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A time for truth

by Silvio Sirias

Santa Fe: This tiny mountain town remains one of the untouched gems of Panama.

The Lonely Planet Guide to Panama

La Iglesia panameña está decidida a introducir en Roma su causa de beatificación. Queremos que sea proclamado santo y mártir. Pero nunca podremos hacerlo sin conocer cómo murió. Sin saber con exactitud y con todos los detalles cómo fue el preciso momento de su muerte, Roma no declara a nadie santo ni mártir. Necesitamos la verdad.

Monseñor Marcos McGrath, former archbishop of Panamá

The truth is out there.

The X-Files

Friday, June 9, marked the thirty-fifth anniversary of Father Héctor Gallego’s disappearance. This crime remains a source of deep pain and division in the town of Santa Fe, Veraguas --- that “untouched gem of Panama.”

While researching The Saint of Santa Fe --- the novel I’m writing about the life and times of Father Gallego --- I spent a considerable amount of time in this community. I had lengthy conversations with many persons whose lives were deeply affected by this noble Colombian priest. Among them were Jacinto Peña, a founding member of la Cooperativa La Esperanza de los Campesinos, and the lone witness to Father Gallego’s abduction; Father Raúl Rodríguez, Santa Fe’s current parish priest; and Edilma Gallego, Héctor’s sister who first came to Panama in September of 1999, when it was thought that her brother’s remains had been found. Edilma Gallego, a person every bit as courageous as her older sibling, has chosen to stay in this country to continue his work. And she and her family still have hopes that one day they will learn the truth about what happened to Héctor.

The stories I heard while in Santa Fe are both inspiring and heartrending. Personally, I believe that Héctor Gallego was more than a mere political martyr. Because of the exemplary life he led, and because he never wavered in putting the well-being of others before his own --- a practice based on his steadfast adherence to the teachings of Christ --- I’m convinced that he was, and is, a saint.
Others hold him in even higher esteem: “He was the angel God sent to liberate us,” an elderly campesina said to me.

“To know him was to know Christ,” said Eric Concepción, for whom Father Gallego obtained a scholarship so he could continue his studies in Atalaya. At the time of our conversation, Eric was the president of Panama’s organic farmers.
“He was a prophet,” Father Rodríguez, Santa Fe’s parish priest, claims. “And sadly, as history repeatedly demonstrates, prophets meet a tragic fate because the truth they speak threatens the established order.”

And Father Héctor Gallego did speak the truth. And as the first parish priest in the four-hundred year history of Santa Fe, he helped bring an end to the exploitation campesinos had been subjected to for centuries. Sadly, the truth offended the local cacique --- a first cousin of Omar Torrijos --- and this cost Héctor his life.

Who kidnapped Father Héctor Gallego; on whose orders; how did he die; and where are his remains are questions that several former members of Panama’s defunct military can answer. But in a wretched display of loyalty to the uniforms they once wore, they have closed ranks to hide the truth from Héctor’s family, Panama, and the rest of the world.

In spite of the wall of silence they’ve erected, my research has led me to conclude two things: first, the two former members of Panama’s military who were convicted of the crime and are currently serving prison sentences are scapegoats; and, two, without question, Omar Torrijos Herrera knew beforehand of the kidnapping.

The General may not have ordered Héctor Gallego’s death (in fact I highly doubt that was ever the intent behind the abduction), but he certainly knew what went wrong and who was responsible. But instead of being forthright with a grieving nation, Omar Torrijos chose to orchestrate a cover-up.

Panamanians now deserve to know the truth. They deserve to know what happened to this loving, saintly man who gave his life so that the campesinos of Santa Fe could live freely.

Time has not healed this wound.

Thus, the question now becomes: are those currently in charge of Panama’s justice system willing to order a thorough and truthful investigation that will, at last, bring closure to this 35-year-old travesty?

Silvio Sirias is a Nicaraguan-American writer who resides in Panama. He is the author of the novel Bernardo and the Virgin (Northwestern University Press—Latino Voices Series) and is currently revising his novel that is based on the life and times of Father Hector Gallego titled The Saint of Santa Fe. For more information visit his website at http://silviosirias.com

Also in this section:
Sirias, A time for truth
Leis, Equality before the law?
Hahn, Sometimes you may want what's for the birds
Amnesty International, A call for an independent investigation of Guantanamo suicides
Committee to Protect Journalists, Costa Rica should reform its archaic press laws
García, The fictional US drug report on Venezuela
Lerner, Defending against the political assault on homosexuals
Silié, The dilemma of return for countries that generate emigrants
Bernal, University of Panama political jive
Jackson, How giants are likely to be slain