The Cry for Justice

Through the public hearings held by the Truth Commission in different parts of the country, we have been able to hear the testimonies of the victims of violence. Each account constitutes a cry of pain, of horror, and a demand for justice. Upon hearing the victims it is impossible not to be moved, while at the same time feeling outrage at the level of cruelty and viciousness to which they were subjected. The victims were ordinary men and women, elderly people and even children; mostly humble people from the highlands and the Amazon. Violence did nothing but deepen the situation of discrimination and injustice in which they had already found themselves. The death and suffering of these Peruvians demand justice. In many cases the relatives of the victims know who their perpetrators are; the question they ask themselves is: Why? Why me? What have I done? What did my son, my husband or my mother do to have this done to them? Where are they? From that unforgettable day when violence knocked on their door in the night, those questions do not let them live in peace. (Excerpt from the preface).