The Blindfold's Eyes: timely, but no easy read

Catholic New Times, Feb 9, 2003 by Rebecca Cunningham

The Blindfold's Eyes: My Journey from Torture to Truth by Sr. Diana Ortiz and Patricia Davis. Maryknoll, N.Y." Orbis Books, 2002. 496 pp.

Many torture victims never live to tell about their experiences. Remarkably, Sr. Diana Ortiz has.

In 1989, while working with the Ursuline community in Guatemala, she was abducted by Guatemalan security forces and brutally tortured. Her courageous book, The Blindfold's Eyes: My Journey from Torture to Truth, is her compelling testimony.

In The Blindfold's Eyes, Ortiz reveals the searing details of her torture. It is not an easy read. She spares no details and writes with a passionate heart--a passion that serves her well in helping us understand the lasting psychological and spiritual impact of torture.

"I was supposed to have learned despair," she writes. "I was supposed to have learned that I am powerless and that nothing I say or do can stop torture. But I can't help hoping."

At the heart of the book is her remarkable determination. It not only sustains her through her horrible ordeal, but it also proves to be a lifeline as she enters the labyrinth of seeking justice through the U.S. legal system. Her documentation of the role of the CIA in Guatemala and the U.S. embassy's stonewalling and its repeated attempts to dismiss her case are shocking and deeply disturbing. Over 13 years after her abduction and torture, there are still many unanswered questions.

The Blindfold's Eyes, however, is more than a documentation of torture and the paper chase towards truth. The book is also a moving testimony to the thread of hope that binds Ortiz to the sacred fabric of trusting relationships. Though she is at times betrayed by members of her community, her legal team and U.S. officials, she ultimately comes to recognize the strength and the solidarity that she receives from family members, co-workers and other torture survivors.

Ultimately, the book stands on a foundation of hope. "I have faith," she concludes, "in the unexpected, the miraculous, the power of people working together and of God working through us. I have to offer all I have and believe and hope it's enough."

What Ortiz offers should be read by anyone who is concerned about human rights. Indeed, in light of the growing global fear that justifies torture as an acceptable response to terrorism, The Blindfold's Eyes is particularly timely.

Rebecca Cunningham teaches in Toronto.