SAN DIEGO -- It was a time of civil war and death.

Carlos Mauricio was a professor at the University of El Salvador in the early 1980s.

It was a time when he said the army was killing thousands of innocent people.

"It's very hard not to say anything in that situation. And I spoke publicly against it," said Mauricio.

Mauricio believed this made him a target of the military.

As a professor, he was about to start a class when he was approached by a man who asked for a favor.

"He said, 'Could you please move your car? Your car is blocking mine, and I cannot drive it.' So, I was naïve," said Mauricio.

Once outside, Mauricio realized his life was about to take a drastic turn.

He said a group of heavily armed men grabbed him and threw him into a van.

It was June 13, 1983 -- the beginning of the worst two weeks of Mauricio's life.

"I was taken to a very horrible place. I heard people being given electroshocks, I heard people being beaten, and women being raped, and people being asphyxiated. And I knew that I was next," said Mauricio.

Mauricio was next.

He was tortured for nearly two weeks before his release.

He came to the U.S. where he began to heal by talking about his torture.

"In a way, telling my story, although little by little, was a way of healing," said Mauricio.

Years after his own torture, Mauricio now dedicates his life to helping other survivors begin to tell their stories.

At the University of San Diego, he spoke during a celebration of hope and healing.

"The only way to come out of the prison is to tell the story. And I did it," said Mauricio.

He believes others could do the same.

Mauricio's message to survivors is one of hope and determination to overcome their past.

The 11,000 torture survivors living in San Diego come from all over the world, are young and old, male and female.