#44-22 Sister Dianna Ortiz … Torture Survivor, Human Rights Champion
As a young nun, Sister Dianna Ortiz went to Guatemala to teach indigenous children and support those being devastated by the military. She was kidnapped, tortured and then taken away by an American man. She jumped out of the car and ran. Vilified when she sought truth and justice, emotionally wrecked, she was helped by staying at the Marjorie Kovler Center for Survivors of Torture in Chicago. She went on to be a major campaigner for those whose human rights had been violated, in Guatemala and around the world. Since her death in 2021, she is venerated like a saint by many. A school is named for her in the indigenous community where she taught.
Credits: Produced by Maria Martin, director of the GraciasVida Center for Media. Much of the content first aired in KALW’S Spiritual Edge series, funded by the Templeton Foundation through the Center for Religion and Civic Culture at the University of Southern California – edited by Cheryl Duval and Judy Silber; engineer, Tarek Fouda.