In the 1960s and early 1970s military dictatorships and juntas replaced elected civilian governments across Latin America. This book relates stories of Christians and their churches as they engaged in the struggle to uphold human rights, including the most basic human right to life itself. The book is a testament of courage and hope in face of the humiliation, torture and murder or disappearance of dissidents. It tells of ordinary men and women who stood up for justice and righteousness in unexpected ways. It shows how the regions churches, and Christians throughout the world acting through the World Council of Churches, provided the oppressed people of Latin America practical accompaniment (o acompanhamento, in the Portuguese of Brazil). The narrative aims at strengthening common memory of the churches part in Latin Americas recovery of human rights, especially among a younger generation that may be unaware of this chapter in ecumenical history.
