M. Shanara Gilbert Human Rights Award--2008

Sister Dianna Ortiz

Bio:

Sister Dianna Ortiz is an Ursuline Sister from Kentucky. In 1987, she went to Guatemala as a missionary to teach Mayan children. On November 2, 1989, she was abducted from a convent retreat center in Antigua, repeatedly raped and tortured for over twenty-four hours. In testimony given at a mock trial of the Bush administration, Professor Margaret Montoya questioned Sister Ortiz.

This is how Sister Ortiz described that day she was abducted:

“I went with one of the sisters to the convent retreat center in Antigua, and I was praying in the garden when two men approached. One of them had a gun and said that if I did not go with them, that they would hurt the other people who were participating in the retreat. There was an opening in the back wall of the garden, and I was taken through that opening. I was put into a police car, blindfolded and put into or taken to the Politécnica, a large military installation which is located near the United States Embassy.”

“They began by questioning me. Every time I answered a question, no matter what answer I gave, they burned my back with a cigarette. I had over one hundred and eleven cigarette burns on my back before it was over. … After a while, I tried to give whatever answer they wanted to hear, even if it was not true. They showed me a photo of a woman, a woman I had never seen or met, and asked me if it was me. She looked nothing like me, but no matter how I answered, I was burned.”

Sister Ortiz was eventually released upon the intervention of a mysterious American man whom her torturers called their boss.

Her brave memoir, THE BLINDFOLD'S EYES: My Journey from Torture to Truth tells just how torture affected her life. Not only did Sister Dianna have to face the memories of her own pain, but she had to confront the fact that both the governments of Guatemala and the United States protected those responsible for her kidnapping and torture.

“The damage torture does can never be undone,” Sister Dianna writes. “If I survived for any reason, it is to say that.”

Rather than be defeated or silenced, Sister Dianna Ortiz joined other survivors to start the Torture Abolition and Survivors’ Support Coalition International (TASSC) in Washington, D.C. She recently stepped down as the Director of TASSC whose mission is to end the practice of torture wherever it occurs and to empower survivors, their families, and communities wherever they are.

Sister Dianna’s work with TASSC is dedicated to creating international communities of healing for torture survivors to regain their sense of trust and community. Through this innovative process, survivors are empowered to lead and develop strong voices in the international campaign to end torture. Her strategy focuses on reconnecting survivors to their communities and helping victims find their voices to influence institutions and individuals capable of shaping national and international policies on torture. Sister Dianna has received many awards, among them an Honorary Degree from the College of New Rochelle, an ASHOKA FELLOWSHIP, and U.S. Catholic Award for Furthering the Cause of Women in the Church.

In the documentary film The Betrayal of Sister Dianna Ortiz, Latino USA producer Maria Emilia Martin revealed new information, from a former federal agent, about her abduction, including revelations about the U.S. government's involvement with this incident and with repressive Latin American military regimes. The film was awarded the Unda-USA Gabriel Award in 2000.

SALT is honored to present Sister Dianna Ortiz with the M. Shanara Gilbert Award for Human Rights.