{"id":9861,"date":"2026-03-24T04:30:50","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T11:30:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jsis.washington.edu\/humanrights\/?p=9861"},"modified":"2026-03-26T09:41:04","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T16:41:04","slug":"he-couldnt-close-his-eyes-to-injustice-the-life-and-legacy-of-efrain-arevalo-ibarra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jsis.washington.edu\/humanrights\/2026\/03\/24\/he-couldnt-close-his-eyes-to-injustice-the-life-and-legacy-of-efrain-arevalo-ibarra\/","title":{"rendered":"He Couldn\u2019t Close His Eyes to Injustice: The Life and Legacy of Efra\u00edn Ar\u00e9valo Ibarra"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Today, on International Right to Truth Day, the University of Washington Center for Human Rights is honored to share <a href=\"https:\/\/unfinishedsentences.org\/reports\/efrain-arevalo-ibarra\/\">a new multimedia publication, celebrating the life and legacy of ANDES 21 de Junio union organizer and educator Efra\u00edn Ar\u00e9valo Ibarra, who was disappeared by the government of El Salvador in 1977.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe Couldn\u2019t Close His Eyes to Injustice,\u201d told in collaboration with the Ar\u00e9valo Ibarra family, weaves together declassified U.S. government documents obtained as part of UWCHR\u2019s Unfinished Sentences project, stories from Mr. Ar\u00e9valo Ibarra\u2019s surviving family members, family photographs, and illustrations by Salvadoran artist Miguel Membre\u00f1o.<\/p>\n<p>The publication features excerpts from the homilies of the priest and human rights advocate Archbishop \u00d3scar Romero mentioning the Ar\u00e9valo Ibarra family, including a mention of the family\u2019s plight just one week before the Archbishop himself was assassinated forty-six years ago today, on March 24, 1980.<\/p>\n<p>In honor of both Monsignor Romero\u2019s and Efra\u00edn Ar\u00e9valo Ibarra\u2019s commitment to justice and defense of human rights in El Salvador, we are excited to share this new report on March 24, International Day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims\u2014an annual observance honoring Monsignor Romero.<\/p>\n<p>Family members and friends of Efra\u00edn\u2014including Efra\u00edn\u2019s three daughters, son, and brother\u2014reflected on the project by sharing, \u201cWe hope that this collaborative effort ensures the memory, the celebration, and the dissemination of the life and legacy of our father, brother, and friend, Efrain Arevalo Ibarra. It is our sincere hope that this work helps our country and the world remember that such tragedies must never be repeated, now or in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: right\"><a href=\"https:\/\/unfinishedsentences.org\/reports\/efrain-arevalo-ibarra\/\"><strong>Read about Efra\u00edn \u2192<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today, on International Right to Truth Day, the University of Washington Center for Human Rights is honored to share a new multimedia publication, celebrating the life and legacy of ANDES 21 de Junio union organizer and educator Efra\u00edn Ar\u00e9valo Ibarra, who was disappeared by the government of El Salvador in 1977. \u201cHe Couldn\u2019t Close His<\/p>\n<div><a class=\"more\" href=\"https:\/\/jsis.washington.edu\/humanrights\/2026\/03\/24\/he-couldnt-close-his-eyes-to-injustice-the-life-and-legacy-of-efrain-arevalo-ibarra\/\">Read more<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":675,"featured_media":9862,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[465,15,24],"tags":[469,157],"class_list":["post-9861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2025-2026","category-news","category-unfinished-sentences","tag-efrain-arevalo-ibarra","tag-unfinished-sentences"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.1 - 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