Anonymous bones of civil war dead laid to rest

In this small rural town, the anonymous remains of some of the tens of thousands who disappeared during Guatemala's long and bloody civil war can finally rest in peace. 

Women from the village of San Juan Comalapa, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) west of Guatemala City, spent years saving money and raising donations to buy a plot of land where an army camp once stood. During the 1960-1996 conflict, people from across the country were abducted and brought here by soldiers, then were tortured, killed and buried in mass graves.

Since 2003, forensic anthropologists have dug up at least 220 individual remains in the town, but only about a quarter of those could be matched to relatives. Those bones that could not be identified have now been interred at the forest location of the former camp, with three of the mass graves left open in a nod to historical memory.

The remains of the 172 unidentified people are returned to San Juan Comalapa, Guatemala for a proper burial at the former military camp where they were discovered in a mass grave. June 20, 2018. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

On a recent day a truck rolled past with 172 coffins strapped to the flatbed. They were smaller than normal coffins, containing just collections of bones rather than whole skeletons. Women in colorful embroidered skirts and white shawls carried bouquets of flowers in a solemn procession behind the truck.

Marivel Yolanda Rucuch held aloft portraits of her father, Juan Rucuch, and aunt, Virgilia Quina, who disappeared decades ago, allegedly at the hands of soldiers. Prudencia Machan, whose daughter went missing in 1981, wept profusely, deepening the wrinkles on her 76-year-old face.

Marivel Yolanda Rucuch carries portraits of her father Juan Rucuch and aunt Virgilia Quina who were disappeared in the 1980's, allegedly by the army. June 21, 2018 (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

The previous night, in the center of town, women had put grass and flower petals on the cement floor of a community center as they blessed the coffins with prayers and incense.

At the final resting place, surrounded by lush trees and brush, lies a home — or "nimajay" in the Kakchikel indigenous language — where painted blue crosses adorn the wall. Next to the mausoleum lies a granite plaque engraved with names of the missing.

Colorful murals tell the story of what happened here, as revealed to the women in dreams and interpreted by artists hired to give their visions form.

It is through art that "we can reclaim the victims' existence" and educate young people born after the war, said Uriela Cumes, one of the Kakchikel artists involved in the project.

In this June 21, 2018 photo, women walk behind coffins during the funeral procession for 172 unidentified people who were found buried in a mass grave at what was once a military camp, to properly bury them in the same area where they were discovered in San Juan Comalapa, Guatemala. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this June 21, 2018 photo, villagers walk behind coffins during the funeral procession for 172 unidentified people who were exhumed from what was once a military camp, before burying them in the same area where they were discovered in San Juan Comalapa, Guatemala. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this June 21, 2018 photo, an elderly woman walks barefoot to what was once a military camp during the funeral procession for 172 unidentified people who were exhumed from the camp and will be properly buried there in San Juan Comalapa, Guatemala. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this June 20, 2018 photo, Prudencia Machan, 76, who's daughter has been missing since 1981, cries as she attends the funeral ceremony for 172 unidentified people who were discovered buried on what was once a military camp, one day before their proper burial in San Juan Comalapa, Guatemala. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this June 21, 2018 photo, forensic anthropologists organize the remains of 172 unidentified people who were exhumed from what was once a military camp, before properly burying them at the same spot where they were discovered in San Juan Comalapa, Guatemala. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this June 20, 2018 photo, women burn incense over the remains of 172 unidentified people, who were exhumed from what was once a military camp, during a funeral ceremony in San Juan Comalapa, Guatemala, one day before the formal burial. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this June 20, 2018 photo, a woman spreads incense over the coffins holding the remains of 172 unidentified people who were discovered buried at what once was a military camp in San Juan Comalapa, Guatemala, one day before their formal burial at the same site where they were discovered. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this June 20, 2018 photo, a girl reads a paper announcing the National Day of Forced Disappearance during a funeral ceremony for 172 unidentified people who were dug up from a former military camp, one day before properly burying them in the same area they were discovered, in San Juan Comalapa, Guatemala. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this June 21, 2018 photo, a woman reads the names of people who disappeared during the civil war, at the site where a military camp once operated and where the 172 bodies were unearthed in San Juan Comalapa, Guatemala. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this June 21, 2018 photo, women attend the funeral ceremony for 172 unidentified people who were discovered buried at what was once a military camp, during their proper burial ceremony at the same spot where they were found in San Juan Comalapa, Guatemala. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this June 21, 2018 photo, tears run down the face of an elderly woman as the remains of 172 unidentified people who were exhumed from what was once a military camp are properly buried at the same spot where they were discovered in San Juan Comalapa, Guatemala. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this June 21, 2018 photo, women sit under the portraits of villagers who disappeared during the civil war as they attend the burial of 172 unidentified people who were exhumed from this area, once a military camp, in San Juan Comalapa, Guatemala. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this June 20, 2018 photo, a woman places flowers on coffins holding the remains of 172 unidentified people who were exhumed from what was once a military camp, during a funeral ceremony in San Juan Comalapa, Guatemala, one day before their proper burial. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this June 21, 2018 photo, women console each other during the former burial of 172 unidentified people who were exhumed from what was once a military camp, at the same site they were discovered in San Juan Comalapa, Guatemala. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Text from the AP news story,  AP PHOTOS: Anonymous bones of civil war dead laid to rest, by Sonia Perez.

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