This week Reuters carried a report 'Menchú eyes Guatemalan presidency'. The ritual dance between presidential candidates without a party and political parties without a presidential candidate is well and truely underway. It's now a normal part of the preparations for elections in Guatemala.

The weakness of the political parties is blamed for all manner of problems. It's notable that since the civilian presidency of Vinicio Cerezo in 1986, that there have not been two Presidents from the same political party. That said, the rigid system of political parties in the UK, US and Canada is not without its critics. Ultimately, all are vulnerable to same criticism that hurts all political parties- that they are not rooted in a healthy expanding membership base.

So could Rigoberta Menchú, whose mandate as spokesperson has often been questioned as more self-appointed that formally appointed by any membership base, inspire the Guatemalan electorate? I was taken aback when I first went to Guatemala by the contrast between how Menchú is viewed outside Guatemala to how she is viewed on the inside. There's no doubt that a lot of this has to do with a certain latent racism as characterised by the jokes mocking her accent. Perhaps for this reason, her legal victory against her tormentors in her legal battle against Ríos Montt's presidential candidacy was all the sweeter.

If she does go for the presidency there's no doubt her past will again be put under enormous scrutiny. There won't be any shortage of commentators who'll remind the public of her insurgent past. Others who'll question her credentials and association with the current government. And yet others who'll recall the moment she received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992 (see above) and point to her work to bring the human rights abusers to justice. Does her polemical past make her more or less likely to triumph in the current Guatemalan electoral system? Nobody knows in the long run. For now, watch this space.

Update (08-02-2007)

Rigoberta Menchú will be a presidential candidate. This from Siglo XXI:


Update (09-02-2007)

According to a report from Cerigua, Menchú would do well to consult the grassroots on her candidacy in the presidential elections in September:


Update (18-02-07)

The rumours are flying hither and thither, so while it's still difficult to say exactly, it's appearing that Rigoberta Menchú's probable candidacy is generating all sorts of shifting around of the previously slightly more predictable political landscape in Guatemala. Gerardo García, Vice President of Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS) in Bolivia reportedly declared in Guatemala at the Encuentro de Participación Política de Pueblos Indígenas that Evo Morales, Bolivian President backs Menchú's bid to become Guatemalan President.

However, in a twist in developments, Menchú announced the grouping called Winaq (humanity) which is being reported as acting potentially as a more direct base to Menchú's political ambitions:


Lux de Cotí has denied that Morales is providing any direct support to Winaq. Certainly on the face of it MAS and Winaq seem to be light years away in terms of their political development. But who's to say Winaq can not find inspiration in the example of MAS. Whatever, this means in the long term, in the short short term this announcement seems to have put back discussions that Menchú had been having with two political parties: Encuentro Por Guatemala (EG) and the URNG. In particular Nineth Montenegro of EG seems to be having serious second thoughts:


In other words, Montenegro fears that the alliance with Menchú (and hence with Winaq with its own political agenda) would very likely divide the EG as soon as it reached Congress.

Background

Rigoberta Menchú has certainly been at the centre of many a polemic- here we bring together just a tiny fraction that's been said about her.

The quick mention of Bolivia gives me the opportunity to plug Nick Buxton's great blog 'Open Veins' promoting solidarity with Bolivia. Nick has been living in Bolivia for a good while and has followed MAS's rise to power amongst many other things.

Associated Press reported on the excavation in Panabaj of 100 bodies buried in the landslide caused by Hurricane Stan in 2005. There was a line in the report that touched on an issue that's not usually discussed:


A simple search on Flickr brings up a number of photos taken of Panabaj (although probably not from this particular ceremony). Not to judge these particular photos, but this line about 'curious tourists' touches on an important issue that outsiders* must grapple with.

To be sure, there's a very fine line between informative reporting and intrusive disrespectful recording, between wanting to learn, and satiating curiosity. It's a line that as outsiders we're not always on the right side of. When I worked in and around the municipal rubbish dump in Guatemala City, I remember the huge quantity of tourists that would come, usually remain on the coach they came in, and take hundreds of photos of the people who lived and worked amongst the refuse. This type of 'social tourism' is abject.

There's a secondary point here. It's so often the case that people from outside of Guatemala are usually either exposed to two contrasting images of Guatemala- one is the touristic colour and natural beauty, and the other is the dark and ugly violence. On the outside as we are on this blog, despite years of commitment and living in the country, it's a constant concern that we avoid simply satiating curiosity and that we manage to go beyond the simplistic outside perceptions of Guatemala. Anyway, this is a massive issue and one we'll be returning to shortly.

---

* I use the term 'outsider' loosely, it could refer to non-Guatemalans, Guatemalans living outside Guatemala or even Guatemalans from the capital visiting the 'interior'.

A number of recent released material on Guatemalan history raises this ever present question of whether it is better to leave the tragedies of the past buried and move on, or continue to face up and confront an ugly and unjust past. NPR is broadcasting a series of five reports by Xeni Jardin on the uses of technology in Guatemala today, and starts with "Group Works to Identify Remains in Guatemala".

In this report Xeni Jardin back from blogging in Guatemala, focuses on the work of the Forensic Anthropology Foundation of Guatemala (FAFG) that has been exhuming clandestine graves that hold victims killed in political massacres. It's worth pointing out here that for more information on this subject Kathy Reichs recent book, "Grave Secrets" is a valuable and poignant account of the issues at stake in this facing up to buried history.

"Guatemala: la tierra arrasada" directed by José Gaya Organización and produced by Colectivo Miradas (2004) is now available online. There's also a trailer from a documentary, "Guatemala: De 11 a 3 - Histoire d'un massacre" in Spanish with French subtitles.

It's interesting to contrast these four glimpses of a violent past in Guatemala in the 70s and 80s with "Guatemala, sus cambios en los últimos 30 años", a lecture by Dr. Francisco Pérez de Antón at the Universidad Francisco Marroquín (17-01-07). It's to be noted that Pérez de Antón's way of describing the period 1976-86 in particular makes no mention of massacres, let alone genocide. This reflection on the past prefers, for different reasons, to avoid any discussion of the human impact of the armed conflict.

Post by Victoria L. Henderson

---

Ian Austin, President and CEO
Skye Resources
Suite 1203-700 West Pender Street
Vancouver, BC
Canada, V6C 1G8

25 January 2007

Dear Mr. Austin,

Thank you for taking the time to respond to my letter of 28 September 2006 regarding the activities of Skye Resources/CGN in El Estor, Guatemala. I appreciate your attempt to address my concerns and trust that you share my belief that Q'eqchi Maya peoples in El Estor deserve a reasonable and just resolution to the issues at hand.

When I visited Chichipate last August, community elders spent several hours explaining to me and my colleagues why they are opposed to your company's plans to mine in El Estor. The list runs long and includes not only concerns over property rights and environmental damage, but also fears about a resurgence of the deplorable violence that marked Canada's last mining experiment in the region. I refer here to the complicity of INCO/EXMIBAL in human rights abuses carried out during the 1970s and 1980s. As I am sure you are aware, Guatemala's Comisión de Esclarecimiento Histórico or Truth Commission has documented EXMIBAL's involvement in abductions, political killings, and multiple executions in Guatemala. Given that EXMIBAL was a majority owned subsidiary of INCO and that INCO is a key stakeholder in Skye Resources it is not difficult to understand why Q'eqchi peoples are concerned. The active participation of CGN employees in the most recent spate of land evictions in El Estor can only deepen this fear.

Having spoken with colleagues returning from El Estor and having watched video footage of the "squatter" displacement, I must question your company's description of the evictions as unfolding in a "peaceful atmosphere". It would seem to me that there could be few things less peaceful than having one's home torn down — or worse, burned down — by callous strangers, while a barrage of armed police officers watch on from the sidelines. The angry screams of a mother desperate to know where her now homeless children will sleep; the hopelessness of a man who can do nothing but bury his head in his hands and sob: these images provide a less than fitting testament to the "peaceful atmosphere" of which you speak. If you have not already seen video footage of the evictions, I encourage you to view it by visiting the following site.

The absence of gunfire should not be confused with peace. At its most basic level, peace requires the security of self and home — two things Maya peoples in Guatemala have historically and systematically been denied. In the interest of both corporate transparency and personal integrity, I respectfully request that you rescind your comments about the "peaceful atmosphere" of the evictions. Further, in place of using your company website to give thanks to the Guatemalan National Police for the "professional manner" in which it carried out the evictions, I urge you to join the international community and indigenous organizations such as CONIC (National Campesino and Indigenous Coordination) in demanding that the Guatemalan government make reasonable and just reparations to the affected communities. Despite your website's statement to the contrary, the situation in El Estor has in no way been "resolved".

Resolution in this case requires that outstanding issues be addressed. I ask for your consideration of the following six points of discussion, raised in your letter of 9 October 2006:

1 - WOOD COLLECTION
You have indicated that Skye/CGN allows those with "legal permits" to transport wood through company property. I would like to take you up on the offer of learning more about how this program works. As you know, I was told by the elders of several communities that Skye/CGN prohibits wood collection from traditional Q'eqchi lands. If nothing more than a formality separates indigenous communities in El Estor from collecting the wood they need, then this issue should be relatively easy to resolve.

2 - PROPERTY RIGHTS
According to your website, Skye Resources has entered into an agreement with the Guatemalan government to survey and document land holdings in El Estor in order to determine "exact property lines and tenure." This strikes me as a serious conflict of interest on the part of Skye Resources. Further, it sends a combative message to indigenous peoples whose lands are in dispute. Not only should Skye Resources remove itself fully from the surveying process, but it should also cease exploratory activity until such time as "exact" property lines and tenure have been determined.

3 - LAND "DONATION"
I was told by the CGN Community Relations Team that "we" (meaning Skye/CGN) donated lands to Chichipate. I accept that you are not claiming credit for such a gift and that you are not prepared to comment on any land transactions that might have occurred during the INCO/EXMIBAL operation. Given that INCO is a key stakeholder in your company, however, I would ask your assistance in directing me to an appropriate contact at INCO in order that I may follow up on the land "donation" to Chichipate.

4 - RAXCHE'
It would be difficult to argue with the vision of Raxche' that you outline in your letter. Improvements to the health and education of those living in the municipality of El Estor are of paramount concern. The problem, as I understand it from speaking with Q'eqchi elders, is that there is a significant breach between the Raxche' vision and the Raxche' reality. If there is one issue on which members of different local communities seem to agree, it is that Raxche' is dividing indigenous people in the region. One hopes that this is not what Skye/CGN intended and that you will investigate in order to determine why this view seems so widely held. Your letter states that Raxche' has five projects in Chichipate. Aside from painting the local basketball courts, which community elders acknowledge, I would appreciate if you could describe the nature of the other four Raxche' projects in Chichipate.

5 - MAYA COSMOVISION
I respectfully submit that your understanding of Maya cosmovisión fails to appreciate the deep spirituality that links Maya peoples to the Earth. I have visited Cerro 400 and you are correct in stating that, had I not been told, I would never have known that the area had been mined and reforested. I, however, am not Maya. The idea that the earth can be gutted and covered over "as if nothing had happened" is wholly inconsistent with Maya cosmovisión. Pointing out how "natural" a site may look after it has been mined is to confound the deeply spiritual with the highly superficial. Moreover, it is to disrespect the history of Maya peoples. As one Q'eqchi gentleman explained at a public meeting on mining held this summer in El Estor: "They (foreigners) come and bulldoze our land. It hurts us a lot, because we have dedicated many hours and much sweat in working that land." I understand that you have a job to do, Mr. Austin. However, I urge you, in carrying out your job, to remember this gentleman's words. He was speaking as much to you as he was to me and to the others in El Estor.

6 - "COURTESY VISITS"
You have noted that it is the policy of the CGN Community Relations Team to pay "courtesy visits" to communities in the municipality of El Estor. It seems to me, however, that it is the communities themselves that extend the true courtesy by allowing foreigners onto community property and by consenting to dialogue about a project that threatens both a way of life and a means of survival.

In conclusion, let me say again that I appreciate your having taken the time to address my original letter. Your last correspondence indicates that Skye Resources seeks "to learn how to improve (its) consultation processes and to better understand how (it) is perceived" in Guatemala. To that end, it is my sincere hope that you take the opportunity to reflect on issues presented above; that you address each of the six points of discussion; that you rescind your comments on the "peaceful atmosphere" of the recent land evictions; and that you join those who demand that the Guatemalan government make reasonable and just reparations to the affected communities in El Estor.

I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Victoria L. Henderson
MA Candidate
Department of Geography
Queen's University
Mackintosh-Corry Hall, D324
Kingston, ON (Canada)
K7L 3N6

Tel: +001 613 533 6000, x 75936
Fax: +001 866 876 8348
Email: 2dtvh [at] qlink.queensu.ca

PLEASE NOTE:

In fairness to both Mr. Austin and myself I would like to encourage those interested in this case to review my initial letter of 28 September 2006 and Mr. Austin's response of 9 October 2006, both of which Mr. Austin has posted to the Skye Resources website

26 January 2007- UA 20/07- Fear for safety               

Environmental activist Flaviano Bianchini has reportedly received a series of anonymous telephone calls, and has been kept under surveillance. Amnesty International believes that his life may be in danger.

Flaviano Bianchini, an Italian national, is working as a volunteer for the Guatemalan environmental group Colectivo MadreSelva, which is investigating the effects of mining on the environment. At a press conference in Guatemala City on 5 January, he presented a report on the contamination allegedly caused by a gold mine to the Tzala River in Sipakapa, San Marcos department. The report alleges that the river, which is the main source of water for indigenous people in the region, has been contaminated with heavy metals. This was reported in the national press the following day [see NISGUA for more].

Background

Prensa Libre today (28-01-2007) leads with a story on the issue of whether weak Government regulation of mining concessions is endangering the Guatemalan environment.

Cerigua has been reporting on a number of protests against mining in recent days:


You can follow Cerigua's news reports on the environment here and read further more general resources on the mining issue here.

Update (24-02-07)

Environmental activist Flaviano Bianchini, who received a series of threatening phone calls earlier this year, has returned to Italy, and is no longer in danger.

An Italian citizen who had been working on environmental issues related to mining activities in Guatemala and Honduras, he had received a string of anonymous threatening phone calls during January. These appeared to be connected with a report he had prepared on contamination of a river allegedly caused by a gold mine in Guatemala. The river was the main source of water for local indigenous people.

He received further threats after the UA was issued. On 2 and 5 February, he received phone calls, both repeating the same message he had received previously: deje de chingar ("Stop fucking around").

He arrived in Honduras on 8 February to present a study on the impact of mining activities in the Valle de Siria region. There he was told that men connected with a mining company featured in the report had been asking where he was. For his own safety, he decided not to travel outside the capital. He returned to Guatemala the same day, and shortly afterwards decided to bring forward the date of his return to Italy, also for his own safety.

The investigation into the threats and intimidation suffered by Flaviano Bianchini is not known to have produced any results. Flaviano Bianchini has asked for his thanks to be passed on to the UA network. The Guatemalan NGO he was working for, MadreSelva, have made the same request.

It's great to see and read Suttonhoo's (Dayna Bateman) blog on Guatemala (amongst many other things). It's a great compliment to the photos that she takes. I've been a fan of her photos on Flickr for a good while which are always incredibly informative and deliciously subtle. It's the kind of photography with depth that tells you more about the subject, than the camera if you get what I mean. The photographical artefacts that Suttonhoo uncovers get across a side and quality to Guatemala that is relatively rarely upped on Flickr. But hey, you don't have to take it from me- just take a look and see for yourself :-)

Post by Jordan Buckley

---

Hello friends, families and allies,

This is my third update from Guatemala: I am working as a human rights accompanier with the Association for Justice and Reconciliation (AJR), a coalition of Maya genocide survivors organizing to charge ex-military and political leaders for the state-led violence that wiped out more than 200,000, largely indigenous, people in the 1980s.

A few weeks ago, a boy who lived near us in Ilom suddenly passed away one morning. His mother and neighbors calmly explained that he had died of sadness. His father had left the day before to the United States out of economic desperation, and his departure had been absolutely devastating for the boy – to the extent that he never woke up.

Death by emotion is not uncommon here. In listening to friends` recounting of the genocide, "susto" - fright - is often given as an explanation of loved ones' deaths following the actual army-led massacres: when they either lived enslaved on a nearby plantation or in their village under violent military occupation (as in the case of those from Ilom), and when they fled into the wilderness for the next 14 years, foraging for food, struggling to elude army search squads and taking cover from aerial bombardments (as in the case of those from Xix).

Last month marked the ten-year anniversary of the Peace Accords, the ceasefire agreement which ended army attacks on Maya villages - supposedly to hunt down guerrilla fighters - as official state policy.

A decade later and still none of the major players (photo: low prophyle)  responsible for the 626 army-led massacres have been charged with anything. That status has not changed since my last update, and most certainly will not change until a formidable popular movement – both nationally and globally – compels Guatemalan officials to take seriously the AJR's willingness to risk their lives by serving as witnesses in the stalled genocide cases here against these men who still retain substantial influence.

A small but important way to support the AJR is by e-mailing Guatemalan officials and urging them to advance the genocide case.

ANOTHER FRONT OF MAYAN RESISTANCE: THE ZAPTISTAS

I was in Chiapas, Mexico for the New Year - and incidentally my 25th birthday - at the Encounter of the Zapatista Peoples with the Peoples of the World. (As many of you know, the Zapatistas first made headlines on January 1, 1994 when an armed uprising enabled them to liberate indigenous communities from the rule of Mexican authorities. Across Chiapas, signs marking the entrance to Zapatista territory inform passersby that "Here the people give the orders and the government obeys.")

Having lived and worked intimately with folks from the AJR since July, it was fascinating to learn from other Maya communities, situated just a little northwest (across that militarized invisible line which only shows up on maps), of how they are likewise rebelling against the government's wishes – although clearly with different tactics and aims; embracing women's rights and participation; amplifying indigenous voices and decision-making, all the while cultivating a huge, dynamic base of international support (something the AJR comparatively does not possess).

The revolutionary fervor and cultural pride of our Zapatista hosts there in autonomously-governed Oventic stand in stark contrast to much of the evangelical fanaticism which has enveloped the villages where I live in the Guatemalan highlands.

Many, if not most, Zapatistas wore traditional clothing, spoke only in their indigenous languages, shared their customary music and dance with us out-of-towners during several of the planned cultural events, and spoke spiritedly about their commitment to preserving their culture. Back in Guatemala, a friend in Ilom (who is evangelical) recently lamented that evangelical Christianity crushed his people's indigenous practices and beliefs, which, I am told, strikingly swept through in concert with the genocide.

EVANGELISM, GENOCIDE & RIOS MONTT

Efraín Ríos Montt, the evangelical minister/military general who rose to power in 1982 from a military coup, remains the veritable face of the genocide. According to a UN-led commission, Ríos Montt's short-lived regime was responsible for the deaths of some 70,000 (overwhelmingly Maya) people. He is credited with crafting the following domestic policy: "If you are with us, we'll feed you. If not, we'll kill you."

Even before Ríos Montt's reign, evangelical Christianity had begun to take root in Guatemala. Ruling elites favored evangelism to the liberation theology-inspired brand of Catholicism which was offering impoverished Guatemalans more than charity and sympathy, but indeed solidarity in organizing against the structural causes of their poverty.

By the 1980s, televangelist Pat Robertson's show "The 700 Club" (Photo: holtocw) enjoyed more than 3 million viewers here. Within a week of the military overthrowing the government and Ríos Montt seizing the nation's helm, Robertson had hopped a plane to Guatemala City to meet with and exalt the new leader to his enormous TV audience. Robertson soon wrote of the man whose immediate capture is now demanded by Spanish courts on charges of genocide, "I found [Ríos Montt] to be a man of humility, impeccable personal integrity, and a deep faith in Jesus Christ."

While Ríos Montt was attempting to effectively exterminate the Maya, Robertson was raising funds for the Guatemalan military through a telethon; he convinced numerous U.S. Christians to donate to International Love Lift – revealingly abbreviated "ILL" - Rios Montt's so-called relief program: funding and supplies used to support the army in its genocidal campaign.

The Christian Broadcasting Network also reportedly provided agricultural and medical technicians as well as money to aid in the design of Rios Montt's first "model villages": barbed wire-enclosed, military-controlled townships, often rebuilt upon the same land as the original Maya villages scorched to the ground by the army, where massacre survivors were forcibly "re-educated." Theological re-education was routinely administered by evangelical missionaries.

EVANGELISM TODAY, IMPUNITY & MY GRINGO BEWILDERMENT

Nowadays, dancing in the highlands is pervasively a sin; our radio is clogged with evangelical rock; I dined at God with Us Emmanuel Pizzeria last week, and the gas station where our ride to Ilom usually fills up at is coated in the slogan "To God be the Glory." We are engrossed in evangelism, and its political consequences can be bewildering: on Jan. 17, for instance, one of the nation's most famous evangelicals – Rìos Montt (photo: Wrath of god)– announced that he is running for the presidency of the National Congress in September's elections – a post that he has a considerable shot at winning and which he previously held as recently as
November 2003.

A few hours after the boy in Ilom died of sadness, the 10-year-old son of one of the witnesses we accompany there also passed away. A couple days later we visited him to express our condolences. He soon asked us if it were true that in the U.S. some people cremate their loved ones. We told him it is indeed common. He remarked that given the absence of rule of law in Guatemala, if a community wills it they will often capture a local criminal and burn him alive to set an example for others…but to burn a corpse  (i.e. a person who is already dead) is simply a sin against God.

Perhaps needless to say, making sense of the reality of the highlands continues to be complicated for me. One revelation that has kept me somewhat grounded is that while I admire and am inspired by the radical resistance of the Zapatistas, for my fellow evangelical colleagues who outlived a horrific genocide targeted at them, basic survival was, and remains, its own form of radical resistance.

And acting in a way that shuns the often evangelical expectation that they quietly endure their extreme poverty and suffering (and instead wait indifferently for afterlife), by demanding justice and publicly naming those responsible for the genocide despite the terrifying consequences, reflects remarkable bravery and commitment.

I know I have a lot to learn from the AJR before I leave in May, and I am extremely grateful to be working with them. Again, I would ask you to honor their courage by e-mailing Guatemalan officials to urge them to advance the genocide case and finally allow the AJR to testify, to speak their truth to power.

Lastly, thanks to everyone who has been e-mailing me, writing me letters, donating to the struggle and sending me food, art and literature. Your kindness, friendship and solidarity has been wonderful and deeply appreciated.

---

To receive updates every two months and for more information, you can contact Jordan at: jordan [at] sfalliance [dot] org

---

Background: Ways You Can Support the Struggle

Join the NISGUA list or GSN Blog for updates on notable news in Guatemala:

Contact the Guatemala Govt- tell them to move on the genocide case! Great activity for church groups, human rights groups, or alone (English is fine):


Become an Accompanier in the Genocide Case 

You can hear interviews with people who have worked as accompaniers (broadcast by Democracy Now! and the BBC) and read articles and more information from a variety of sources here.

If you're in the US you can support Jordan financially- write a tax-deductible check to "DJPC Education Fund" and add "Jordan Buckley-CAMINOS" to the memo line. They can be mailed to: Denver Justice & Peace Committee, 901 W. 14th Avenue Suite 7, Denver, CO  80204. If you are in the UK you can support GSN by contacting us on gsn_mail [at] yahoo [dot] com

Last week BBC Mundo ran a series of reports (15 mb) on its programme BBC Mundo Hoy by Margarita Rodriguez on Guatemala ten years after the Peace Accords. Rachel Sieder, Yolanda Aguilar, Dominga Vásquez and Guillermo Chen interviewed in the reports all took part in the panel discussion of the Peace Accords at Canning House in London.

On 29th December 2006 the day of the anniversary BBC Mundo ran this, "Guatemala: 10 años de los acuerdos", on their website.

The Guatemalan Maya Centre has revamped its website- it's an incredible resource and recommend you take a look.

"The Centre operates as a small cultural and educational centre dedicated to the Maya of Guatemala. We run a varied programme of topical films and lectures to compliment the free exhibitions and there are more specialised facilities for students and academics: the textile collection (showing the development of Guatemalan Maya costume from the turn of the century to the present day) is one of the largest of its kind with 7000 textiles."

The centre manages a massive archive of film, video, photos, books and magazines documenting Guatemalan Mayan culture. In particular though is the enormous collection of thousands of textiles from 115 communities all over Guatemala. They are regular exhibitions and talks which you can check there website for from February when they reopen.

Krystyna Deuss, who founded the centre in 1990 has just written the book, "Shamans, Witches, and Maya Priests: Native Religion & Ritual in Highland Guatemala". It's available now, this summary is from the new website:

"Shamans, Witches, and Maya Priests is a study of the “old ways” that still prevail in the Q’anjob’al, Akatek, and Chuj communities of the remote northwestern Cuchumatán mountains. With the help of 102 photographs and 49 illustrations, Deuss paints a vivid picture of the traditional rites and rituals she witnessed over a period of 15 years. These include blood sacrifices for the good of the community and private shamanic rituals as well as black magic. Deuss has also included a selection of the prayers she recorded."

Finally, but by no means least, are the photos that the centre holds. Krystyna and Jamie Marshall, the centre's curator, have taken some incredible photos of Guatemala and are well worth exploring on the site.

Last week the Guatemalan Human Rights Commission had the following report in its weekly round up:


The issues surrounding the many thousands of migrants out of Central America is a subject we rarely tackle on this blog- but it is the elephant in the room in many respects. I guess our lack of coverage is partially because the UK is not a common destination for many Central Americans. It's easy to feel a little removed- but it's massive importance as an issue (politically, economically, socially and culturally) can not be denied. And anyway there's not a day goes by without the UK media discussing migration- although almost always from one perspective: 'immigration'.

Perhaps because of the enormity of this issue, so often the human story behind migrations is lost. Guatemalan filmmaker Luis Argueta has recently upped another clip from his fascinating documentary on the silent voices "And There I Am" previously mentioned on this blog. It's well worth a look.

Another insightful telling of this human story is Wetback: The Undocumented Documentary directed by Arturo Peréz Torres. You can hear him interviewed six months ago here (35 minutes into it). Also interviewed is Susanne Jonas, Prof. of Latin American Studies at UC Santa Cruz, author of "The Battle for Guatemala" and "Of Centaurs and Doves: Guatemala's Peace Process". She's currently working on a new book on the migration issue.

Jonas makes the point that between 2001-3 the US authorities deported over 200,000 Guatemalans. She also makes the point that alongside the deportation of many hard-working law abiding migrants, there is also the deliberate deportation of those engaged in criminality by US authorities. This has been blamed for the increase in gang-led criminality across Central America in recent years. People picked up by the US criminal justice system are deported back to Central America which effectively just shifts the problem to countries that are ill-equipped to tackle such difficulties. Deportation is essentially an incredibly shortsighted response.

Finally I'd recommend checking out the Immigration Orange blog. Here Kyle de Beausset is a regular contributor and very recently blogged about an interesting journey that he made northwards from Guatemala. It was covered in Prensa Libre. Kyle who's half Guatemalan, half US American, blogged about his experience as a migrant heading north from Guatemala here:

I just heard the sad news about the death of Hanley Denning, founder of Camino Seguro (Safe Passage) that runs a large number of projects with communities in and around the municipal rubbish dump in Guatemala City. According to Camino Seguro's website Hanley was killed in a traffic accident on 18th January. You can read more about Hanley's life story here and more information about the work of Camino Seguro.

I first got to know Hanley in 1998 when I worked in the community of San Francisco de Asís, one of the many small neighbourhoods in and around the municipal rubbish dump in Guatemala City. Over the years, I was struck by her complete dedication and energy which was instrumental in transforming Camino Seguro into a project that has supported hundreds of Guatemalan families in zone three and seven. Camino Seguro is responsible for a large number of very successful educational and other initiatives working with families, and in particular children and young people of all ages.

In 2002, Rita María Roesch in Prensa Libre wrote a piece about Hanley and her work with Camino Seguro. In 2003, Noel C. Paul in the Christian Science Monitor wrote this piece about Hanley. Both are fitting tributes.

Update 21-01-2007

Pieces have been written in El Periodico and Prensa Libre. Both are based on this news report from Associated Press in English- here published by the International Herald Tribune.

Spanish journalist Carlos Santos, has just written a book, "Guatemala. El Silencio del Gallo" which looks at the internal armed conflict in Guatemala through the experiences of Spanish priest Father Luis Gurriarán.

In 1982, Father Luis went with Rigoberta Menchu to the United Nations to denounce the government of Ríos Montt. He was also one of the founders with 100 mayan families of village Santa María Tzejá in El Quiché at the beginning of the 1970s. Father Luis has arrived in Central America ten years before as a young missionary fresh out of the seminary. Beatriz Manz also told the story of Santa María Tzejá in her book Paradise in Ashes (2004) and talks at length of the role played by Father Luis (photo below: CLAS) in the village community. In Paradise in Ashes he tells Beatriz:


Carlos Santos took part in a web chat on Spanish news site Diariocrítico.com (18-01-2007). All proceeds from sales of this book "Guatemala. El Silencio del Gallo" go to support scholarships in Santa María Tzejá.

See also this interview with Carlos Santos - "El periodista Carlos Santos narra a través de la vida de su tío en Guatemala uno de los mayores genocidios de todo el siglo XX" (found thanks to Porsilasmoscas).

---

Further reading:

Luis Gurriaran "The Role of the Catholic Church in the Cooperative Movement in Guatemala" - Centre for Latin American Studies - University of California, Berkeley

Guatemala: Toward Justice? In the spring of 2004, FRONTLINE/World Fellow Brent McDonald followed Berkeley anthropologist Beatriz Manz to Central America to uncover the history of a village that was caught in the crossfire of Guatemala's civil war.

A couple of days ago (16-01-2007) the Guatemalan press first hinted at Gen Efrain Ríos Montt's decision to go for Congress and forget about another presidential bid. Now Reuters are reporting it as well and there's more in today's Prensa Libre.

Perhaps it was the Constitutional Court's recent ruling (Petición de Nulidad (2395-2006)) upholding his being barred from running for president. Perhaps it was his incredibly low support in recent opinion polls (on 15-01-07 it was 1.8%). Or perhaps it was a nagging fear that his day in court on counts of genocide and crimes against humanity might just be a very real possibility.

By declaring that he's running for Congress, Rios Montt will once again get immunity from prosecution from April when he'll be able to register his candidacy formally with the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE). It's timely then, to read Elias Lawless's interview in WireTap Magazine with Antonio Caba, an Ixil Maya activist who currently serves as president of the Association for Justice and Reconciliation (AJR). Here's an excerpt:

Update (19-01-07)

Amnesty USA has made the following appeal with Rios Montt's announcement: "Amnesty International Again Calls for Ríos Montt to Either Be Tried in Guatemala or Extradited to Spain to Face the Charges Against Him". In Guatemala, Siglo XXI covered the story with an interview of Rigoberta Menchu: "Menchú pide repudiar posible candidatura de Ríos".

Urgent Action: Amnesty USA - GUATEMALA                

Carlos Albacete Rosales (m) and Piedad Espinosa Albacete (f), Co-directors of environmental organisation Green Tropic (Tropico Verde)

An attempt on the lives of two environmentalists has been made in Guatemala City. Amnesty International believes that their lives and those of other colleagues are in grave danger.

Environmental activists Carlos Albacete Rosales and Piedad Espinosa Albacete were the subjects of an apparent attempt on their lives as they returned home from the La Aurora National Airport in Guatemala City in a taxi on Wednesday 10 January 2007 at 12.20am.

As they approached their house in the area known as Carretera a El Salvador, they saw a grey Volkswagen Golf parked less than 1km from their house. The car pulled out behind them and followed them until overtaking the taxi a few metres further on and making a 180 degree turn in front of them, partially blocking the road.

Four men got out of the car, drawing their handguns as they did so. They were wearing black woollen hats and dark- coloured bullet-proof vests, dressed in black clothing similar to that used by the police but without the identifying insignia. They stood in front of the taxi and began to shoot at it. The taxi driver carried on forwards, leaving the four men behind. They continued to shoot at the taxi but did not pursue it any further. [see Nisgua for more]

---

Trade Unionist Killed

In a separate incident a trade unionist, Pedro Zamora, was killed (16-01-07). This from the Frente Nacional de Lucha En Defensa de los Servicios Publicos y Los Recursos Naturales:

And now Reuters have just covered the story in English- "Guatemalan union boss killed in front of children".

Update (19-01-2007)

Since Pedro Zamora's death, several of his colleagues have reportedly received anonymous phone calls threatening them and their families with death within nine days. Amnesty International believes that their lives are in serious and imminent danger. [more from NISGUA]

Rights Action has just released this video of the evictions in Izabal. Photos are by James Rodriguez and video footage is by Steven Schnoor.

Reuters AlertNet (11-01-2007) have covered the recent evictions in Izabal over the dispute between a nickel mining company and the local community.
The story was covered previously by Prensa Libre (09-01-2007) in Guatemala. But there is much more information on MiMundo.org's blog. It's written by James Rodriguez and spans  the build up to this eviction from November 2006. It contains personal accounts across different posts of the evictions and many powerful photos (also on Flickr).

There's more in information on the background to this latest eviction from website Mining Watch Canada written by Dawn Paley (11-01-2007) in El Estor, Guatemala. Dawn's blog's here- Reporter Zero.

Update (15-01-07)

The Guatemala Human Rights Commission (GHRC/USA) is running an urgent action on the evictions here. According to the GHRC they numbers of people evicted is significantly higher than AP have reported (and what we quoted above):

We just received the following interesting news from the Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group (AIDG) active in Guatemala:

Quetzaltenango, Guatemala - January 5, 2007 - The Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group (AIDG) and its first incubated business, XelaTeco, completed a micro-hydroelectric project in El Palmar, Guatemala last month that is providing 40 families (roughly 200 people) with electricity in their homes for the first time.

Before the existence of XelaTeco, which was established with the financial and technical backing of U.S. non-profit AIDG, an isolated village like the Comunidad Nueva Alianza (CNA) had few options for getting electricity, let alone renewable energy.  Due to their remoteness, an electric grid extension was years if not decades away. The high and volatile cost of diesel in Guatemala made reliance on electric generators impractical.  The concrete shell of an old micro-hydroelectric system existed at the community. Unfortunately, no providers could completely rebuild it at a price that CNA could afford.

When it burst onto the scene in August 2005, XelaTeco filled a much-needed niche. It was a new breed of business in Guatemala that manufactures, installs and repairs green technologies for people living between $2-4 a day, development agencies and institutions. Because XelaTeco could locally manufacture many essential, yet very complex components for much less than their purchase price in U.S. or European markets, it became the CNA's leading choice of contractor.

Peter Haas is the founder and executive director of AIDG, an NGO that starts businesses in developing countries to provide the rural poor with renewable energy and clean technologies that meet their basic needs. He contends that locally-based and socially responsible enterprises such as XelaTeco will be the key to providing underserved communities with long-term and sustainable access to clean water, sanitation and electricity.



With funding from AIDG and the United Nations Development Program's Small Grants Program, many of the barriers that kept CNA from obtaining electricity in their homes were removed.


The importance of reducing the human impact on the environment was underlined in the aftermath of Hurricane Stan, one of the 21 named storms in the record-breaking Atlantic Hurricane Season of 2005. Over 600 people, mostly indigenous persons living in extreme poverty, died in mudslides thought to be a result of extensive deforestation.

As the effects of global warming become increasingly apparent, organizations like XelaTeco and the AIDG can lead the way in providing underserved rural communities with the basics of life while also minimizing negative environmental effects.

XelaTeco's product range includes windmills, solar water heaters, water pumps, water purifiers, biodigesters, and small-scale hydroelectric systems.

This is a really interesting interview with Ann Wright on Radio 4's Saturday Live programme, who accompanied in Colombia with Peace Brigades International. She gives a really great explanation about what accompaniment is and what you can get out of it as a volunteer. She's taking in the context of Colombia, but it's equally applicable to accompaniment in Guatemala. You can listen to it here.  Here's the intro from the BBC Saturday Live blog (shame they couldn't spell Colombia :-)).

You can find more information about accompaniment in general here, and how to become an accompanier with GSN specifically here.

Guatemala gets several mentions in the UK press- well mainly the Guardian via the wire services. There's a interesting article 'Guatemalan Files Renew Hope of Justice' by Will Weissart and Juan Carlos Llorca that ties together the issues of the secret police files, the pending extradition appeals, and the continuing quest by victims to find out more about the fate of loved ones. It quotes two current Government officials which seem to downplay this effort to punish past crimes:


There's also an article in The Guardian from AP on international adoptions which says this about adoptions between the US and Guatemala:

And finally Jamie Theakston says this about Guatemala City in The Observer today:

Hmm, that's a huge loss for Guate. No more Jamie. I wonder how many hours he was there for? For the record, this is what I think of Guatemala City critics :-)

This a video clip, produced by Kara Andrade with Brad Eller, of the event on 29th December 2006 at the Palacio Nacional de la Cultura in Guatemala City which marked the 10th anniversary of the Peace Accords. It shows the demonstration that took place carried out by HIJOS and the Bloque Antiimperialista. There was this snippet about it in Prensa Libre the day after:

The Bloque Antiimperialista is an initiative of the YMCA in Guatemala.

Kara Andrade has written a really interesting piece a