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A Voice For the Voiceless

The Advocacy Project helps marginalized communities to tell their story, claim their rights and produce social change. We recruit graduate students to volunteer as Peace Fellows with partners.

The Impact of Service "Speaking with locals and living in a country is the best way to learn about the real lives of citizens, not just the stories in the mainstream media. I will be more critical of what I read as a result of this experience. I also feel even more grateful for my education, and I feel a stronger responsibility to assist others who do not have resources or access to opportunities in their communities." Maria Skouras (New York University) volunteered in 2011 as a Peace Fellow for eHomemakers in Malaysia. For more 2011 feedback click here.

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Partner Campaigns > Advocacy Quilting > Rio Negro Memoria... > The Memorial Quilt > The Weavers > Laura Tecu Osorio

Laura Tecu Osorio

On the morning of March 13, 1982, Laura was at home with several children, including her two day old child, Jaime, when the PAC soldiers arrived. She was sick after the birth of her child and obliged to walk with the soldiers toward a central meeting place in Río Negro. Laura simply could not walk, and after 100 yards, she was left behind with Jaime and the other children. She was not raped that morning because of her weak medical condition and returned home.

Once she heard the violence, she fled into the mountains with the children, as difficult as it was for her at the time. Eventually she found her husband, José Osorio Sic, who had been in hiding as well and for more than a year they lived in the small river valleys around Río Negro, returning to their house at night to gather food  and necessities for the children when they thought it was safe.

In 1984, the family arrived in Pacux and has lived there ever since. Laura now has eight children, all of whom survived the massacres. Laura’s textile commemorates her brother, Jaime, who died at Pak’oxom. Laura’s other brother, Jesus, survived the massacre at Pak’oxom and has been an advocate for the Río Negro community ever since, as is Laura.

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