We met and spoke with those who continue to endure great crimes against their communities - for a small piece of land in a state so large, you could fit the whole of the European Union inside its borders, twice.
They spoke freely and readily of the persecution, the murder of friends and family, the tragedy of massacres and their determined fight for justice in a system that hardly acknowledges their existence. But they have no faith in a corrupt regime to protect them. Many atrocities are committed by the police, seemingly sanctioned by the state.
We would always ask why they were willing to speak to us, and the reasons fell into the same prosaic categories, justice, the right to live without fear. But one pronouncement stood out above all others:
“This is my witness statement. When they kill me, this will be my evidence.”
