Jan. 2, 2012 issue
Bolivian colonists try to move past trauma
By Tim Huber Mennonite Weekly ReviewPage:
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In the isolated Manitoba Colony of Bolivia, Old Colony Mennonites are beginning to move on with life after the conclusion of a trial that focused global attention on the community.
Old Colony members attend court proceedings in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Of the nine men arrested on criminal charges of serial rape, seven were found guilty and sentenced to 25 years in prison, one was found guilty and sentenced to 12 and a half years in prison, and one escaped prison and remains a fugitive. — Photo by Noah Friedman-Rudovsky
On Aug. 25, seven men and an accomplice from multiple colonies were convicted in the rapes of more than 100 women and girls over five years.
Forty-three of Bolivia’s 67 Low German Mennonite settlements are Old Colony. They make up about 85 percent of Bolivia’s 56,000 Low German Mennonites.
Mennonite Central Committee Low German coordinator John Janzen visited Manitoba Colony, home to about 2,000 people, in September.
“I didn’t see a community that was in turmoil and not functioning well,” said Janzen, of Winnipeg, Man. “Inside the lives of individuals, that’s a different matter, and I didn’t get to talk to any of the men who are in prison.”
For victims of sexual abuse, confidentiality has offered a measure of well-being. Janzen said a number of victims who were single have gotten married. In spite of occasional drought or disease, the community’s agrarian lifestyle is thriving.
Though residents are deeply saddened and don’t like to talk about it, Janzen was able to discuss the trial’s aftermath with residents, including someone who translated during the trial.
“People I talked to in the Manitoba Colony said, ‘Where there is smoke there is fire, and there is guilt, and this thing happened,’ ” he said. “Certainly not all people at fault are in prison, but something happened.
“I don’t sense in the colony an acceptance of this — that it happens a lot or it’s all right. They’re putting distance between themselves and it.”
Janzen said some changes are evident.
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Comments
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Thank you MWR for providing this information to the Mennonite community at large. My initial concern upon reading one of your earlier articles was for the women who wanted to talk to someone about what had happened. It sounds like that may be possible over time, and within the confines of their culture. This is amazing progress in a terrible situation.
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When you have 100 women...who considered themselves raped....this is a serious crime. Each rape represents a "murder of consciousness" to each of those victims that will change their lives in a negative way. Justice is served. Those who perpetrated this crime are examples of what will happen when this practice occurs again. Women are not second class citizens..they are your Mothers. I would consider being in a Bolivian prison a double punishment. God Bless those victims.
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In respect to whether the raping of women is a common act among some Mennonite communities, there should be monitors or report mechanisms to allow the women to report these crimes. We are not an Egypt nor a cult of sexual crimes where women are treated like dirt. Please follow up with action to give victims a haven and security that will prevent future crimes of humanity.
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