The El Mozote Massacre: Anthropology and Human Rights

by Leigh Binford

The 1981 slaughter of more than a thousand civilians around El Mozote, El Salvador, by the country's U.S.-trained army was the largest massacre of the Salvadoran civil war. The story was covered—and soon forgotten—by the international news media. It was revived in 1993 only when the U.S. government was accused of covering up the incident.

Such reportage, argues anthropologist Leigh Binford, sustains the perception that the lives of Third World people are only newsworthy when some great tragedy strikes. He critiques the practices of journalists and human rights organizations for their dehumanizing studies of "subjects" and "victims." Binford suggests that such accounts objectify the people involved through statistical analyses and bureaucratic body counts while the news media sensationalize the motives and personalities of the perpetrators.

In relating the story of this tragic event, Binford restores a sense of history and social identity to the fallen people of this Salvadoran village. Drawing on interviews he conducted with El Mozote-area residents, he offers a rich ethnographic and personal account of their lives prior to the tragedy. He provides an overview of the history and culture of the area and tells how such a massacre could have happened, why it was covered up, and why it could happen again.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

263 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1996

Reviews

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book did well to try to humanize those victims and survivors of the war. There could have been more interviews and such to continue this theme of humanizing the people that lived there. However, it was great to follow some people stories while also learning about what led up to the massacre and the events that followed. Especially at the end where they lay to rest all those who had died. Great read.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first introduction to international human rights awareness. Talks about the US funding wars in El Salvador. Gives first hand accounts of the instability of a life where your loved ones can be "disappeared" for unfair and arbitrary reasons, and you may not find out until after the fact.