The Blindfold's Eyes Quiz #1

what happened to Dianna Ortiz?

while serving as a missionary in Guatemala in 1989, she was abducted on November 2 by members of the Guatemalan military, detained, raped, and tortured for 24 hours before being release; after her release, Ortiz reported that an American was among her captors (this part of her account could not be confirmed)

where did this happen to Dianna?

in a secret police torture building based in a government building in Guatemala "Politechnica"

Politechnica

during her first visit & while retracing her steps, Ortiz mentions this location was used in Guatemala's past for torture

who was responsible for what happened to her?

U.S. Embassy in Guatemala

how did she escape?

an American man named Alejandro who was in the politecnica helped her out because he said that they kidnapped the wrong girl and that Dianna is an American and it made headlines all over the world, they were supposed to kidnap a guerrilla named "Veronica Ortiz Hernandez"; Alejandro takes her away from the other men when they call him to have "fun" - he gets her dressed and begs her to forgive the men while he was driving her - she refuses & says no mistake was made, they knew exactly who she was - she jumps out of the car and hides in a Guatemalan woman's house who provides Ortiz with money for a bus trip and tells her to forget everything about her; Dianna goes to the center of the capital to safety

what was the reaction of the U.S. embassy in Guatemala?

when they were on the cameras they were shocked that this had happened to a cello American, but behind the walls they did not care and did nothing to help Ortiz, the Embassy and Guatemala already knew about kidnapping her and all the information of what she endured during her time in prison

how was she treated and slowly recovered?

when she first escaped, the indigenous woman took her to a dermatologist to check out her cigarette burns, and to heal her, and took her to the agency where they were holding her passports; after returning to the US, Dianna went to Louisville, Kentucky to a rehab center, "Our Lady of Peace" - ran by the Sisters of Charity, for a month to recover for a while and get back to normal. She went back to the mount, then the sisters readmitted her to Our Lady of Peace. A few months after she was released and headed to Chicago to another facility called the "Kovler Center" where Central Americans who were tortured were getting help; the director, Majorie Kovler, was Guatemalan. While getting treatment there, she was able to stay at "Su Casa" a catholic worker house specifically for torture survivors; ran by two Sisters of Mercy, Pat and Juanita, and a Christian Brother. During her time there, she worked as a translator and teacher for people trying to learn english to Spanish and vice-a-versa

what are her subsequent efforts to identify her torturers?

Dianna tried long and hard to remember in vivid detail all about her torturers, since she was blindfolded half the time and when she left, and was in a state of shock it was hard for her, as the years went on and slowly recovering, she would remember details of what the Guate-man and the policeman looked like, through their voice and some simple characteristics, and that a man named Alejandro she strongly believes though his accent was an American, she also met with a sketch artist to describe to him in detail what they might've looked like and after careful planning the sketches he drew were the exact faces that she during her time in the prison.

what were her efforts to find out what the U.S. government knows about her case?

the U.S. government was not helping Dianna in anyway, shape, or form, in trying to find out her kidnappers as well as why they kidnapped Dianna, she went to courts, and went on prime time television, did hunger strikes, and even wrote to President Clinton and met with Hillary Clinton get any details on what the U.S. government's involvement was in this, and still after all that work she got a file with a bunch of missing and blackened out details

how and why did she found TASSC?

Dianna had formed it because she wanted to inform people of torture survivors and to educate and make people aware about countries where torture is practiced and she formed it through this visionary advocate took the first step by bringing together a small group in Washington, DC - torture survivors along with individuals committed to human rights - to explore the idea of starting a nonprofit that would be dedicated to advocacy to end torture and to support the full range of survivors' needs

what does TASSC do as a human rights organization?

it is concerned not only with the prevention of torture but also addresses its aftermath, the individual survivor, family, community, and society. in addition to creating a worldwide network of International Communities of Healing for torture survivors and their families, TASSC also seeks to influence domestic and international policy through advocacy, social action, public testimony, and targeted media campaigns

Lew Anselem

Embassy Political Affairs Officer, U.S. State Department Official who told the public that Sister Dianna was not kidnapped but was a lesbian who received the burn marks from a sadomasochistic relationship; when he met with Paul, Fran, Marie, and Joe the has a statue of two nuns at his desk. he said "these are my do-gooder lesbians"

Guate-man

one of the men who tortured Dianna in Guatemala; Recognized as Captain Federico Fuentes Aragón

Alejandro

one of the men who tortured Dianna in Guatemala, supposedly works with American embassy. helps Dianna escape. Brings her to his "friend" in the US embassy, but before they get there she jumps out of the car in Zone 5 of Guatemala. He was described as the boss. He is tall and fair-skinned, dark brown, curly hair

the woman

refers to the lady that Dianna had to torture and kill against her will

Dr. Snodgrass

Dianna's first therapist. Deceptive, has lied about Dianna's health to others. had gotten her in the hospital by lying and saying she was suicidal. Dianna saw her torturers in him

Jennifer Harbury

called Dianna and explained that she was forming a coalition of US citizens who has been attacked in Guatemala or lost relatives to political violence there. Worked with the Guatemalan Human Rights Commission. advocated for the release of her husband who was a Guatemalan guerrilla commandant and was being secretly detained and tortured. went on a hunger strike in Guatemala out of protest to get her husband back

Dr. Mary Fabri

one of the doctors at the Kovler Center that offers Dianna good support and advice, diagnose her with post traumatic stress disorder

Thomas Stroock

US Ambassador stationed in Guatemala who did not provide adequate assistance to Dianna, often contradicted or outright denied her story to the press

Judge Leticia Lam

judge during Diana's second trip to Guatemala to sue in court, the 5th judge that had been on the case; more helpful and sympathetic

the Politecnica

an old military academy where people were known to have been tortured this is where Dianna was held and tortured

The Kovler Center

treatment center where Central Americans who were tortured were getting help; the director, Majorie Kovler, was Guatemalan; the center was the idea of an Argentine doctor who worked in a Chicago emergency room

Lafayette Park

the location of Dianna's silent vigil where she demanded the declassification of all documents regarding Guatemala, specifically documents pertaining to there abduction and torture

confregua

the Guatemalan Conference of Religious, a group of religious leaders that, at peril to themselves, placed as defending Sister Dianna

GAM

a mutual support group, an organization for daily members of people who have been "disappeared"; relatives of the disappeared, led mainly by women, held vigils in front of the National Palace

URNG

Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity, the guerrilla umbrella organization, Jennifer's husband, Everado, was involved with them

Maryknoll House

where Dianna stayed in Guatemala before her torture

The Mount

Mount St. Joseph, the convent in Maple Mount, Kentucky

Paul Soreff

one of the community's lawyers, her lawyer

Clarissa

gives Dianna the razor blade she keeps in her shoe

Dr. Antonio Martinez

Dianna's first therapist at the Kovler Center, recommended Dianna to Mary Fabri

Shawn

a young lawyer working with the Center for Human Rights legal Action, was helping Paul with Dianna's case

Ronnie and Edgar

Dianna's Guatemalan lawyers, worked at the Archbishop's Human Rights Office, they were helping with the case because they knew the Guatemalan court system, and they had to have lawyers that were licenses to practice in Guatemala

Judge Leticia Secaira

the first judge on Dianna's case when she went back to Guatemala to begin her case, had doubts about Dianna's story

Special prosecutor Fernando Linares

he never took Dianna's case seriously, and he never believed her, had doubts about Fianna's story, described as an actor in a big show that had been created

Andrea Gunderson

Dianna's massage therapist

Fernando

a young Guatemalan lawyer who has participated in the conference on torture inn DC, now on Dianna's case with Edgar

Alice

director of the Guatemalan Human Rights Commission (GHRC)

Meredith Larson

stabbed at the end of 1989 while working as an escort for human rights activities in Guatemala, a part of GHRC, Dianna's friend; she was working in an AIDS prevention program in San Francisco, and was applying to graduate school in public health

Trish, Randy, Josh

other members of the coalition

ORPA

revolutionary organization of the people in arms

OAS

Organization of American States