ABSTRACT
In 1989, while working in El Salvador with Peace Brigades International (PBI), I was briefly detained and imprisoned. 1 PBI carries out nonviolent accompaniment work, providing unarmed bodyguards to teachers, unionists, students, indigenous leaders, church workers, and activists of all types in countries where repressive regimes target such people and their organizations for the humanitarian and social justice work they do. At the time I was arrested, I was in a church refugee center, trying to improve safety for the refugees and the valiant Salvadoran church workers running the center. Despite our efforts, the Salvadoran military invaded the building, scattered the refugees, arrested and detained all the staff, and took five PBI workers to the Treasury Police Jail. There I was blindfolded, handcuffed, interrogated, kept standing without food and water, and threatened with rape and mutilation.
