Remains found of 9 Farmers Disappeared in 1992 near Chimbote, Peru

Thanks to Grace O'Meara, Victor Mendoza, and Katty Huanuco for information on what happened in Santa, Peru 19 years ago, as well as how the remains of the farmers were discovered and exhumed, and how families today are beginning to find closure.

*  BACKGROUND: The following post is from janesilcock.com and describes what happened to the farmers. It is written in 2010 on the 18th anniversary of the disappearance of the nine farmers:

(Please note that when links lead to articles in Spanish, simply click "translate" on the Google bar directly above the article.  While it will not give a perfect translation, it is a very moving story and worth reading.  Jean Durel)

“A cold dawn/ 2 of May 1992/ the peaceful town of Santa/ was interupted and surprised/ by a mob of murdering beasts,” starts a recently written poem by Jorge Noriega, a social activist who’s son was one of nine people who went missing 18 years ago. Yesterday the NGO I work at, the Social Justice Commission, held a public demonstration and forum to commemorate the 18 year anniversary of the Desaparecidos de Santa (the “Missing people of Santa”).

That “mob of murdering beasts” Jorge refers to was a paramilitary death squad called Grupo Colina.GUnder the command of the Peruvian government, Grupo Colina murdered many innocent people during the first four years of ex-president Alberto Fujimori’s administration.

Around 70,000 people went missing or were killed in Perú during the internal conflict from 1980 to 2000. The perpetrators were terrorists like the maoist group the Shinning Path and the MRTA, but around 30% of the deaths are blamed on the armed forces. In an effort to control terrorism, the Peruvian government turned to military rule. The terrorist groups mainly targeted indiginous populations in the Andes mountains. When the military arrived to combat the terrorists, they often killed innocent people justifying the killing of many to get rid of a few terrorists.  READ MORE.

*  DISCOVERY OF THE REMAINS:  On August 4 at noon, two people who ran an environmental impact study for a mining company discovered the skeletal remains and immediately notified the police.  Family members were notified and they came to the site to identify the remains of their loved ones.

The Social Justice Commission of the Chimbote diocese gives a full description, along with photos, of the events traspiring in the first two weeks of August, 2011.  READ MORE.  (Remember to click on the word "translate" on the Google bar directly above the blog.)