RESOlUTION TO STOP - Program for Torture Victims

PTV Chronicle
Program for Torture Victims Newsletter VOL v /EDITION 1 fall 2008
Resolution to Stop
California Doctors & Nurses from Participating in
Torture
On August 14, 2008, California became the first state in the U.S. to make the clear declaration that torture is unethical, immoral,
and illegal, and that we, as a state, will not take part in torture. The resolution requests that California licensed health professionals
be notified of their ethical and legal obligations not to participate in torture. Additionally, the resolution asks the Department of
Defense and the CIA to remove California health professionals from participating in prisoner and detainee interrogations. PTV’s
Co-Founder and Medical Director, Dr. Jose Quiroga, testified in support of the resolution, which sends a strong signal that we must
protect California health professionals from complicity in torture. The resolution was authored by Senator Mark Ridley Thomas,
and was sponsored by the Program for Torture Victims, Physicians for Social Responsibility- Los Angeles, and The American Friends Service
Committee.
THE 1985
ACCOMARCA
MASSACRE
ripped shoes, in their bare feet, through
the mud and grasses. The more they ran,
the more the militia fired.
Justice after 23 Years
On a chill winter day in August, in a
small indigenous village, a town was just
beginning to awaken when the first shot
was fired. It was not yet dawn; the sun
was rusting over the mountains, orange
in its beginning, then slowly fading to
pale gold. The air was sharp. The Andes
separated the village of Accomarca from
other small villages, scattered across the
western side of Peru, nearly 400 miles
from Lima, the country’s capital. Children, mothers, and elderly men started
their days in a normal fashion: washing
clothes, fixing their breakfasts, hiking
through high grass and patches of snow
to tend their alpaca. The first gunshot
must have sounded obscure on top of
the quiet mountain. But quickly, more
followed. The townspeople ran, in their
Ellen Pfeifer
Jose Quiroga
Ana Deutsch
The soldiers had come to destroy a guerilla
leftist party they believed were hiding in
the region. Instead, they shot any villager
within range. The women that they
captured, they raped. Many villagers were
forced into a small farmhouse, where they
were terrorized with bullets, grenades,
and fire. By the end of the massacre, 62
villagers had died. By the time the houses
had finished burning, there was nothing
left except white ash.
There were, however, survivors, two
of whom would come back to haunt
commanding officer Telmo Hurtado
nearly 23 years later. On that blood-filled
Thursday in August, these two twelve year
old girls ran wildly through the village,
screaming, tripping as bullets hit those
running beside them. In hiding, Cirila
Pulido watcher her mother and her infant
brother fall to the ground. Teofila Ochoa
saw her mother, seven brothers, and
sister succumb to the same fate. Teofila
slid beneath a large rock to avoid her
own death. Through the gunshots, the
Megan Berthold
Shoshana Martinez
Erin Grimes
Rose Marie Durocher
smoke, the bullets, the faces of the dying
became etched in these girls’ minds.
In the process of ridding the world of
terrorists, the ‘heroes’ often become the
terrorists. Telmo Hurtado and his troop
invaded Accomarca under a strict military
operation in order to rid the village and
surrounding area of the guerilla soldiers.
They succeeded in murdering 23 small
children and 39 women and elderly men.
When asked why it was necessary to kill
babies during their operation, Hurtado
shrugged. Babies mature and become
guerillas. Thus, the order was simply
“to capture and eliminate.” After the
murders, the soldiers put on white tee
shirts and celebrated their victory.
For nearly 23 years, those lost in the
Accomarca Massacre were forgotten by
Hurtado and his soldiers. But on February
11th, 2008, in a Florida courtroom,
Hurtado met face-to-face with Teofila
Ochoa and Cirila Pulido. He had been
discovered hiding illegally in the United
States, and was finally being charged
for his role in the massacre. Ochoa and
Pulido were to represent their village, and
those who had survived the massacre.
Ken Louria
PTV
Gaithri Fernando
Diana Ray
CARING FOR SURVIVORS SINCE 1980.
Board of Directors
Niels Frenzen, Esq. President
Jose Quiroga MD, Vice-President
Ana Deutsch, Secretary
Andrew Atkin, Esq. Treasurer
Hector Aristizabal, MFT
Robert Bailey, Esq.
Phyllis Glock
Adam Levine, Esq.
Marc Williams, Esq.
Staff
Ellen Pfeifer, MSW
Executive Director
Jose Quiroga, M.D.
Medical Director
Ana Deutsch, MFT
LETTER FROM THE
EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR
PTV welcomes its new Executive Director, Ellen Pfeifer.
Ellen comes to PTV with a long history in the non-profit
arena. Since receiving her MSW from Florida State University,
Ellen has been involved in the management of non profits.
Ellen specializes in Fund Development, including corporate
and foundation giving, major gifts, capital campaigns and
annual philanthropic giving.
Clinical Director
S. Megan Berthold, PhD
Director of Research
and Evaluation, Therapist
Shoshana Martinez, BA
Case Manager
Rose Marie Durocher, PhD
Therapist
Ken Louria, MFT
Therapist
Erin Grimes, BA
Executive Assistant
Diana Ray, MSW
Research and Evaluation
Associate
Rachel Goldstein, BA,
americorps vista/ resource
development cordinator
It is with great joy that I join PTV in its mission to alleviate torture
and its effects nationally and globally.
In the nearly ten months that I have been given
the opportunity to provide leadership,I feel honored to be a part of PTV.
I thank PTV’s Board of Directors, and its many volunteers
who give endlessly of their time and talent.
Additionally, I would like to thank the PTV Staff,a most dedicated,talented,
and professional group of men and women who work tirelessly
to provide services to our clients.
All of our Staff, Interns and VISTA Volunteers are devoted, highly skilled
and trained in their areas of expertise.
I am awestruck by their level of passion and commitment.
PTV has come a long way from its inception in 1980.
But, there is still work to be done,
and where better to contribute your time and talent than PTV?
We are always looking for individuals interested in volunteering.
As important and necessary to the continued success
and capacity in which PTV operates, is its ability to provide ongoing, free of charge,
medical, psychological and case management services to those who have survived torture.
This, in large part, is due to our Donors. We are grateful to all of our Donors,
who have generously contributed to PTV.
We hope that you and others will continue to be our partners
and give big heartedly to PTV.
For more information on how to make a monetary contribution,
please call me on 213 747.4944 ext. 253.
No contribution is too little….
Thank you again for this exciting opportunity
and I look forward to serving all of you successfully for many years.
With great appreciation,
Ellen
www.ptvla.org
PTV Chronicle
Program for Torture Victims Newsletter VOL v /EDITION 1 FAll 2008
INTERVIEW WITH
LAILA AL-MARAYATI ob/gyn for torture victims
Dr. Laila Al-Marayati is currently
the Assistant Clinical Professor
at the Keck School of Medicine
at the University of Southern California (USC). She is also the
Medical Director of Women’s Health at the Eisner Pediatric and
Family Medical Center, a community health clinic in downtown
Los Angeles. She has been a long-time activist in the Muslim
American community, focusing mainly on issues related to
women’s rights and religious freedom. In addition, Laila AlMarayati is one of the founders of the Muslim Women’s League,
based in Los Angeles, which promotes the role of Muslim
women in society.
WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO FIRST BECOME
INVOLVED IN WORKING WITH REFUGEES AND
TORTURE VICTIMS?
I have always been concerned with providing care to the
underserved and those in greatest need. I remember receiving a
letter from Physicians for Human Rights when they were looking
for doctors to help provide exams/evaluations to individuals
seeking asylum and I thought that was something that I might
be able to help with.
HOW DID YOU BECOME INVOLVED WITH PTV?
I came to a lecture by one of the physicians there several years
ago. He talked about what to look for as signs and symptoms of
torture. I met with some of the staff and was later approached to
see if I could help out with doing medical evaluations on women
who had undergone some form of genital cutting.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE SERVICES THAT YOU
PROVIDE FOR FEMALE SURVIVORS OF TORTURE?
My main contributions have been to perform medical exams
free of charge to women who have experienced some form
of genital cutting. Due to my interest and awareness of this
particular practice, I feel that I have been able to provide a safe
and respectful environment that helps the client feel at ease in
what can often be a difficult situation.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES AND
REWARDS OF WORKING WITH CLIENTS FROM
PTV?
Regardless of what I think I know about female genital cutting
(FGC), I am always learning something new from each client.
Everyone’s situation is different and I am constantly amazed at
what tribulations so many of these women have had to endure.
I greatly admire their courage and will to survive. I have had to
testify before a judge regarding a few of these cases. While I have
no problem discussing the facts in an objective manner, I have to
admit that I am frustrated that the asylum process requires that
information so personal, private and perhaps even humiliating,
be discussed in a somewhat public setting. The clients listen
stoically, knowing they have no choice but I wonder if any of
the rest of us sitting in the room truly appreciates what it would
be like for the status of our genitalia to be part of the public
record.
IN REGARDS TO THE WORK THAT YOU DO, WHAT
CURRENT ISSUES DO YOU FEEL ARE MOST SERIOUS,
AND HOW DO YOU THINK PEOPLE CAN GET
INVOLVED?
I am concerned that many women who have undergone some
form of genital cutting are unable to find physicians who can
provide culturally sensitive care. As a result, they may not be
getting the kind of care they need for cancer screening and other
reproductive health services. Medical outreach and education
to communities of recent immigrants from Africa would have
a positive impact, in my opinion, on letting women and their
families know about available services and how to access them.
Regarding FGC, we should all be supporting indigenous efforts
throughout Africa that are dedicated to eradicating this cultural
practice.
PTV
CARING FOR SURVIVORS SINCE 1980.
Welcome
Please join us as we welcome
our new Americorps VISTA, Rachel Goldstein,
our new USC intern Ivy Quicho,
and our new UCLA intern Njambi Kingori.
We are thrilled to have them on board and look forward to the year ahead
Day of Dance
CULTURAL CELEBRATION
On February 2, PTV held its first Day of Dance, organized by case
manager Shoshana Martinez. Over 50 clients, volunteers, and
staff members shared dances from around the world, including
Argentina, Venezuela, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Senegal, and
the Congo. One attendee said “I think this day was so important,
because dancing is one of the ways to express yourself without
having to speak.”
PTV Board member Phyllis Glock has been recognized
as Volunteer of the Year by Northrop Grumman
Corporation. With this award, she was given
the opportunity to direct a grant to the nonprofit
organization of her choice and she chose
Program for Torture Victims.
Thank you, Phyllis, and congratulations.
Big Farewell
We sadly bid farewell to Beth Gunter,
our Admin Assistant and former VISTA volunteer,
Christa Romanosky, our VISTA volunteer,
and Maria Gutierrez-Sanchez,
our international intern from Spain.
It is with tremendous sadness that we say goodbye to these
three women who have added so very much to PTV.
We wish Beth all good things as she leaves to pursue her
education in law school. We know we will see her again
in the future as she champions the freedom of those whose
human rights have been trampled upon.
We wish the best to Christa, as she pursues her graduate
studies in creative writing. One day, we will read her novel
dealing with compassionate treatment of others
and our planet.
We are Proud of Maria, who will go on to provide
psychotherapeutic treatment to torture survivors
as she joins IRCT in a few months.
On behalf of PTV Staff and Board, I wish you much
happiness, joy and success as you blaze into your futures,
and offer you all a thank you for coming into our lives.
May peace follow you where ever you go.
Ellen Pfeifer
JUNE 26
On June 26, 2008, medical Director Jose Quiroga and Executive
Director Ellen Pfeifer along with a PTV client, flew to Sacramento
to bring awareness to our California lawmakers on behalf of
the United Nations Day in recognition of torture survivors
worldwide.
PTV was joined by the California Consortium of torture centers
that consist of four programs state-wide providing services to
torture survivors. Members of the California Assembly and
Senate were receptive to our advocacy on behalf of torture
survivors. . . MORE TO COME. . .
PTV Chronicle
Program for Torture Victims Newsletter VOL v /EDITION 1 fall 2008
PTV’s Clinical Director, Ana Deutsch,
was flown from Los Angeles to Florida
in order to provide counseling services
for Ochoa and Pulido.
were not sure what verdict the courts
would project. Because it was a civil
trial, there could be no sentencing, but
Hurtado could face deportation.
Ana Deutsch described Hurtado as a The two women waited four long weeks
small man. He was no longer wearing his before the verdict reached them; on
AK rifles, grenades, and ammunition, as Tuesday, March 4th, the courts ordered
he was so many years ago, but instead, Peruvian Major Telmo Hurtado to
shackles and a grey jumpsuit. His hair pay 37 million dollars in damages to
and mustache had been shaved, and Teofila Ochoa and Cirila Pulido and
he stared absently as he was seated the estates of their deceased family
in the court. He refused to testify, members for the murders committed
and refused to hear the testimony of during the Accomarca Massacre.
his victims. His face was stony and Although the money would probably
emotionless. It was a way of hiding his never reach either woman, the verdict
fear, the fear that drove him to leave was considered a victory. In addition
his homeland, smuggling himself into to paying punitive damages, Hurtado
the United States, smuggling himself would be deported to Peru, where he
into an underground network of illegal faced criminal charges for war crimes
operations. His life had become a life of against his people.
intense hiding: hiding guilt, hiding
In his order, Judge Jordan stated,
bodies, hiding the fear that ate
“As a general matter, a human life is not
through his brain at night.
Poet’s Corner
“Put your ear down close to
your soul and listen hard.”
- Ann Sexton
EXILE
By: Bibianne By-Lyombo
EXILE
Who can talk about exile if he did not live it?
Do you know what it is that exiles one from one’s homeland?
Self-imposed
Some for political reason
Fleeing torture and prison
Fleeing persecution
Fleeing, reducing, until you lose North.
Proscribed, with the nostalgic dream
Which will be their future?
Exile? Sanction? How does one give definition?
EXILE
Exile can be a form of punishment
Or facility for some who have full money
In their hands.
A way of fleeing the judge who fixes them.
Ochoa and Pulido were quite the subject to intrinsic monetary valuation.
Indeed, any arbitrary value placed on
opposite. Despite the traumatic
a
life threatens to demean it or cheapen
events which altered their lives,
it because of its obvious inadequacy.
these two women were gentle and
dignified. They faced their families’ The same goes for human suffering. But
attacker with grace and poise. For placing values, for purposes of assessing
four days, Ana Deutsch provided
damages, is all that a court can do.”
psychological support to prepare
these two women for the intense court Hurtado currently resides under
testimonial that they were to provide in the fluorescent lighting of a Florida
a foreign country, with the eyes of their detention center; a large, grey area
nation, and the U.S. upon them.
which greatly resembles a state prison.
When the day of court descended, Through civil courts, he was convicted
Ochoa and Pulido waded into emotional of torture, extrajudicial killing, war
drudgery. They spoke softly in the low crimes and crimes against humanity. He
light of the court room. They described now shifts nervously, sleeps nervously,
the village, the attack, the blood and the and lives in the shadows as he awaits his
prison that was made of their home. deportation. His future is uncertain.
Happy to leave without giving up essence
Throughout the testimony, one thing
was certain: their lives existed in terms
of before and after, then and now. It will
be this way. It could not be undone. The
only decision to be made was whether
Telmo Hurtado was responsible for the
massacre, as Major and commanding
officer of the event, and the man who
dictated the order. Ochoa and Pulido
What began that day continues as a life in exile.
Ochoa and Pulido, on the other hand,
have much to anticipate. After long
hours of testimony and preparation,
the extraction of old memories, and
constant fear and heartache, the two
women have found a soft repose. After
23 years, the village of Accomarca has
finally seen justice, with a small, young
victory veined in its wings.
Saying, “Good-bye” to the best friends
Thanking God for all of the many holidays
Celebrated in the adopted country
The precaution
The escape releases in front of justice
It is a kind of science, an artifice
EXILE
Who can understand Exile if they never experienced it?
Do you know what it is to be exiled?
How can one eat his fill in good conscience
When he knows that his baby suffers hunger?
When all this celebrated played back pictures
Of the dead Family, neighbors and friends?
These images crystallized in the mind as though real.
There is not a day that goes by remembered.
Homeland.
EXILE
It will learn many lessons; it will have successes and failures
It has the hands emptied
As a small child
And hope.
More importantly, it is better off staying in Santa Monica
With the wonderful people
She’s found herself, but also finds herself guilty for it…
When I remembered my mother’s face and small…
When I remember my baby’s face
Knowledge of the exile that enriches my own
Thanksgiving.
PTV
CARING FOR SURVIVORS SINCE 1980.
Donor List
James Angleton
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Tomas Deutsch
Eric Wat
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Esabelle Mikhail
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Professional Volunteers
Kenneth Hirsch, D.M.D.
Preedar O’Reggio, M.D.
Naomi Wolman, M.D.
Laila Al-Marayati, M.D.
Sergio Fuenzalida, M.D.
Luis Pantoja, M.D.
Francisca Garcia, M.D.
Kenneth Chuang, M.D.
Kendra Gorlitsky, M.D.
Margaret E. Perez DC QME
Shawn Sedaghat, Esq.
Liana Harutounian, Esq.
Julia-Lauren Melvin-McCann
Chris C. Hartzler, Ph.D.
Claudia Ahumada Degratis, Ph.D.
NON PROFIT ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
LOS ANGELES CA
PERMIT # 776243
3655 South Grand Avenue, Suite 290 Los Angeles CA 90007
our mission
To alleviate the
suffering and health
consequences of statesponsored torture
through medical,
psychological, and case
management services
to torture survivors.