This is a presentation (direct link to different video formats here) by Guillermo Chen, Director of the Fundación Nueva Esperanza (FNE) which he shared with many of us when he travelled to the UK, Germany (with Elote e.V.) and Spain in November-December 2006.

The presentation is currently in Spanish- but we're looking to transcribe and translate it. In the mean time if you're interested in finding out more, you can read our previous post on FNE. For more information on supporting FNE either financially or by volunteering, you can contact us directly for more on how to go about this.

Guatemala Solidarity Network
gsn_mail [at] yahoo [dot] com

This is a clip showing how the letters in the Maya Achi alphabet are pronounced. When Guillermo Chen was touring the UK and other European countries there was a great deal of interest in learning more about the Maya Achi language.

You can find out more and download a fairly extensive Spanish-Achi dictionary from the website of bilingual education in Guatemala.

It's now just over a year that Hurricane Stan struck Guatemala. What follows is an excerpt from the latest Rights Action newsletter (Dec, 2006) and gives an update on relief work that has been going on to support the rebuilding effort across the country. You can see the full newsletter here. We have been working closely with Rights Action from the UK and there is more information at the end of this post if you are interested in supporting their work.

In other news, you can find an article on water privitization, development and human rights violations: Xalala Dam Project= Chixoy Dam revisited. There is also an article on mines, development and human rights violations: Skye Resources Inc and Security Forces versus Mayan-Q’eqchi Communities [see full newsletter].

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Many thanks to all donors - individual and institutional - for your financial contributions over the past year, dating back to October  2005, for our emergency short-term relief and medium-term community rebuilding work in Guatemala in response to the deaths and destruction caused by Hurricane Stan.

The 'relief' part of the work is over and the 'rebuilding' work continues; in some regions, it has barely started.  

In early October 2005, Hurricane Stan devastated much of Guatemala, particularly the western highlands and ‘boca costa’ mountainsides leading down to the south-west pacific coast.  The number of persons killed or disappeared is over 2000.  It is still not known how many villagers were killed when mudslides buried the villages of Panabaj (departament of Sololá) and Piedra Grande (departamento of San Marcos).  At the writing of this report, the FAFG (the Forensic Anthropology Team, long supported by Rights Action to dig up mass graves of genocide and repression victims across the country) has initiated a massive exhumation process in the village of Panabaj where most of the village, and hundreds of villagers, were crushed in a mud-slide.

Throughout Guatemala, over 600 villages were negatively affected, to one degree or another; thousands of homes (mainly small huts) were destroyed.

SHORT-TERM EMERGENCY RELIEF

Immediately after Stan hit, Rights Action appealed for donations and began channelling emergency grants for deliveries of emergency food and water, bedding and clothing, and medical attention. Coordinated from our Guatemala City office, this work was done with numerous community-based groups that we have long supported and worked with. The short-term emergency relief phase lasted into early January! We sent out a summary report early in 2006.

VISION OF WORK

As we have written, it is RA’s understanding that while Stan was a devastating storm of torrential rains (resulting in floods, mud-slides, etc), the underlying issue to be addressed is the eradication of endemic poverty (caused by an unjust development- economic model) that leaves a majority of Central Americans subsisting in conditions of great vulnerability.

Starting in early 2006, Rights Action began channelling relief grants to medium-term relief and community reconstruction projects that we summarize here.  While there is, in these projects, a continuing component of emergency material relief, the main thrust of this work is to re-build, or (in some cases) relocate and rebuild healthy and safe living communities.

All of the work summarized below is based on an ‘integral community development vision’, with integrated components of:

- Community design of, control over and participation in the reconstruction and rebuilding project
- Integral vision of ‘development’, including protection of the local environment, including water sources, and reforesting steep hill and mountains sides
- Prioritizing clear title to and community and family ownership of lands
- Implementing productive projects that prioritize community and local food security and local and regional markets

PROJECTS FUNDED

- funds granted and spent, short-term emergency relief phase : $110,000;
- funds granted, to date, medium- and long-term rebuilding phase : $500,000;
- further funding is needed – long-term rebuilding proposal available on request.

PARTNER GROUPS

1 - CCDA – COMITE CAMPESINO POR EL DESARROLLO DEL ALTIPLANO / CAMPESINO COMMITTEE FOR DEVELOPMENT IN THE HIGHLANDS

For many years, RA has supported and worked with CCDA on a range of community development projects, including production and selling of fair trade coffee. In response to Stan, CCDA is working directly in Mayan-Tzutujil communities of the department of Solola, and Mayan-Mam communities of the department of San Marcos .  The main focuses of this work are:

- planting and replanting organic coffee that they will sell via their international trading relations for fair trade coffee;
- planting and replanting basic subsistence crops of corn and beans.

2 - ASECSA - ASOCIACIÓN DE SERVICIOS COMUNITARIOS DE SALUD/ ASSOCIATION OF COMMUNITY HEALTH SERVICES

RA has long supported and worked with ASECSA – a leading community health/dental/ midwifery organization - on a range of community health projects. In response to Stan, ASECSA is supporting the design and building of “granjas integrales” (integral farms) in Mayan-Quiche communities of Tziamjuyub, Pakoval II and Xeabaj II, in the municipality of Santa Catarina Ixtahuacan, department of Solola.

3 - CODECA - COMITE DE DESARROLLO CAMPESINO / CAMPESINO
 DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE

RA has long supported and worked with CODECA on community development and human rights issues in various departments of the south-coastal and Boca Coast regions.  In response to Stan, CODECA is designing and supporting projects in 3 communities:

- In the Mayan community (a mixture of Quiche, Mam, Kakchikel, Tzutujil, ladino)
 of Monsenor Romero (105 families; department of Suchitepequez) , CODECA is developing a 5-tank Tilapia fish farm, as well as the reproduction of their staple crops – corn and sesame

- In the camepsino community of Rancho Alegre (280 families; municipality of Mazatenango, department of Retalhuleu), CODECA is developing two community projects : a milk cow project and a watermelon and bamboo production project, as well as the re-production of their traditional corn and sesame crops
- In the campesino community of Nueva Linda (department of Retalhuleu), CODECA is developing a craft and agricultural production project.

4 - AGEMA - ASOCIACIÓN DE DESARROLLO INTEGRAL Y SALUD COMUNITARIO “GENERACION DEL MAIZ” / ASSOCIATION OF INTEGRAL DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNITY HEALTH “GENERATION OF CORN”

RA began working with and supporting AGEMA, in response to Stan. In the municipality of Santa Catarina Ixtahuacan (department of Solola), AGEMA is working with a new community of some 100 families of a total of some 405 families from 8 different communities that lost homes, land and crops (corn,beans, coffee) to Stan.  The communities were : Xoljá, Pacutamá sector I, Pacutamá sector II, Chajuab, Chiucutamá, Pacorral I, Pacorral II, Tzamjuyup and Xeabaj II.  For months, these families were in temporary shelters supported by government and non-government (including Rights Action) funding sources.

A new living community is being built called “Nuevo Asentamiento Chiquizis”. There are three components to this work : providing “techo minimo” – supplies to build minimal housing structures with simple but sturdy walls and roof; planting a variety of fruit trees (Apples, Cherries, Peaches, y Avacados); building and planting 3 community gardens.

5 -  CLINICA MAXENA

RA begain working with the Clinica Maxena (that has a long term relation with ASECSA) in response to Stan, in the municipality of Santo Tomas la Union , department of Suchitepequez. The integral health Clinica Maxena is working in the Mayan-Quiche communities of Pala and Patzaj to build community and family gardens.

FUTURE PLANS – REBUILDING AND RECONSTRUCTING AFTER STAN

Upon request, Rights Action can send a proposal “Rebuilding and Reconstructing after Stan” setting out our future and on-going reconstruction and rebuilding plans. 

TAX-CHARITABLE DONATIONS

To make tax-charitable donations for “Rebuilding and Reconstructing After Stan”:  

- Credit card donations can be made going to www.rightsaction.org
- In the UK contact Jane Pelly de Jocolt at: rightsactionuk [at] yahoo [dot] co [dot] uk

There are a large number of events planned to mark the passing of ten years since the signing of the Peace Accords in Guatemala. We recently received an extrememly comprehensive report from Orlando Blanco of the International Centre for Human Rights Investigations (CIIDH).

The report, which was begun in 2003, was presented formally by DESCGUA, CONGCOOP and CIIDH on the International Human Rights Day (10-12-2006). The report looks at the current situation in Guatemala of economic, social and cultural rights almost ten years since the signing of the accords. Specifically, it looks at wide ranging issues including: housing, poverty, food security, domestic violence, land reform, health, education, social security and work.

The book by Miquel Dewever-Plana makes an important contribution to the recuperation to historical memory and dignifying of the victims of one of the most tragic conflicts in Latin America. Here's more information from the press release on the website:

There's a low quality video clip with the book's author and Ana Maria Menchu Tum speaking about the book in a recent press conference.