By Michael Fernandez

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As we approach the ten year anniversary of the signing of the peace accords in Guatemala, the question of what has actually changed since then has obviously arisen. From reading articles, opinion pages, and indeed talking to countless people who have lived their entire lives in the country, the general consensus seems to be 'very little,' and most would agree that the Guatemalan government has completely failed to implement the agreements reached back in December 1996. Evidence of this failure is everywhere: the scourge of impunity that continues to prevail in Guatemala – nowhere more evident than in the lack of progress in the genocide case against Ríos Montt and his high command; the glaring inequalities and extreme poverty in a country where an estimated 75% of the population live below the poverty line; and the continuing violence and intimidation against those struggling to improve the human rights situation and bring social justice to Guatemala.  

My time working as an international accompanier in Guatemala with ACOGUATE has given me the opportunity to see first hand the lack of progress since 1996, and indeed how many of the original causes for the outbreak of the internal conflict back in 1960 are still prevalent to this day. While many accompaniers spend their time living in communities and accompanying witnesses involved in the genocide case, I was asked to form part of the so-called 'short term' team, which accompanies other individuals, communities and organisations that are under threat due to their work or their struggle for justice. The main case I have been involved in, that of the sacked farm workers of the Finca Nueva Florencia, is clear evidence of how land and labour rights are continuously denied to the campesinos of Guatemala, and how the power of the large landowners in the country continues unabated.  

In March of 1997, less than three months after the signing of the peace accords, 38 families of the Finca Nueva Florencia formed a union to negotiate with the landowners for better pay and working conditions. This was in large part due to the fact that, despite the wealth of OTTMAR SA, the company that owns this mainly coffee producing plantation, workers received less than ₤2 per day. Just one week later, in violation of article 209 of the Code of Work, all members of the union were sacked. Ever since then members of the union have been fighting for compensation for salaries not paid since that date and for their reinstatement. Despite 13 decisions in the courts in favour of the sacked workers, including two the Constitutional Court, the conflict is yet to be resolved, and the landowners have been able to continually delay and block any court rulings with countless appeals and motions.  

Many of the union members have left, simply unable to fight for so many years, while a systematic campaign of intimidation and reprisals from the landowners has been waged in an attempt to force the remaining eleven members to give up. For the four families who continued living in their houses on the plantation in particular, the hardships have been devastating: their electricity and water have been cut off; their children have not been allowed to attend the school on the plantation or use the playground; they have been denied access to the farm's health clinic, with children being refused vaccinations despite the fact that the vaccinations were a government programme; they are not allowed to cut firewood on the plantation; letters have been sent to all the landowners in the area urging them not to give the sacked workers employment; and security guards have been installed to harass and intimidate them.

Since May of this year the intimidation has been particularly severe. On the 11th May, with OTTMAR claiming not to have the funds available to pay the sacked workers their compensation, the courts awarded two parts of the plantation to the union. Faced with the prospect of losing very profitable land, the landowners stepped up their campaign of intimidation, with a massive increase in the number of armed guards, dressed in military uniform. Shots were fired outside the houses of the families living on the plantation, a particularly horrific experience for their very young children, and the brother of the main union organiser was held with rifles pointed at him for simply cutting weeds. The workers also received notice that the guards had been ordered to shoot them if they entered the coffee plantations on the farm. Accusations have been made to the Office of Public Prosecution (Ministerio Público), but as yet, no investigation has been made into these intimidations.  

In the face of all this, the union members approached ACOGUATE about the prospect of international accompaniment. Since then we have been visiting them at least every two weeks in an attempt to show the landowners that there is international attention on this case, in an effort to dissuade them from further intimidation, and as an act of solidarity, offering the union members vital moral support. The effects of our presence have been noted, and according to the union members the level of intimidation, in particularly the gunshots in front of their houses at night has diminished. However, the intimidation does continue, and while shots being fired at your house once a week is better than every night, it is still an unacceptable situation.

I feel extremely privileged to have been able to visit and get to know the sacked workers of Finca Nueva Florencia. Their stories of hardship and tales of injustice have been truly eye-opening, and reflect many of the wider problems of Guatemala. I have been continually amazed, however, by their courage, conviction and determination to see this struggle through to the end, and this too is a reflection of the efforts of countless numbers of people and organizations throughout Guatemala. They retain hope and are now at a critical stage in their case. With the landowners running out of motions and appeals to block the case, the workers may soon get the land they are owed. The process is far from complete, however, and many obstacles remain, but the hope that is now there shows that through the efforts and sacrifices of courageous individuals and the hard work of numerous organisations and civil society working together, changes can be made.  

The fact of the matter, however, is that it should not require so much suffering and so many years of struggle to achieve justice. In a clear demonstration of how the peace accords have not been implemented, the Guatemalan state, by allowing the case to last for nearly 10 years, has completely failed in its duty to uphold its own laws, and to ensure the economic security of its people. Ten years is far too long to wait for justice, and it is too long to wait for the implementation of the peace accords, which once provided Guatemalans with real hope. It is time now for the Guatemalan government to bring about serious changes in the country, end the culture of impunity and ensure that land and labour rights are respected in accordance with the law.

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Background Information

Amnesty International USA has really informative section on its website about the land rights issue in Guatemala. The section includes video testimony from many of the key actors on the issue in Guatemala.

Including: researcher Sebastian Elgueta who explains AI's main concerns regarding Guatemalan land rights; Juan Tzib who talks about how the current Guatemalan laws affect campesinos (rural workers); Ingrid Urizar who talks about the difficulties campesinos face accessing the courts; and Daniel Pascual who talks about the current government's policy of evictions.

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.

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.

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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.

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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

We were contacted recently about a new initiative to enable people from the UK to support grass-roots projects in Guatemala. Seth Reynolds, director of Direct Sponsorship International Ltd, explained the objective behind the project:

"The idea of the organisation is to give small, local, grass-roots projects access to interested individuals and potential donors in Europe, through a central website. The website will contain information on lots of different grass-roots projects in various developing countries.

People will be able to search these according to their interests, and then become sponsors to a project of their interest. They will be able to set up monthly direct debits online through the site and therefore support locally-managed solutions to local problems in developing countries".

Direct Sponsorship is currently in the initial stages of development. They have already begun working with three small, local NGOs in Guatemala to develop the project's systems and processes, so as to ensure these systems work for both parties.We'll be following its development with interest here on this blog.

Just spotted this local news- Swindon Advertiser - great to see this kind of initiative bringing young people from the UK together with young people from Nicaragua and Guatemala. It's great to see the Swindon Ocotal Link got funding for this. I remember Bruce Clarke mentioning this youth exchange project when he wrote after his trip to Guatemala in the wake of hurricane Stan in October 2005.

The article continues:

We've just been contacted by a really interesting initiative called Project Information Ixtahuacan. It uses the internet to improve communication in the new resettled communities following the effects of Hurricane Stan in October 2005. It is really important to be able to see where work is taking place, and where more work needs to be carried out. This is short description of the project taken from the website: