A Vision of Justice for Guatemala, by Linda McKim-Bell

Written by Linda McKim-Bell of the First Unitarian Church, Portland, Ore., who accompanied UUSC staff on a recent visit to Guatemala.

On a visit to the Guatemalan Forensic Anthropological Foundation, we saw the little mahogany caskets lined up at the entryway. Next to them were bones stacked to the ceiling in cardboard boxes carefully marked as to their origin -- by department and town. They were stacked along every wall.

Lab tables with blue cloths were set up around a kidney-shaped pool. In the open air, patio workers analyzed the bones, identifying them by age and gender. Fractures were noted, and the cause of death. They were lovingly and tenderly handled and laid out piece by piece to form skeletons. Each detail was noted.

On one table was a tray of clothing fragments laid out in a grid pattern. There was a diaphanous blouse, a plaid shirt, a Mayan woven skirt. I saw a vision. The clothing fragments rose up and took on the shape of whole garments filled, as bone took on flesh. The people looked at me with brown skin and black eyes. They were asking me for justice, that I might seek justice on their behalf, because they could not. And I took on that responsibility as a sacred charge.