Overview

The vast majority of Hondurans would have never dared to set foot in Nueva Suyapa, a mountainside barrio that was under the thumb of a gang whose bravado and cruelty were the stuff of legend. But that is precisely where Kurt Ver Beek, an American sociologist, and Carlos Hernández, a Honduran schoolteacher, chose to raise their families. Kurt and Carlos were best friends who had committed their lives to helping the poor, and when they accepted that nobody else—not the police, not the prosecutors, not the NGOs—was ever going to protect their neighbors from the incessant violence they suffered, they decided to take matters into their own hands. In magnetic prose, journalist Ross Halperin chronicles how these two do-gooders became quasi-vigilantes and charged into a series of life-and-death battles, not just with this one gang, but also with forces far more dangerous, including a notorious tycoon who commanded about a thousand armed men and a police force whose wickedness defied credulity. Kurt and Carlos would eventually get catapulted from obscurity to being famous power players who had access to the backrooms where legislators, ambassadors, and presidents pulled strings. Their efforts made some of the most violent neighborhoods on earth safer and arguably improved a profoundly corrupt government. But they were forced to compromise their principles in order to make all that happen, and furthermore, they acquired a large number of outraged critics and precipitated some heartbreaking collateral damage. A remarkable and dangerous feat of reportage, Bear Witness shows what happens when altruism, faith, and an obsession with justice are pushed to the extreme. “This gripping account—unbelievable, were it not true—of the transformative work of a small, unassuming nonprofit tells the story of what happened in one of the most violent communities in the world when it asked a question that had escaped everybody from the Honduran government to the US Department of State to the United Nations: What if we make the institutions of justice actually work for the people?” —David M. Kennedy  

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9781324090786

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Reviews

""In this gripping work of investigative journalism, Halperin examines the risks, sacrifices, and criticisms these unlikely saviors endured in making their neighborhood a safer place to raise a family . . . Halperin’s skillful reporting and insight and his own risk-taking make Ver Beek and Hernández's story unforgettable."" -- Booklist ""Kurt Ver Beek and Carlos Hernández are possibly the bravest people in the world and among the few who truly understand how homicide works. . . . Ross Halperin, a reporter who listens with his whole mind, is the one to tell [their story]. He’s gone deep and found the insights that matter. Bear Witness will be required reading."" -- Jill Leovy, author of Ghettoside ""This riveting book reads like a thriller—two friends trying to prevent murders in one of the most dangerous places on earth. But it’s a true story, about not only the extreme danger they put themselves in, but also the nauseating moral quandaries they faced. . . . In Ross Halperin’s nuanced, sharp-eyed, empathetic story, there are no clean hands."" -- Larissa MacFarquhar, author of Strangers Drowning ""Ross Halperin’s deep dive into one of the worst narco states in Latin America is poignant and chilling. . . . Halperin’s understated prose is mesmerizing, and Bear Witness is a cautionary tale about where politics, corruption, and religion collide."" -- Sally Denton, author of The Colony ""Superbly reported, rife with vivid human and physical detail, Bear Witness brings us novelistically close to the unlikely pair of heroic justice fighters at its heart. . . . I so admire Ross Halperin, the young journalist who has written this important, unforgettable book."" -- Francisco Goldman, author of Monkey Boy ""[A] gripping, gut-wrenching story of the courageous struggle of a small organization against the powers of darkness. . . . It’s a story of undaunted patience, bravery, faith, and hope in the face of threats, violence, and stonewalling. Take this and be moved and inspired."" -- Nicholas Wolterstorff, Noah Porter Professor Emeritus of Philosophical Theology, Yale University ""The beautifully written Bear Witness is essential reading for those concerned about the far too many communities—be they in Tegucigalpa or in Chicago—where people live in fear both of each other and of their government."" -- David M. Kennedy, author of Don’t Shoot

""Kurt Ver Beek and Carlos Hernández are possibly the bravest people in the world and among the few who truly understand how homicide works. . . . Ross Halperin, a reporter who listens with his whole mind, is the one to tell [their story]. He’s gone deep and found the insights that matter. Bear Witness will be required reading."" -- Jill Leovy, author of Ghettoside ""This riveting book reads like a thriller—two friends trying to prevent murders in one of the most dangerous places on earth. But it’s a true story, about not only the extreme danger they put themselves in, but also the nauseating moral quandaries they faced. . . . In Ross Halperin’s nuanced, sharp-eyed, empathetic story, there are no clean hands."" -- Larissa MacFarquhar, author of Strangers Drowning ""Ross Halperin’s deep dive into one of the worst narco states in Latin America is poignant and chilling. . . . Halperin’s understated prose is mesmerizing, and Bear Witness is a cautionary tale about where politics, corruption, and religion collide."" -- Sally Denton, author of The Colony ""Superbly reported, rife with vivid human and physical detail, Bear Witness brings us novelistically close to the unlikely pair of heroic justice fighters at its heart. . . . I so admire Ross Halperin, the young journalist who has written this important, unforgettable book."" -- Francisco Goldman, author of Monkey Boy ""[A] gripping, gut-wrenching story of the courageous struggle of a small organization against the powers of darkness. . . . It’s a story of undaunted patience, bravery, faith, and hope in the face of threats, violence, and stonewalling. Take this and be moved and inspired."" -- Nicholas Wolterstorff, Noah Porter Professor Emeritus of Philosophical Theology, Yale University ""The beautifully written Bear Witness is essential reading for those concerned about the far too many communities—be they in Tegucigalpa or in Chicago—where people live in fear both of each other and of their government."" -- David M. Kennedy, author of Don’t Shoot

Author Information

Ross Halperin attended Harvard University and worked under Mark A. R. Kleiman, one of the world’s leading criminal-justice scholars. He started reporting this story in 2018 and has since spent much of his time in Honduras.

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