Stories of pain, punishment and perseverance came to life today. Torture survivors from all over the world shared their tales of suffering here in Tucson. Today marks the 35th anniversary of the United nations International Day in Support of Victims of torture.
Tucson's Amnesty International teamed up with a local refugee organization called Owl & Panther to give those victims a voice.
While the crowd sat in silence, the images of a troubled Chile that was oppressed by dictatorship roared through the mind of Leonardo Madurana.
"It was a quite oppressive government," said Madurana. "We as students there, I found myself in a corner, like many, that we didn't see any future and besides that, to express ourselves."
Madurana spent years in a concentration camp under notorious Chilean dictator, Agusto Pinochet. Sunday, he detailed the physical, emotional and psychological burden he's been facing ever since.
"Electricity shock, they put a gun in my head and they took me to a railroad nearby and they said 'talk now or you are dead in the next five minutes."'
He would never see many of his family and friends ever again.
"They pick randomly, and then kill them in front of the rest."
His story is like many others that don't get heard. With the help of groups like Amnesty International, crimes against humanity are put in the spotlight with hopes that justice will be served.
