigation led to the November 1992 exhumation of bodies buried at the site and the commission's conclusion that Amaya's testimony had accurately represented the events.
Hidden in a tree to which she had run while soldiers were distracted, Amaya watched and listened as government soldiers raped women, then killed men, women, and children by machine-gunning them, then burning their bodies. Amaya lost not only her neighbors, but also her husband, Domingo Claros, whose decapitation she saw; her 9-year-old son, Cristino, who cried out to her, "Mama, they’re killing me. They’ve killed my sister. They’re going to kill me."; and her daughters María Dolores, María Lilian, and María Isabel, ages 5 years, 3 years, and 8 months old. The only one of her children with Claros who was not killed in the massacre was their daughter Fidelia, who was not in the village at the time.
Following the massacre, Amaya became a refugee
for a time in the neighboring country of Honduras
, where in 1985 she married fellow refugee José Natividad, with whom she had four children, divorcing within two years after the marriage. She returned to El Salvador in 1990 and became a lay pastor for the Roman Catholic Church. By March, 2000, Amaya was living near the Morazán village of Segundo Montes, Morazán
, established by fellow repatriated exiles in memory of a Jesuit priest and scholar
killed during the war in a mass assassination of priests by government forces at the Universidad Centroamericana "José Simeón Cañas" (UCA).
Amaya died of a stroke
in a San Salvador hospital at the age of 64, on March 6, 2007, following a long illness. She was survived by her daughter Fidelia; her daughter Marta, from her second marriage; and by an adopted son, Walter Amaya.
El Mozote massacre
The El Mozote Massacre took place in and around the village of El Mozote, in Morazán department, El Salvador, on December 11, 1981, when Salvadoran armed forces trained by the United States military killed at least 200 and up to 1000 civilians in an anti-guerrilla campaign during the Salvadoran...
on December 11 and December 12, 1981, in the Salvadoran
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
department of Morazán
Morazán Department
Morazán is a department of El Salvador. Located in the northeast part of the country, its capital is San Francisco Gotera. It covers a total surface area of 1,447 km² and has a population of more than 200,000.-History:...
during the Salvadoran Civil War. Her testimony of the attacks, reported shortly afterward by two American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
reporters but called into question by the U.S. journalism community as well as by the U.S. and Salvadoran governments, was instrumental in the eventual investigation by the United Nations Commission on the Truth for El Salvador
Commission on the Truth for El Salvador
The Truth Commission for El Salvador was a truth commission established by the United Nations to investigate and report on human rights abuses during the civil war in El Salvador ....
after the end of the war. The investigation led to the November 1992 exhumation of bodies buried at the site and the commission's conclusion that Amaya's testimony had accurately represented the events.
Hidden in a tree to which she had run while soldiers were distracted, Amaya watched and listened as government soldiers raped women, then killed men, women, and children by machine-gunning them, then burning their bodies. Amaya lost not only her neighbors, but also her husband, Domingo Claros, whose decapitation she saw; her 9-year-old son, Cristino, who cried out to her, "Mama, they’re killing me. They’ve killed my sister. They’re going to kill me."; and her daughters María Dolores, María Lilian, and María Isabel, ages 5 years, 3 years, and 8 months old. The only one of her children with Claros who was not killed in the massacre was their daughter Fidelia, who was not in the village at the time.
Following the massacre, Amaya became a refugee
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
for a time in the neighboring country of Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
, where in 1985 she married fellow refugee José Natividad, with whom she had four children, divorcing within two years after the marriage. She returned to El Salvador in 1990 and became a lay pastor for the Roman Catholic Church. By March, 2000, Amaya was living near the Morazán village of Segundo Montes, Morazán
Segundo Montes, Morazán
Segundo Montes, Morazán is a community in Morazán Department, El Salvador, formed in 1990 by repatriated refugees who had fled the country's civil war...
, established by fellow repatriated exiles in memory of a Jesuit priest and scholar
Segundo Montes
Segundo Montes, S.J. was a scholar, philosopher, educator, sociologist and Jesuit priest...
killed during the war in a mass assassination of priests by government forces at the Universidad Centroamericana "José Simeón Cañas" (UCA).
Amaya died of a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
in a San Salvador hospital at the age of 64, on March 6, 2007, following a long illness. She was survived by her daughter Fidelia; her daughter Marta, from her second marriage; and by an adopted son, Walter Amaya.
External links
- The El Mozote Massacre (various articles)
- Testimony of Rufina Amaya: Sole survivor of the massacre (in Spanish)
- Alma Guillermoprieto. "Shedding light on humanity's dark side: the outspoken survivor of slaughter" (obituary of Amaya by one of the two original El Mozote reporters), The Washington Post, March 14, 2007, Page C01. Retrieved 2008-05-04.
- Scott Simon. New York Times reporter Raymond Bonner remembers Rufina Amaya, National Public Radio, March 17, 2007.
- Photo gallery of Rufina Amaya, Walls of Hope School of Art and Open Studio, Perquín, El Salvador. Retrieved 2008-05-06.