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Books

The Blindfold’s Eyes: My Journey from Torture to Truth, Dianna Ortiz, 2002: Ortiz writes about the torture she experienced while working as a nun in Guatemala, and the emotions she encountered as she rebuilt her shattered life. At a SURVIVORS event in 2003, Ortiz said that it is "the responsibility of every individual to participate in the act of abolishing torture."

Speak Truth to Power: Human Rights Defenders Who Are Changing Our World, Kerry Kennedy Cuomo, 2000: A beautiful book that features the compelling testimonies of international human rights defenders. SURVIVORS receives half of the proceeds if you order the book on our site.

Truth, Torture, and the American Way: The History and Consequences of U.S. Involvement in Torture, Jennifer Harbury, 2005: Harbury explores American involvement in torture and compares government-sponsored activities around the world. Harbury also wrote Searching for Everardo: A Story of Love, War, and the CIA in Guatemala about the search for her husband, tortured and killed by members of the Guatemalan army.

Unspeakable Acts, Ordinary People, John Conroy, 2001: An investigation of torture in the Western world, the rationalizations societies adopt to justify torture, and means by which ordinary people can become torturers.

Films

Chasing Freedom, 2004. A Court TV movie about a lawyer (Juliette Lewis) who takes on the pro bono asylum case of a woman (Layla Alizada) who is seeking safety in the United States after fleeing the Taliban in Afghanistan. Available at Amazon.

Well-Founded Fear, 2000. A documentary that examines the American political asylum system. The film was featured at the Sundance Film Festival and the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival. Available from the Epidavros Project.

The Torture Question, 2005: A captivating documentary by PBS Frontline about American interrogation policies in the post 9/11 political landscape. Available from PBS.