Wednesday, 6th December- food at 6.30pm, talk at 7.30pm (Café prices apply)

Venue: La Ruca, Gloucester Road, Bristol

Meet Guillermo Chen, director of the Fundaciòn Nueva Esperanza, Guatemala

On the 10th anniversary of peace in Guatemala, Guillermo Chen, director of the Fundaciòn Nueva Esperanza talks about how an inspiring cultural education project is giving hope to the continuing struggle for justice, indigenous rights and identity in Guatemala.

‘Education for indigenous children is the only way to combat intolerance, build a lasting peace and improve quality of life for our communities’

---

This December marks the 10th anniversary of the signing of Peace in Guatemala. The 1996 peace accords brought an end to a bloody 36-year conflict, in which 200,000 people, (the majority indigenous Mayans) died or ‘disappeared’.

The peace accords set out a framework for transforming Guatemalan society through principles of democracy, equality and respect. The reality is that the government has made little progress. Violence and human rights abuses in Guatemala are rife and the justice system is incompetent. Inequalities of land distribution, wealth and access to education are increasing.

Progress has been left to the inspiring and courageous work of civil society organisations.

The Fundaciòn Nueva Esperanza is one such organisation. It has developed a unique philosophy to educate children of Mayan Achi descent to participate and contribute to society whilst maintaining their threatened language, traditions and cultural values.

Ffi; Contact Stuart on 07791 034138

Voluntary donations requested

You are invited to an evening of inspiring conversation with guest speakers on Tuesday 5th December at 7-9pm at Latin American House Association, Priory House, Kingsgate Place, London, NW6 4TA.

Speakers include:

* Guillermo Chen, Director of the Fundación Nueva Esperanza, which provides bilingual education (Spanish and Maya Achi) in Rabinal, Guatemala.
* Jules Wilkinson, Guatemala Solidarity Network
* Carol Herbert, mother of two adopted children from Guatemala, who would like to propose the creation of a young persons group in the UK for children eight years old and over of Guatemalan birth

Refreshments will be provided - older children are welcome.

For further details contact: Carol Herbert carolinah61 [at] hotmail.com or 020 8209 1078.

This is just a quick heads up about the Human Rights Watch Film Festival which is co-presenting three films with Discovering Latin America Film Festival between 23 November and 3 December:


Visit www.discoveringlatinamerica.org for full details.

Congratulations to Dominga Vasquez (Guatemalan women's rights activist with FUNDAMAYA) and Helen Woodcock (Peace Brigade's international UK volunteer) who have won the International Service Award for the Defence of the Human Rights of Women.

They have won the award jointly with Nizaam (Cookie) Edwards, Provincial Coordinator of the KZN Network on Violence Against Women and Intersect Coalitions in South Africa.

The following information is taken from the PBI UK website and the Protection Line website.

In April 2005 Amnesty International issued an urgent action after there was grave concern for Dominga Vasquez's life. FUNDAMAYA forms part of the coalition Frente Nacional contra la Mineria, National Front against Mining, which campaigns to raise awareness of the potential environmental damage caused by mining and the negative impact on indigenous communities living close to mines. Carlos Humberto Guarquez who also received death threats, is FUNDAMAYA's representative to the coalition.

Women human rights defenders under attack: 25 years of fighting to defend human rights

Amnesty International UK and Peace Brigades International will be celebrating Peace Brigades International's 25th anniversary at an event dedicated to the work of women human rights defenders, and the central role they play in the struggle for human rights and justice.

Dominga Vasquez will be talking at the event; along with Kopila Adhikari who works for Advocacy Forum against illegal detention and extra-judicial killings, in Kathmandu, Nepal; and Berenice Celeyta, is president of Nomadesc (Association for Social Research and Action); a non-governmental organisation dedicated to working with marginalised and oppressed communities in Colombia.

---

The event will be held on: 6th December, 6.00pm at Human Rights Action Centre, 17 - 25 New Inn Yard, London EC2A 3EA. Entry is free and you can book from AI UK's website.

---

UPDATE - Event confirmed in Manchester:

Human rights award acknowledges work of Indigenous Guatemalan woman and Manchester human rights defender.

Saturday 9th December 2006 (12.00 - 1.30pm) at: The Friends Meeting House, Mount Street (Behind Central Library).

Accused of terrorism during a campaign to raise awareness about the rights of Indigenous communities, Guatemalan Human Rights activist Dominga Vasquez is also the first woman in 500 years to hold the position of Indigenous Mayoress. She is visiting the UK to collect the International Service Human Rights award.

Hear this hugely inspirational woman, who, in the face of death threats, intimidation and racism, continues her work for justice and human rights in Guatemala. Don't miss the chance both to hear Dominga speak and to welcome this amazing woman to Manchester. Speaking with Dominga will be Helen Woodcock, Manchester resident and joint recipient of the International Service prize, who has recently spent over a year in Guatemala with Peace Brigades International, providing accompaniment for Dominga and other workers for human rights and social and environmental justice threatened with violence as a result of their work.

This conference will be held on: Saturday 2nd December 2006 from 9:30 am. to 5:00 pm at Congress House, Great Russell Street, London WC1
 
This major conference brings together trade unionists, academics, NGOs and progressive movements from Latin America and the UK to explore the exciting political and social developments across the region, featuring films, music and discussion.


Guest speakers include: Harold Pinter, Tariq Ali, Wayne Smith, Victoria Brittain, Colin Burgon MP, plus key note speakers from Cuba, Venezuela, Colombia and Bolivia, as Cesar Navarro or Aida Avella.

The conference will explore the effects of US policy on the region and the current wave of progressive changes most notably seen in Venezuela and Bolivia.

Wayne Smith is a key commentator on US policy in the region having spent 25 years working for the State Department. During this time he worked as Head of the US Interests Section in Havana. He will bring a unique US voice at this important stage in the history of the Americas.


Cost: £10/£6 unwaged (advance registration only – call CSC 020 7263 6452 or Justice for Colombia 020 7435 7241)

More info contact CSC: 020 7263 6452 or see website: Events

The conference is supported by Cuba Solidarity Campaign, Venezuela Information Centre, Justice for Colombia, War on Want, Latin America Bureau, T&G Latin America Workers’ Association, One World Action, Noticias Latin America, Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign, Central American Women’s Network, Latin American Elderly Project, Caribbean Labour Solidarity, Liberation, Movimientos, GMB, Amicus

Post by Patrick Daniels and Jane Pelly

During November and December 2006, Guillermo Chen Morales, Director General of the New Hope Foundation (Fundación Nueva Esperanza), will be touring the UK and other European countries to share his experiences of developing and making education a reality for many young people in Rabinal, Guatemala. Much of the New Hope Foundation’s work is about promoting a more just society where indigenous Mayans in Guatemala (Maya Achi in Rabinal) have an equal stake in the Guatemala of tomorrow.


Humberto Ak'abal - Tz'olq'omin b'e (I walk backwards)

In 1999, the Commission for Historical Clarification (CEH) calculated that during the period 1981-83, the loss of life in the northern Guatemalan town of Rabinal at the hands of the military was at least 4,441 people (20% of the population). The CEH also pointed out that while the proportion of Maya Achi to ladinos in Rabinal is 82% to 18%, 99.8% of the victims of these massacres were Maya Achi. These topline statistics are just the start of the compelling case for explaining the campaign of violence of these times as one specifically directed towards the Maya Achi people.

In 2003, the Community Museum Rabinal Achi, the Bufete Juridico Popular and the Association for Integrated Development of the Maya Achi in the Verapaces (ADIVIMA), wrote a book "Oj K'aslik" ("We're Alive") that has contributed to the recovery of the historical memory of Rabinal. Part of the conclusion of Oj K'aslik is that it's vital to "eliminate the structural roots of the internal armed conflict, which includes promoting programmes for the eradication of ethnic discrimination in Rabinal". This objective of peace building through cultural empowerment provides the basis for the work of the New Hope Foundation (FNE), which offers multicultural and bilingual education, integrated and sustainable development of the cultural identity of the Maya Achi.

The New Hope Foundation (FNE) was established by Jesus Tecu Osorio in 1998 with funds from the Reebok prize for Human Rights which he won in 1996. Jesus, from the small village of Rio Negro witnessed the cold blooded massacre of his family as a child. His extraordinary life and work has led to those guilty of the massacre being brought to trial more than 20 years later, almost the only case of its kind in Guatemala.
 
The FNE created a scholarship program which has supported an increasing number of students, starting with 35 on an annual basis in 1998 to the point this year where it has helped over 150. In 2003, the New Hope Foundation realized their objective of establishing their own secondary school called Instituto Mixto Técnico Bilingüe, Nueva Esperanza, Rio Negro in memory of the massacre that took place in the 1980's.

The FNE programme is specifically orientated towards students of Maya Achi origin from small rural villages around Rabinal that were destroyed by the violence in the 1980’s and whose families live in poverty, a total of 31 communities. The instituto (secondary school) uses a popular bilingual methodology with orientation in human rights; it offers a unique, innovative and alternative type of education linked to the Maya Achi culture. Students do not pay for their education, but win scholarship places based on their ability and need. The educational programme is designed to give the additional support that students from rural villages need, to be able to keep up with their studies despite the difficulties of studying in their second language (Spanish) and deficiencies in their rural primary education. Importantly, the FNE promotes the creation of students who are active in their communities, retain their cultural values and work for social transformation.
 
Education is a luxury that the majority of people from the rural villages surrounding Rabinal can’t enjoy, less than half the children of primary school age currently finish their 6 years of primary education and of those only 53% continue to secondary level. Apart from the FNE, there are two types of school in Rabinal, those financed by the government and expensive private institutes. Both only offer a monolingual education in Spanish.  

The FNE has the following objectives:

    * promote education at the level of secondary, higher and further education
    * facilitate the human, social and occupational training through scholarships
    * promote consciousness, dignity, respect for human rights and cultural differences
    * contribute to the construction of justice, historical truth and participatory democracy

The alternative methodology used by the New Hope Foundation is being developed specifically to serve the needs of the rural impoverished and socially marginalized students from the Maya Achi communities that surround the town of Rabinal. This curriculum particularly promotes analytical abilities and experiential learning. The methodology consists of focusing on four learning areas: science; society; technology; and, language and communication.  

Students work through a series of workbooks which integrate the four learning areas, each module meeting particular teaching goals for each area. Each module also includes an investigative project in which students must apply what was learned in each module to their community. Thus students achieve a high level of academic knowledge, but particularly develop analytical skills that are applied to the social reality in which they live. This creates students who have a greater active commitment to transforming their communities. After three years, the students graduate with two titles, one a general culture certificate and the other as a promoter of rural wellbeing. The idea is to prepare young people, with a strong sense of their own cultural identity to return to work in and for their own rural communities and not emigrate to the main urban centres or the USA.

---

Gullermo Chen Morales, Director General of the New Hope Foundation (FNE), will be visiting Spain, Germany and the UK in November-December 2006 to share the experiences of the FNE and the issues faced by young people in Rabinal.

You can see more photos on the work of Fundación Nueva Esperanza here.