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Filipe and Rosa were wonderful hosts whilst studying in San Pedro, Guatemala. Although I wasn’t strictly doing a home-stay with them, as I ate two meals a day at their house, they soon felt like family.
After a few weeks I asked Filipe if he would be happy to tell me his story. In 1981 during the Guatemalan civil war he was abducted and shot twice by the army. He was only 17 years old. Some of the other hostages that were taken from San Pedro the same night as Filipe were murdered by the army in front of him. To this day, he still doesn’t know why the army abducted him, nor how he managed to survive his ordeal.
Listen to Filipe’s story (in Spanish) by clicking on the play button at the top.
I am listening to this right now. Almost crying. Your idea of letting him speak freely without any interruption or question is just brilliant. Very powerful effect. I have been listening to many podcasts these days about Central / Latino America, and I’m hasta los cojones of the typical “Oh my God this country is sooooo cheap, Oh my God this stuff is sooooo weird, Oh my God the internet connection is soooo slow, Oh my God my feet hurt and I have diarrhea…”, travelers who only talk about themselves without a single mention of the local culture or history, without exchanging a single word with someone who live there. Thank you for recording this man story.