During the 1980's peak of the Guatemalan civil war, the area where we are was devastated by the army's attempt to root out the guerrillas, whom they could never seem to find. So seemingly they just destroyed all the villages and killed anybody who lived near a piece of communist graffiti. Entire regions of the highlands were deserted due to destruction and the flight of the people. Many fled to Mexico and the US, where some remain.

We saw a very moving ceremony in Nebaj the other day where patchwork quilts were laid out in front of the church. Each patch memorialized one of the hundreds and thousands of people who were killed or "disappeared" in that time. Of course the political and emotional implications still remain. The man who was the country's strongman at that time, Efraín Rios Montt, is running for a high position in the government in the upcoming election, even though he's still charged with international war crimes. Nearly everyone in this region lost family members. Many of the women we've interviewed lost their parents in the war. It's striking and moving to be this close to such a life-changing tragedy.