Bridge of Courage: Life Stories of the Guatemalan Companeros & Companeras

by Jennifer K. Harbury, Noam Chomsky (Introduction)

"Personal histories of participants in 1980s-90s guerrilla movements against Guatemala's military regime, collected by a US citizen who lost Guatemalan husband in struggle, and prefaced by scathing history of Guatemala since 1930s by Noam Chomsky. Simplistic and not on par with similar published remembrances from El Salvador and Nicaragua"--Handbook of Latin American Studies, v. 58.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book does not make for easy reading, it is after all about civil war and the brutality visited upon the indigenous peoples of Guatemala by the US backed military government. The story is told via various interviews held with Guatemalan guerilla fighters and includes some poignant and memorable passages. However, one major limitation of the book is that it fails to set all of the oral history contained within it in context.

When did the conflict in Guatemala start? What was the role of the US in backing the ruling elite? What historical injustices underpin the grievances of the Mayan people? What was the relationship of the majority of Guatemalans to the revolutionaries? These questions are, at best, partially answered, and only so by inference and suggestion, which makes for an incomplete picture for those not already well versed in Guatemalan history and politics. Nonetheless, this book is a moving account of a struggle for liberation told by the members of the URNG (an umbrella guerilla organisation), among their testimony is a mixture of hope, sadness, anger and resolve to lead the Guatemalan people to a better future. Unfortunately, however, it is only from the perspective of the URNG that the story is told and a lack of context, historical detail and explanation means that this book leaves the reader (in my case at least) with more questions than answers.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most enlightening books that I have read on the recent history of Guatemala. Highly recommend this book.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book I've been meaning to read for years. Jennifer Harbury began working with the revolutionaries in the 1980s. Later she married a Guatemalan companero, who was captured by the Guatemalan army. Most of the time she did not know whether he was alive or dead. (He finally did die after several years of torture.) But being married to a companero gave her close look at the life of other companeros and companeras whose lives mostly ended in torture and death. But the revolutionaries fought on feeling that they were building a bridge between the horrible past and the future they imagined to be theirs when the battle was finally won. This book reveals the unsavory part that the has U.S.A. played in Guatemalan politics beginning in the 1950s and lasting through the 1990s.

[Betsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a collection of first-person narratives about what happened in Guatemala in 1985-86, at the height of the state-sponsored kidnappings, torture, and executions of the indigenous population. You hear why people joined the movement, what they witnessed being done to their friends and families, what life was like living in the mountains and being hunted by the US-trained (school of the americas) Guatemalan army, and why it was important for each of them to remain in the struggle. Some moments are heartwarming, others nauseating-- and then you remind yourself it isn't fiction.

[Yaotl Altan]

La autora describe muchos de los crímenes cometidos por los represivos gobiernos guatemaltecos, respaldados por EUA, en su obsesión por aplastar a comunidades indígenas opuestas al saqueo de sus recursos naturales.

Sin duda hay mucha emotividad en los relatos de esta hermosa gente humilde del corazón guatemalteco, descendientes de les mayas, porque su lucha fue desde abajo y en la defensa de una causa justa: la tierra, la naturaleza, la comunidad.

¡Dios les bendiga, camaradas guatemalteques!

[agatha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Transcribed interviews about life in the guerilla in Guatemala during the 1980s. Reasons why people joined, their experiences in the mountains, what they think about the war and government and foreigners, what their lives were like. Incredibly powerful and inspirational and entirely relevant to the political struggle happening today in Guatemala.

[Kevin Warman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prepare yourself for a soul-wrenching, but essential read for those of us who want to learn about Guatemala. I strongly recommend for anyone who is thinking of traveling to Guatemala. Each story is a twinkling of understanding in a nation's dark past that the US helped shape. Understanding will hopefully lead to a better future for both Guatemala and the US.

[Cherie · Rating 3 out of 5]

B A really interesting book, telling the stories of various companeras/os in Guatemala (a bit dated…) who were fighting for justice and against the horrible brutality of the military. Sad stories, brutal, but so important.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was very moved by this book in college.

[Bethany Stoelting · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent testimonies-- heart-wrenching yet hopeful. The interviews reflect perfectly the sentiments of those that I conducted myself in Guatemala.