Here we wanted to publish this good news about Rights Action's long running campaign in Honduras- just over the border with Guatemala. This was sent to us by Rights Action:

Since January 2003, Rights Action has been supporting and involved with efforts to free the Miranda Brothers, campesino-Lenca political prisoners in Honduras, members of COPINH, a major Rights Action partner group in Honduras. Finally there is good news. THANK-YOU to everyone and every group that has helped out with funds and activism.

HONDURAS: AFTER THREE YEARS OF FALSE AND ABUSIVE IMPRISONMENT, SUPREME COURT ACQUITS POLITICAL PRISONERS MARCELINO AND LEONARDO MIRANDA FALSELY CHARGED WITH MURDER

by Sandra Vagabunda, www.rightsaction.org, caminando27 [at] yahoo.es

It is time to take a moment to celebrate some good news for a change!

The Honduran Supreme Court of Justice has acquitted Montaña Verde community
leaders Marcelino and Leonardo Miranda of murder, a fabricated charge for which they had been sentenced to 25 years in jail. This is a final decision.

The Miranda brothers release awaits the official certification of the Supreme Courts Secretariat and the case files journey back down through the court system to the Appeals Court in Santa Rosa de Copán and then to the courthouse in Gracias, the town in which Marcelino and Leonardo have been unjustly imprisoned since their illegal detention and torture in January 2003.

With great joy, Rights Action joins the Civic Council of Grassroots and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH) in celebrating the news and recognizing the many many actions, letters, telephone calls, faxes, emails and messages from many many people that have all contributed to this victory.

We would like to share COPINHs message to all of you:


For more information about supporting the work of Rights Action visit their website.

GUATEMALA: KILLER'S PARADISE:
By Jane Pelly de Jocolt (rightsactionuk [at] yahoo.co.uk)

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Some of you may have seen the chilling documentary 'Killer's Paradise' Shown a couple of weeks ago on BBC 2 about the continuing rise in the murders of women in Guatemala . The facts are chilling; in 2005, 665 murders were registered by the National Police in Guatemala City and its sprawling satellite city Villa Nueva. This is just the tip of the iceberg; elsewhere in the country no one is counting despite the attempts of the Red de no Violencia, a network of grass roots women's organizations, to keep track of the numbers of murders recorded in the press.  

Victims are typically women aged 16-30, from poor barrios. The documentary follows the cases of several women and doesn't spare us the details of the appalling torture and rape that many of them suffer: Claudia Madrid, aged 21, shot in the street, leaves a husband and two children; Claudina Valesquez, 19 year old law student, shot in the street; Stephanie Lopez, aged 13, tortured with multiple stab wounds; 20 year old Titina, a law student kidnapped and then brutally murdered... the list goes on.

THE SO-CALLED "PEACE ACCORDS"

These assassinations take place in a country accustomed to violence, Where impunity is the norm. In 1996 after 36 years of civil war it was hoped that the signing of the Peace Accords might start to bring about changes, but after 3 decades violence and impunity continue to manifest themselves throughout society. The National Police are unequipped or unwilling to deal with the crimes (no national data base, no DNA testing etc); the justice system is totally ineffectual, witnesses are too afraid to speak out; many believe that the police are themselves involved. Of more than 2000 documented murders of women during the last 4 years only a handful of the perpetrators have been brought to justice.

The words of the grieving mother of Stephanie Lopez reflect this climate of fear: "I don't want anyone to investigate my daughter's murder, I have other children to think about".

THE IMPUNITY OF GENERATIONS OF KILLERS

Explanations behind the ever increasing levels of violence are complex and varied but perhaps at the heart of the problem lies the impunity that continues to be enjoyed by generations of killers. Of the hundreds of massacres carried out during the civil war involving many women and children, only a handful of the lowest ranking killers (civil defense patrollers) have been brought to justice.

By any reckoning levels of violence in Guatemala are high; the number of men violently murdered is 8 times that of women, but the gap is closing.   

Many blame the maras or street gangs made up of the young, poor, unemployed and desperate, fuelled by drug trafficking and common crime. Recently their numbers have been swelled by gang members deported from the USA.

Domestic violence, both physical and psychological, is widespread and not classed as a criminal offence. Abuse of women is both private and public spheres is common. Indigenous women suffer particularly; in traditional Mayan communities a rapist is spared punishment if he marries his victim. Young women over protected by strong catholic and evangelical beliefs are hopelessly ignorant about sex and vulnerable to exploitation, prostitution is widespread.

More chillingly a recent report by FIDH (Federacion Internacional de Derechos Humanos) believes that clandestine organizations who have worked behind the scenes for decades, proping up unpopular governments, the wealthy elite and keeping popular protest in check, may well be behind this plague of violence.

HR defenders are all too familiar with their unmarked cars with polarized windows that many say have been seen at the scene of these crimes.

It would appear that these organizations want to send a message of terror and intimidation to all women.

EXTRAORDINARILY BRAVE GUATEMALAN WOMEN

Against all the odds there are extraordinarily brave Guatemalan women who put their own lives on the line to provide attention to victim's families, to draw the media attention to the situation, to provide physical and psychological attention to survivors of violence and to pressure the government into doing its job.

The documentary briefly mentions the work of the women of the grassroots organization Ixqik, in the department of the Peten, who are working to train a regional network of promoters who will provide support and access to legal attention for victims and their families in remote rural communities. Many women's organizations have long worked on empowering women to enable them to say no to violence. In Guatemala City AMES - Associacion de Mujeres en Solidaridad campaigns with other members of the Red de no Violencia and provides support to victims.

Every year grass roots organizations join together to march to the central park in Guatemala City where they create a moving memorial to the dead with photos, candles and flowers. Their slogan is: "Por la vida de las mujeres - ni una muerte mas" (In defense of women's lives; Not one more death).

You can download the latest version of the UK newsletter from Rights Action here.

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The following is a transcript of parts of the documentary.

We just received the following great news from Guillermo Chen Morales, Director General, of Fundación Nueva Esperanza, Río Negro in Guatemala.

The following pictures are from an article that appeared recently in Nuestro Diario:

Peace Brigades International produce a really great informative bulletin with news on many key human rights issues in Guatemala today. It's a great resource based on extensive research and first hand interviews with key actors in Guatemala. It's made available on this blog with permission from PBI.

The May issue covers the following issues:


PBI is an international non-governmental organisation (NGO) which protects human rights and promotes nonviolent transformation of conflicts. At the request of threatened social organisations it provides international accompaniment and observation. The presence of international volunteers backed by a support network helps to deter violence. In this way, PBI creates space for local activists to work for social justice and human rights.

Check out their website for more information.

Post by Tim Hollins - (fourth post in a series) 1 2 3 4 5

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Tim Hollins is a long standing supporter of GSN and has been active in promoting solidarity in the UK with Central America. In the following series of articles, Tim gives an account of 15 years of grass roots solidarity with the former refugee community of Nueva Esperanza, El Salvador. It is not intended as a “model” for others to follow, but merely as a record of some of the successes and difficulties that have been encountered in this period, and some reflections on what makes solidarity effective and some of the traps that lie in wait...

 

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Popular Education

It is worth mentioning some of the principles of so-called 'popular' education. This has its roots in the work of Paolo Freire, seeing education not as an end in itself but rather as an agent for political and social change. In El Salvador the roots of the popular education movement are (like so much) in the armed struggle of the 1980s. The young people who went to the hills to fight (in defence of their communities and organisations, and to achieve revolution) were an incredible social mix – from the sons and daughters of the poorest campesino families to students, trade unionists, nurses, teacher, priests etc.

The levels of education varied massively – and as part of the goal of transforming society, those with education set about organising classes for those with none. Of course this was during quiet periods – at any moment combat, bombardment, escape, death were liable to intervene. With virtually no resources, systems evolved to teach literacy, numeracy, ideology, to those who had none (and agricultural skills and campesino culture in the opposite direction). All of this was based on the reality of peoples’ lives, starting from their own experience, showing that these skills would be a part of liberation itself.

Today 'popular' education has evolved considerably, developing into part of the state education system. Indeed one of the long running debates within Nueva Esperanza has been the need to engage with and eventually become part of the formal state sector, whilst attempting to maintain something of the original ideals of a school that would educate their children about the realities and injustices of their lives – and indeed the wider world. Ideologues would have the children educated as revolutionaries with no relevant qualifications; pragmatists would accept all the Ministry’s demands so that there would be formal recognition of the children’s achievements. The reality has been an uneasy compromise, with a change of school name (from “Heroes and Martyrs School” to “Nueva Esperanza School”), an acceptance of the local national curriculum and state recognition of all achievements, whilst attempting to maintain a progressive view of community life, and the rights and responsibilities of each community member – child or adult.

As another example of this tension, the Ministry has provided a series of external teachers to work in the school. These have ranged from the naïve to the down right hostile. The fact that the current head teacher is a member of the community shows that they have generally been successful in wresting decision making power away from those who have been appointed from outside.

Eco Tourism

During a visit in 2001, the two founder members of the support group had a fascinating discussion with members of the junta directiva about the ways in which projects could be funded without the involvement of NGOs who often have their own agendas to serve. Eventually the idea of organising visiting groups from Europe and the US emerged – they could have a wonderful 2 or 3 weeks experience of campesino life, and pay a premium above the costs of hosting them to the community to generate a profit. We organised the first pilot trip in 2003, and the second in 2005. Both were successful in their overall aims, were received very positively by the community, and the participants (4 in the first trip, 7 in the second) all had a wonderful experience. This whole project also probably deserves a history of its own, suffice it to say that at the time of writing the third trip (in 2007) is at the pre-planning stage. Again the principal of organisation and the project being community led is vital – imposing our views will not work, working closely together (even using phone calls to discuss arrangements directly) and being sensitive to the needs of the community creates viable solidarity based on mutual self respect.

Conclusion

In 2006 the school in Nueva Esperanza flourishes. To a great extent this has been due to the support of international solidarity (whether from the UK, Germany, Canada, Puerto Rico or elsewhere) – teachers and parents will always say “without our international supporters there would be no education here.” Contributing to the wages of the community teachers over a period of 15 years has allowed them to dedicate their lives to not only teaching year by year, but also to becoming trained, recognised and qualified, to the point where all bar two of the community teachers receive a state salary, and these two receive a community wage very close to the level of the state salary. Without this regular financial support, growing slowly but surely over this period, all of them would eventually have had to abandon teaching, to seek work to support their own young families. With the support, they have been able to provide stability, experience and expertise to develop the school, its resources and its ethos.

Of the original 12 teachers, 10 have worked consistently over the period, only one has dropped out of education. Recently the school achieved 9 out of 10 in the (state run) equivalent of an OFSTED inspection (they have those too!)

We have only provided the support and the confidence. They have done the work. They have had to build and develop a school in a chaotic post war situation, in a country where rural education was viewed with suspicion where it existed. They have  had to survive the devastating consequence of a series of natural disasters, each one a potentially crushing blow. They have had to deal with an openly hostile Ministry, and overcome every obstacle put in their way, eventually achieving the recognition of incredibly high standards though sheer will power and refusal to accept the insults and hindrances. They have had to believe that the goal was always just, and that nothing could deflect them from it.

And of course they will have to continue to strive for their ever present aim – a transformed society where social justice is a given, where education for all is a human right, and an educated campesino class will never again be treated in the same ways they were before the war. A society where new skills will contribute to the ongoing development of Nueva Esperanza, the Bajo Lempa region and indeed the whole of the country of El Salvador.

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You can read all the posts in this series here: 1 2 3 4 5

If you're interested in visiting and supporting the community of Nueva Esperanza: “El Salvador for Beginners” Ethical/Eco Visit (2 weeks) Easter 2007

The Goat Boy

17 year-old Mayan, Miguel, is living rough in Guatemala City trying to scrape together a living through street-trading to support both himself and his mother, Dominga. She is up in the Guatemalan highlands, fighting for compensation for atrocities suffered during the 1980s civil war.

Miguel’s twin sister Jacinta is cleaning houses on the other side of town and falling in love with her employer’s son, the glamorous Rafael, whose mother just happens to be the very state prosecutor opposing the highlands activists. In the meantime, a group of rather cynical Western journalists chart the progress of the court case, and a group of ‘magical realist’ goats provide a running commentary.

The tale told in Spanish and English is one of moral ambiguity that poses questions about the extent to which principles can be compromised for the sake of family loyalty, survival and power. Despite all this, it is also a comedy in which love triumphs!

Post by Tim Hollins - (third post in a series) 1 2 3 4 5

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Tim Hollins is a long standing supporter of GSN and has been active in promoting solidarity in the UK with Central America. In the following series of articles, Tim gives an account of 15 years of grass roots solidarity with the former refugee community of Nueva Esperanza, El Salvador. It is not intended as a “model” for others to follow, but merely as a record of some of the successes and difficulties that have been encountered in this period, and some reflections on what makes solidarity effective and some of the traps that lie in wait...

 

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Is it a Revolution?

Well, it’s not the crushing euphoric  triumph that the FMLN used to dream of during the 80s, on the lines of Cuba and Nicaragua. The extreme right – ARENA – continue to hold political power, despite the space opening up for the FMLN to make serious inroads into power as a political party. In some ways the social change is more deep rooted than in Nicaragua, since it does not rely on governmental power, but rather grass roots organisations and communities.

It is never easy to struggle 'against the tide', and for each step forward there is half a step backwards. Nevertheless the vision (some would say unrealisable) of a just society  remains intact. Their belief that by organising their own lives as best they can they are stronger than by bowing down to the forces of globalisation – all this means that in some way, there is revolutionary change happening in El Salvador. They say things like “we built a water system so we have clean water – that’s a revolution – we have a school, a clinic, above all we have land to farm – that’s a revolution”.

Practical Solidarity

Back to the funding of education. The school expanded dramatically (with buildings funded by Canada and Puerto Rico) and now has over 300 local children – half from other local communities. We continued over the period of the 90s to attract new monthly donors, some friends of friends, some who had visited the community. The monthly total crept up from £50 to £150, on to £200 and finally settled at around £300 per month.

There were several advantages of this system of monthly regular standing order donations. Firstly for the community it was a regular and predictable source of funding for education – enabling planning and prioritizing on their part. We felt it was inappropriate to require or suggest certain activities – purchase of materials, payment of wages etc. believing firmly that they needed to have the freedom to invest according to their educational priorities as they saw them. All we did insist on was a regular update / set of accounts showing how the monies sent had been invested.

This too was not without problems. Whilst putting the onus on the school and the community to make democratic decisions, there were at times internal conflicts – should they raise community wages (approx £40 per month in the 90s) or purchase equipment? A couple of times we were asked by email what we felt was the best use of the funding.

We felt unable (and in truth unwilling) to get involved in these decisions, since it would have meant siding with one side of the argument and against the other. In the end agreements were reached within the community, and the school always made it through to the next year, all the while making a significant contribution to tackling illiteracy – by preventing it’s start in school years. With very high academic standards, the school was soon turning out a number of graduates able to enter state university (funded by solidarity grants from Germany, Spain and elsewhere). By 1999 the community had fundraised for, built, staffed and had registered an “Instituto” (6th Form College), so that young people from the whole of the zone of the Bajo Lempa could study “bachillerato” (A-level equivalent). 

It is worth noting at this point that there is a policy adhered to to this day that every child attends school for free – there is no charge for attending. Despite this there can be problems for some families, who feel that a child working for some small income is more important than continuing education. A recently established hardship fund (again using funds donated from international groups) allows small grants to be given to the poorest families to buy shoes, clothes, pencils, etc. Some of our funding was used to help the teacher (by now in their 20s) to train at the University at weekends. After 6 or 7 years of part-time study during the late 90s, all 10 of them graduated. They had been promised state salaries as soon as they were qualified from World Bank funding.

However this took several years of argument to appear. In 2003, one of the former refugees, Deysi, was appointed head teacher, and others were awarded state salaries – the goal of self sufficiency was at hand. As with all stages of the process, this was not an easy achievement – at every stage the Ministry of Education has sought to denigrate the efforts of campesino educators (not just in Nueva Esperanza, nor even the zone of the Bajo Lempa, but indeed throughout the country). The “mainstream” state assumption is that firstly this kind of popular education is backward, since campesinos are by definition culturally & educationally backward (why bother educating stupid semi-humans?) and also subversive, since they’re clearly a bunch of heathen communists brainwashing children into becoming godless followers of Che Guevara.

The reality (as we have seen) is that so called 'popular' education (i.e. stemming from the people’s needs, rather than imposed from the needs of the landowning class) is incredibly successful (academically and socially), in an area where in previous generations illiteracy and virtual slavery in a feudal economic system were the norm.

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You can read all the posts in this series here: 1 2 3 4 5

If you're interested in visiting and supporting the community of Nueva Esperanza: “El Salvador for Beginners” Ethical/Eco Visit (2 weeks) Easter 2007

Post by Tim Hollins - (second post in a series) 1 2 3 4 5

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Tim Hollins is a long standing supporter of GSN and has been active in promoting solidarity in the UK with Central America. In the following series of articles, Tim gives an account of 15 years of grass roots solidarity with the former refugee community of Nueva Esperanza, El Salvador. It is not intended as a “model” for others to follow, but merely as a record of some of the successes and difficulties that have been encountered in this period, and some reflections on what makes solidarity effective and some of the traps that lie in wait...

 

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One huge dilemma was how to manage the money – how could we discuss how they would invest it? Corruption is endemic within Central American societies, and solidarity is not immune. However the community’s decision to put women in charge of all project management (“they’re more honest than we men – they won’t go and drink it away like we might …….”) gave us confidence. In the end, it was a blind leap of faith – and it paid off.

The community eventually replied that young people from the community had taken on the job of setting up the school – under the trees. They would use our pitifully small sums for resources and pay a small community wage for each hour taught. They were well under way.

More slide shows, more letters, more arm twisting, £42, £52, £55, £70 a month. Within 18 months we made a return visit, and spent three weeks marveling at incredible progress, a vision intact and developing, and discussing the development of education with the young teachers, parents, and Junta Directiva (Executive Council). Suffice it to say that this gave us further inspiration to come back to Britain and carry on fundraising. Coincidentally during this visit we met a young Australian teacher, who’d been traveling in the region, and who had decided to stay and work in the school.

Good idea? Bad idea.

She had the best of intentions, however was totally unable to see that Australian solutions to Salvadorean problems were inappropriate. She would argue forcefully that “they were wrong and she was right”. When they disagreed she accused them of incompetence! In the end she had to go. This confirmed to us that our efforts were probably better employed raising solidarity in Britain, rather than staying to work in the community.

Back in Britain again, we continued with the slide shows, and the writing of news updates. Another example to learn from: friends in Birmingham had been supporting a rural school in Uganda with a monthly donation. They had heard nothing for 18 months, were not even sure if the school still existed. In the end, they cancelled their support, and doubled their contribution to Nueva Esperanza – “at least you keep us well informed of how they are getting on, you go and visit and bring back news, we trust your information – and your spirit of solidarity.”  

After 3 years we were up to £150 a month, a few had dropped out under financial pressures here, but more had signed up to take their place. There was no substitute for the hard graft of looking for potential donors wherever they might be, and “giving them the pitch”. For every one who said yes, there were five who said, 'maybe, maybe not, don’t think so, no'.  

Resolving Crises

In 1996 we hit our first crisis. The community, like many others, had suddenly been landed with a huge bill to “buy” the agricultural land they had been granted as the land reform part of the peace process. At the very same time a German organisation had just donated enough for the running costs of the school for a year. We proposed diverting our funds from education to land purchase. An emergency meeting was called, the teachers didn’t turn up. Tensions within the community between former refugees and former combatants were boiling over, the debate became fierce, our naïve thought to help in the crisis became a source of recrimination, the teachers sulked, and there was even a hint of violent consequences from the ex guerillas…  An uneasy agreement was reached, (without the teachers),  the matter settled for the time being, we escaped back to Britain, likening the experience to being caught in the middle of a bitter argument between Sinn Fein and the IRA…

On the same visit we had read (in Spanish) the recently published book of oral history of the members of the community “De La Memoria Nace la Esperanza”. We read it at one go, and immediately thought we ought to publish an English translation. This side project could have a whole article devoted to the twists and turns in a whole new area – publishing – about which we knew less than zero. Suffice it to say that “Like Gold in the Fire” was finally published in June 1999, and launched at the Central America Solidarity conference that year. Our involvement in ESNET (El Salvador Network) and previous conferences led to the conference organising committee agreeing to invite one of the teachers (now back to being best friends!!) to participate in the 1999 Conference. Santiago Vasquez Sanchez was elected by the community to come to Britain for a two week speaking tour which led directly to a number of new monthly donors.   

Music and Culture

Our good friend Katherine Rogers, at the time a recent music graduate, first visited the community and region (The Bajo Lempa –  Lower Lempa) in 1996, and also immediately decided to commit to solidarity. She founded “Music for Hope” later that year, raising funds to support youth music, drama and community leadership. Again this amazingly successful project has its own history. A youth band from Nueva Esperanza, who called themselves “Lluvia de Esperanza” (Rain of Hope) toured Britain in 1999 as part of a wider cultural project, and together we recorded, published and sold a great CD of their music live.

Natural Disasters

Late October 1998. News bulletins. Hurricane off the coast of Honduras. Next day, Hurricane Mitch over Honduras, next day Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua devastated, large parts of El Salvador flooded as massive rain waters poured through the rivers. Nueva Esperanza and the whole of the Bajo Lempa region flooded to a depth of 5 feet – all crops lost, most animals drowned, all wells polluted.

All solidarity networks sprang into action, raising monies as we’d never done before, using email to send and receive huge quantities of information instantly. This three month long emergency strengthened our links to the community (“you helped us out again when we’d lost nearly everything”), it’s a friendship through thick and thin.

January 2001. Severe earthquake.

Many dead, (though not in the zone of the Bajo Lempa) structural damage. Fortunately it struck on a Saturday morning when most people were out and about, not sleeping. More emergency fundraising, concerts, events. The link became even stronger – “You helped us out yet again. We hope one day we’ll be able to help you out...” Of course they do, all the time, they give us inspiration when things seem hard to get going in Britain, when politics looks depressing. They have never accepted defeat, just got organised again, and struggled on to the next victory.

In 2005, further flooding led to loss of crops and animals, again fundraising was the most practical method of support, allowing the community to prioritise and survive the immediate crisis, whilst investing for the future.

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You can read all the posts in this series here: 1 2 3 4 5

If you're interested in visiting the community of Nueva Esperanza: “El Salvador for Beginners” Ethical/Eco Visit (2 weeks) Easter 2007

Post by Tim Hollins (first post in a series of five) 1 2 3 4 5

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Tim Hollins is a long standing supporter of GSN and has been active in promoting solidarity in the UK with Central America. In the following series of articles, Tim gives an account of 15 years of grass roots solidarity with the former refugee community of Nueva Esperanza, El Salvador. It is not intended as a “model” for others to follow, but merely as a record of some of the successes and difficulties that have been encountered in this period, and some reflections on what makes solidarity effective and some of the traps that lie in wait...

 

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Background

The modern day community has its roots in the outbreak of civil war in the late 1970s. Campesino communities throughout the country began to organise to demonstrate around simple demands : fair pay for hours worked, land reform. In Nicaragua the Sandinistas were engaged in overthrowing their corrupt right wing (pro US) government, the Cuban Revolution was already nearly 20 yrs old.  Protest in El Salvador was met with state repression, repression with armed struggle. For a detailed account, read “Like Gold in the Fire”, published by the support group. Suffice it to say here that the villagers from San Miguelito escaped the brutality around them for a nightmare refuge, followed by exile in newly liberated Nicaragua.

The two founder members of the support group, Maureen Russell and Tim Hollins first met these refugees 10 years later, in 1990, in Managua, Nicaragua,   through political work for the FMLN coordinated by Armando Martinez, a disabled ex-combatant. Within a few months Armando’s role changed to general coordinator (along with his cousin, Gloria Nuñez) of the repatriation of some 350 refugees, (approximately 80 families), who were demanding the right to return to El Salvador as a Community. It was an extraordinary experience to meet these amazing people who were so resourceful in solving endless problems through discussion, plans and action, - in short through organisation.

Repatriation

The Repatriation Committee asked the group of internationals for support in their campaign, and we raised funds, supported marches and occupations, protested by fax to the UNHCR in Geneva. After countless difficulties, all eventually overcome, the repatriation was arranged, and the internationals were invited to the airport to see off the families on their odyssey. The invitation to visit the new community, now named “Nueva Esperanza” – New Hope – wherever it ended up! – was warm and genuine, and we decided to journey into the war zone to see how they were getting on, some six weeks later (June 1991)    

First Visit

Having sneaked through the army checkpoint when they were at lunch, we found ourselves lurching down a quagmire of a “road”, eventually making it to the land being cleared by machete. Everyone was working, building champas (improvised shelters) planting crops, organising work teams, planning structures, raising money for food, singing songs of struggle through the nights. Sounds of combat could be heard in the distance. It all made a huge impression during our week long stay (as did the clouds of mosquitoes whose jungle home was being so rudely interrupted!). On our last morning, Armando called us into his champa and gave us a "Revolutionary pep talk” We were due to return to Britain soon, and he impressed on us that we could help the new Community survive and develop in many ways – but that we would have to work out what these were, since he was not able to assess what was possible in Britain. We pledged there and then to work in solidarity with the Community, and not to forget their struggle for survival in a tiny corner of El Salvador once we had returned home to the grey skies and material comforts of Britain. The people we had met had become friends, comrades, an inspiration. The Nueva Esperanza Support Group was born.

Back in Britain

We spent a good deal of time thinking through what kind of support we could realistically deliver – and the ethics and practicalities involved. We had seen fantastic projects in Nicaragua – and some total disasters too. Good will and good intentions are not enough. We had several false starts, approaching NGOs (CAFOD and OXFAM – they had their own priorities) and Trade Unions (NUT and NATFHE – ditto). Our first realistic plan was to raise a number of standing orders – from friends in work, with money and a conscience – we were aiming for the ambitious sum of £90 a month, a state teacher’s salary there. The community had clear plans for a primary school – but no resources whatsoever. As teachers we felt this was where we fitted in.

Through slide shows and events, and a fair bit of arm twisting and appealing to political mates, this got going - £10 a month, £20, £30 £35, £37, £40 a month. It was hard going. This model was not new, but like all the best ideas, nicked / adapted from a successful model we had seen work in Managua. A group of Italian women activists had become involved in supporting the “Casa de la Mujer” (Women’s Centre) in Bello Horizonte, Managua. They had returned to Italy and signed up a number of their friends and contacts to pay a monthly sum, and were funding three full time posts – lawyer, health worker and psychologist. These were Nicaraguan professional women, (Sandinistas) earning a living doing the jobs they were trained for in a political setting with no other sources of funding. It worked – brilliantly.         

Meanwhile back in Britain, communication with the community  pre-email was extremely difficult. Our only method of contact back to the Community was via faxes through Mexico – a long and uncertain chain. Within six months we had collected some funding, written several articles, spoken at meetings and organised a number of gatherings (mostly in Birmingham). Money was able to be sent in cash via a solidarity worker. Our funding was up and running.

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You can read all the posts in this series here: 1 2 3 4 5

If you're interested in visiting the community of Nueva Esperanza: “El Salvador for Beginners” Ethical/Eco Visit (2 weeks) Easter 2007

The Spring 2006 edition of the Central America Report is out now. It includes articles on:

* Rising feminicide- murders of women go unsolved
* Election interference - U.S. tries to keep put the FSLN
* Hurricane destruction- Guatemalan communities get back on their feet
* Coffee controversy- Nestle stirs up fairtrade debate

It costs just £2 and you'll be supporting UK solidarity with Central America. You can buy a copy of the magazine online via the Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign website.

Alternatively, when you become a member of the Guatemala Solidarity Network, you'll receive the two issues of Central America Report that are printed each year as part of your membership.

What is the Central America Report?

This bi-annual magazine is put together by journalists and activists working for social and economic justice in Central America. It has close ties with UK-based Central America solidarity organisations, including the Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign, the Guatemala Solidarity Network and the El Salvador Network. With access to the experiences of those working on the ground in Central America, the publication is a valuable source of information on the region.

The magazine provides coverage of the major political, economic, social and cultural issues affecting Central America. It also looks at the ways in which UK organisations are supporting Central American campaigns relating to improve human rights, environmental protection, trade justice and labour standards.

For more information about Central America Report and how to get hold of your copy: contact GSN at: gsn_mail [at] yahoo.com.

UPDATE: This event has been cancelled

"Guatemala : A Forgotten History"

Date - Monday 19th June
Time - 8.00pm – 10.00pm
Large Conference Hall, RISC, Reading International Solidarity Centre.

In association with the "Mayan Threads of Identity" exhibition members of the Guatemala Solidarity Network (GSN) will give some background about the country from which these beautiful textiles originate.

Gillian Horne and Jules Wilkinson will give an overview of recent Guatemalan history, which could fairly be described as the Americas' forgotten human rights tragedy. They will also describe the work of GSN, and in particular the accompaniment programme which supports Guatemalans who are trying to change their society for the better. The talk will be illustrated with slides.

There will also be the opportunity learn about and view the new exhibition on back strap weaving by the Mayan women of Guatemala and the context of their lives in Guatemala today, with Sandy Henderson, exhibition co-ordinator.

There will be refreshments including tequila and wine

There will be no charge for the talk and the first drink is gratis.

Please register a.s.a.p. if you wish to attend.   Contact – Barbara Lowe at RISC on 0118 9586692 and email – barbara [at] risc.org.uk

For further information about the exhibition please contact Sandy Henderson on 0208 802 1982 or email sandhend [at] dircon.co.uk

The RISC Conference Hall is wheelchair accessible.

For directions to RISC go to the website – www.risc.org.uk

RISC – 35-39 London Street, Reading RG1 4PS.