The Not-So-Shining Path of Youth

This article discusses the experiences of young Peruvians who had a close or direct relationship with Sendero Luminoso — for example, young men who for one reason or another could not access education or gain admission to university, such as the case of Manuel Hernández Gómez, who applied to university twice without success. This led the young man to sink into depression, which caused his parents to force him to find work, given that they had made a considerable financial outlay for his preparation at a pre-university academy; they also told him they were not willing to support an idle person. For these reasons, Manuel began to seek a new outlet in a group called Sendero Luminoso, which proceeded to brainwash him with its communist doctrines, making Manuel see the world from a different perspective. (Article introduction).