Customer Reviews

The Rigoberta Menchu Controversy

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What makes this book important is that every essay is different. Some contributors side with Rigoberta Menchu, others with David Stoll, while still others take a bigger picture view and otherwise make significant contributions to the debate. What comes out of this book is that Mr. Stoll did not clearly explain the important points he was trying to make in "Rigoberta Menchu and the Story of All Poor Guatemalans" (otherwise the controversy surrounding his book would not have been so large) and that he left some important points out, such as why the Guatemalan Army committed large-scale massacres in areas with no documented guerrilla presense, or the reality that there are land squabbles between different indigenous groups due to the fact that white ladinos own a vast majority of the most arable land. Due to these shortcomings, the bottom line for many contributors to this book is that Mr. Stoll takes responsibility away from the Guatemalan army and government just at a time when specific apologies and reparations from them are so urgently needed to move the country forward after the 30 year civil war and subsequent peace accords. At the end of the book, however, Mr. Stoll offers a response that more clearly spells out the points he was trying to make, the main one being that thousands of indigenous voices were not included in the nation's dialogue due to the guerrilla's effort to use Rigoberta as the country's only indigenous spokesperson. This book includes essential background information about "I, Rigoberta Menchu", "Rigoberta Menchu and the Story of All Poor Guatemalans" and other aspects of the debate. Raises many universal themes and issues important outside of Guatemala.

It's quite predictable that a person who reveals uncomfortable truths about US militarism will have some sort of "controversy" stirred up about their work. Pentagon public relations personnel and their allies in academia are constantly working to cast doubt over the suffering of humans (Guatemalan, Colombian, Laotian, East Timorese, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Iraqi, Afghani, etc.) caused by US war-making. As the other reviewer noted, Stoll's book provides convenient (and grotesque) excuses for the Guatemalan forces whose operations of village destruction were as depraved as that of the Nazi destruction of Russian villages. No doubt, the Nazis would've appreciated the efforts of a figure like Stoll to cast doubt on the leading spokesperson of the people they oppressed.
I'm glad Arturo Arias' book includes essays by people like Eduardo Galeano, who understand well the US history of robbing Latin America and butchering people who resist. As far as Stoll's essay in response goes, I wonder if he's truly interested in hearing the voices of other indigenous people. I imagine he or some fellow traveller would invest more time and effort in trying to discredit other victims of this slaughter. Much more worthwhile, and ethical, would be to reveal the obvious deceptions of the Guatemalan government and dictators like Rios Montt. Even more constructive would be if US academics like Stoll used their positions of privilege to critique the role of the US government in arming and supporting the blood-letting that our tax dollars sponsored.
I wonder if Stoll is currently working on a book to create some sort of scandal around the work of Bishop Juan Gerardi who wrote "Guatemala, Never Again!", a report on Guatemala's human rights violations. Maybe the fact that Gerardi was murdered two days after he turned in the report disuades Stoll from spending his time on such an endeavor; but I'm sure if Gerardi had gotten the same sort of world attention, the apologists of US hegemony would've found one way or another to smear him.

For people who sympathize with the courageous and important work of Menchu, sharing "I, Rigoberta" or her beautiful children's books with others would be a fitting response to the work of Stoll. There is also an excellent DVD called "When the Mountains Tremble" that features Menchu, other indigenous Guatemalans (including members of the resistance), and comments from a military officer proudly boasting of the extermination campaigns.

Stoll should be ashamed of himself. Fortunately, his work won't pass the test of time, while the words of Menchu will live on.
"Our current history is woven into our previous 500 years when our people survived malnutrition, discrimination and oppression. For indigenous people, it's not exactly a bad time in history. It's a time that has vindicated us, that shines a bright light on the future. And I am absolutely sure that in many countries in the Americas there will always be Indians. We hope this is so, but it depends on everyone. Many people take pride in the culture of the Americas and the world view of the Indian people, but please don't make us idols; because we're not myths of the past or present. We are active communities. As long as one Indian is alive in the Americas, or the world, there shines a bright hope and lives an original thought." -Rigoberta Menchu, from the epilogue to "When the Mountains Tremble"