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Farewell to the Legendary Alfonso Bauer Paiz: Until Always Don Ponchito!

2011-07-13T15:53:00.003-06:00

Guatemala City, Guatemala.
July 12th, 2011.

The legendary Guatemalan lawyer and political activist, Alfonso Bauer Paiz, passed away at the age of 93 due to heart failure on Sunday, July 10th, 2011. Revered as an exemplary citizen and the last of an outstanding generation, Bauer Paiz held several official posts during the revolutionary governments of the so-called Guatemalan Spring between 1944 and 1954. Exiled for many years after the U.S.-led coup d’état in 1954 turned the country into a violent downward spiral that led to an eventual genocide, Bauer Paiz participated in the Latin American revolutionary processes in Chile, Cuba, Nicaragua, and eventually aided Guatemalan refugees in Mexico. Before his burial, the man lovingly known as “Don Ponchito” was paraded for one last time along the streets of Guatemala’s historic center.
Photograph of Alfonso Bauer Paiz during the March for Remembrance on June 30th, 2009.

Prior to the burial ceremony, an event in honor of Don Ponchito was held at the Paraninfo Cultural Center in Zone 1.

Don Ponchito’s widow, Miriam del Rosario Colón Arriaga de Bauer Paiz.

Miguel Ángel Albizures writes: “Another one of the great defenders of the rights of the people, the unbreakable Alfonso Bauer Paiz, he who defeated henchmen and served humbly the people of Guatemala, Chile, Cuba, Nicaragua, and particularly those who fled certain death in Guatemala by seeking refuge in Mexico.” (1)

Renowned Guatemalan writer and poet Carolina Escobar Sartí, niece of Alfonso Bauer Paiz.

Don Ponchito’s widow, Miriam del Rosario Colón Arriaga de Bauer Paiz.

“Attorney Bauer Paiz, I am in love with you!” Last words by Miriam del Rosario Colón Arriaga de Bauer Paiz to Don Ponchito’s coffin.

Images of Alfonso Bauer Paiz taken by MiMundo.org over the years:

Alfonso Bauer Paiz and Raúl Nájera of H.I.J.O.S. during an event commemorating National Day of the Detained-Disappeared. June 21, 2007.

Alfonso Bauer Paiz before the March for Remembrance. June 30th, 2007.

Alfonso Bauer Paiz during the March for Remembrance. June 30th, 2007.

Alfonso Bauer Paiz during the March for Remembrance. June 30th, 2007.

Alfonso Bauer Paiz speaks to the crowds after the March for Remembrance on June 30th, 2009. Event that coincided with the tenth anniversary of H.I.J.O.S., Bauer Paiz exhorted those in attendance: “Youth of today, the future is in your hands!”

Short reportage about Alfonso Bauer Paíz published in 2009 on TeleSur. Produced by Caracol Producciones, 3 minutes (Spanish only).

First segment of the 95 minute documentary Testimonio documenting the life of Alfonso Bauer Paiz. Produced and directed by Uli Stelzner, 2003 (in Spanish with English subtitles).
To watch the rest of the documentary’s segments in YouTube, click here.

Versión en español aquí.

1 http://www.elperiodico.com.gt/es/20110712/opinion/198009/

Outrage over the Murder of Protest Singer Facundo Cabral

2011-07-11T22:18:00.002-06:00

Guatemala City, Guatemala.
July 11th, 2011.

Guatemalans from all sectors of society expressed their outrage over the murder of Argentinean protest singer Facundo Cabral. Mr. Cabral was gunned down in Guatemala City on Saturday, July 9th, after performing two concerts in the country. The primary hypothesis claims the assassination was in fact directed at Henry Fariña, Nicaraguan promoter who brought Cabral to Central America. (1)
Nevertheless, Nobel Peace Prize recipient and presidential candidate Rigoberta Menchú assures Cabral “was murdered because of his political ideas and powerful music.” (2)

Following are images from the various vigils, protest marches and events that took place spontaneously this weekend in Guatemala City as a response to the shocking murder of the protest singer who was deemed “World Peace Messenger” in 1996 by UNESCO.

Night vigil at the central square.

“Please forgive us Argentina, please forgive us World.”

Mourners gather outside the funerary home where the body of Facundo Cabral was kept. The protest singer spent many years exiled in Mexico during Argentina’s last military dictatorship (1976-1983).

Writing on sidewalk at the scene of the crime reads: “Don’t cry for me Argentina, my soul is with you…”

"Facundo Lives!"

Protesters march from the scene of the crime to the central square. Sign reads: “Cabral: Thanks for your exemplary life. Murderers: You will never kill the ideas spawned by the good children of the world.”

Efraín Vázquez Barrios, 64, is originally from San Marcos and makes a living off selling hats and bandanas during protests, marches of all kind, and school parties and graduations. Mr. Vázquez Barrios claims to be a direct descendant to Justo Rufino Barrios, President of Guatemala from 1873 to 1885.

“Enough Guate! Get involved in the change!”

Events at the central square.

“I want to grow up in a Guatemala where I can be happy.”

Versión en español aquí.

1 http://www.prensalibre.com/noticias/justicia/violencia-henry-farrina-facundo_cabral_0_514748623.html
2 http://www.elmundo.es/america/2011/07/09/noticias/1310232766.html

March for Remembrance 2011: Genocide, the People will Judge You

2011-07-04T14:21:00.004-06:00

Guatemala City, Guatemala.
June 30th, 2011.

In Guatemala, June 30th is officially observed as Armed Forces Day. But since 2008, the military parade has ceased to march through the streets of the historical center in Guatemala City. Instead, the March for Remembrance has taken over Zone 1 for the fourth consecutive year to celebrate what many believe should more appropriately be deemed Heroes and Martyrs Day.

“The March for Remembrance: Genocide, the People will Judge You,” reads Raúl Nájera, founding member of H.I.J.O.S., “is a call to organize ourselves, to rebel against dispossession and oppression, to take our memory into the streets, and from there, from that public space that has always been denied to us, to carry a battle fueled by the people’s history against the economic and military powers that be.”
To read the entire communiqué by H.I.J.O.S. (in Spanish) click here.

Street vendors prepare products to sell during the march. On this occasion, members from the informal economic sector of society who struggle to survive sell handkerchiefs and hats with mottoes suiting the occasion: “We demand Justice!” or “No more impunity”.

Blanca Rosa Quiroa de Hernández, mother of Oscar David Hernández who was detained-disappeared in 1984. Doña Blanca is a founding member of the Mutual Support Group (GAM) and the Association for Detained-Disappeared Family Members of Guatemala (FAMDEGUA). To read more about her case please see the photo essay: Letter to a Forcibly Disappeared Son.

A participant carries a poster of murdered Bishop Gerardi. For more information, please see the photo essay: Monsignor Gerardi: 10 Years of Martyrdom.

“We neither forget nor forgive. If alive they took them, alive we want them back!”

"Where are they?"

“When you vote, do not forget me… No person guilty of genocide in public office. Period!” Slogan from a campaign protesting former General Otto Perez Molina’s current candidacy for president in the upcoming September elections.

“The return of Ubico: He who dares criticize me dies.”

Pamphlets distributed during the march alluding to Perez Molina’s presidential campaign: “If the options are chafas… do not vote.” [In Guatemala, the word chafa is a contemptuous term for military personnel. In Mexico, chafa is used for objects of very low quality. The latter definition is also widely understood in Guatemala.]

Family members of Luz Haydee Méndez, detained-disappeared in 1984. For more information on her case, please read the following photo essays:
Offensive for Remembrance: Where are the Disappeared?
HIJOS: Public Poster Campaigns

Image of Victor Leiva, alias El Mono (The Monkey), hangs outside the headquarters of Caja Ludica, street art collective where he participated. Victor was murdered by unknown assailants on February 3rd, 2011, just a few blocks away. Please follow this link on Facebook for more on his case.

“Military Service, Cerebral Death.”

For more information on the March for Remembrance in previous years and the struggle to eradicate the military parade, please view the following photo essays:

2007: The March for Remembrance Halts the Military Parade

2008: Never Again a Military Parade

2009: From Memory to Resistance: 10th Anniversary of HIJOS

Video documenting the march produced by Asociación Comunicarte.

Versión en español aquí.

LGBT Pride Parade in Guatemala City

2011-07-01T00:17:00.005-06:00

Guatemala City, Guatemala.
June 25th, 2011.

Images form the XI LGBT Pride Parade in Guatemala City.

Before the parade began, participants sang the Guatemalan national anthem.

Bootleg CD and DVD vendors dance to the music from the event.

Versión en español aquí.

Former General Hector Lopez Fuentes: First arrest in connection to Genocide in Guatemala

2011-06-21T12:14:00.011-06:00

Guatemala City, Guatemala.
June 20th, 2011.
Issue: Genocide / Justice / Post-War

Today, June 20th, 2011, former General Hector Mario Lopez Fuentes, accused of genocide against the Ixil Mayan people during 1982 and ‘83, made his initial court appearance three days after his arrest.

Lopez Fuentes served as Guatemala’s military Chief of Staff, the third-highest-ranking official in the country, during the de facto regime of Efrain Rios Montt. Lopez Fuentes, standing in the front row alongside Rios Montt, is circled in this Jean-Marie Simon image, circa 1982.

“The Military Chief of Staff is responsible for the command, organization, training, education, discipline, conduct, strategic and tactical application of Guatemala’s Armed Forces.” (1)

Lopez Fuentes, 81 years old, is accused by the Public Prosecutor’s bureau for human rights “for over ten thousand murders, nine thousand forcibly displaced persons, and numerous rapes against women in the Maya Ixil region - all crimes took place between March 1982 and October 1983. According to Manuel Vasquez, public prosecutor in charge of the case, the crimes occurred through the implementation of the Sofia, Victoria 82 and Firmeza 83 military campaigns. All three strategic operations were created and carried out while Lopez Fuentes acted as the Armed Forces’ Chief of Staff.” (2)

“Lopez Fuentes’ arrest takes place eleven years after a judicial process was initiated by wartime victims’ family members. Among the evidence included are surviving victims’ testimonies in addition to both reports from the Historical Clarification Commission (CEH) and the Recovery of Historical Memory (REMHI).” (3)

Dozens of wartime victims’ family members filled the courtroom to witness the historic court appearance of Lopez Fuentes, without a doubt the highest-ranking official detained on genocide charges. The always-present Marylena Bustamante attended the event along with a laminated photograph of her detained-disappeared brother Emil.

“One of the cases on which Lopez Fuentes is charged on details the murder of at least 53 people in the villages of Chel, Xesayi and Xaxmoxan, all in Chajul, Quiche, from April to October, 1983.” (4)

The following photo essays display a post-exhumation burial ceremony for wartime victims carried out in Xaxmoxan, Chajul, on January 2007:
The Martyrs are Home
The People of Xaxmoxan

Versión en español aquí.

1 “Estado Mayor de la Defensa Nacional de Guatemala”.
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estado_Mayor_de_la_Defensa_Nacional_de_Guatemala
2 Galeano, Gladys. “Responsabilizan de más de diez mil muertes a ex Jefe de Estado Mayor de la Defensa.” elPeriodico. Guatemala, June 18, 2011.
http://www.elperiodico.com.gt/es/20110618/pais/197005/
3 “Ex general guatemalteco declara a la justicia por crímenes de lesa humanidad”.
http://www.abn.info.ve/node/63521
4 Op. Cit. Galeano.

Transitions: Violence, Disability and Vindication

2011-02-18T07:29:00.023-06:00

Antigua, Sacatepéquez, Guatemala.
December 3rd, 2010.
Issue: Violence & Society

In Guatemala, the post-war years continue to ratify the violent legacy from 36 years of brutal war. Murder statistics for the first month of 2011 continue a troublesome trend: 533 violent deaths, most of them by firearm. That is over 17 per day in a country of only 13 million people. (1)

Yet many victims of violence do not perish. Instead, their lives are tragically altered forever. Since 1996, the Antigua-based organization Transitions, has provided youth with disabilities indispensable services involving physical recovery, mental health, education, job training, employment, and above all, social reintegration. Some members suffer from congenital diseases or have been disabled from accidents. But the vast majority has survived a violent attack and now faces the steep challenge of gaining independence and reintegrating in a society indifferent to their special needs.

Transitions’ wheelchair workshop currently employs 15 youth. Most are disabled young men who initially joined Transitions through the education or rehabilitation programs.

The workshop, unique in the region, produces six different models of wheelchairs for various uses. Some chairs are donated from foreign countries and fixed or modified in the workshop, but members of Transitions make most wheelchairs from scratch. Materials used for the construction of the chairs may include recycled pieces from old chairs, bicycles or even scrap.

At the age of 14, Alex Gálvez (left) was confused for a gang member and shot near his home. After struggling to stay alive for many years and suffering from pressure sensitive sores, Alex received medical treatment in the United States thanks to the sponsorship of U.S. citizen John Bell. Once back in Guatemala, Alex realized many victims of violence were not as fortunate as had been. His eagerness to help other disabled youth led to the foundation of Transitions in 1996 with John Bell.

According to Alex Gálvez, “mental and physical recoveries pose a bigger challenge for those of us who live in countries where there are practically no services available for people with disabilities. In 1994, the Pan-American Health Organization estimated that rehabilitation services for disabled people in developing countries only meet between one and three percent of the demand.”

Luis Enrique Chupán Castañeda, who suffered a motorcycle accident in 2008, tests the Leverage Freedom Chair (LFC). Developed in 2008 by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the LFC is described as a “lever powered mobility aid for developing countries”, particularly on uneven surfaces. Transitions has partnered with MIT as one of the few workshops around the world able to produce the LFC and provide input on ways to continue improving this innovative wheelchair. (2)

German Chub Choc (left) and Vinicio Cabrera (right), both paraplegics due to firearm wounds, are relatively new to the Transitions workshop. German, originally from El Estor, Izabal, was playing soccer on a Sunday afternoon in September 2009 when a stray bullet from a shooting spree nearby severed his spine. On February 2009, assailants shot Vinicio outside his home in Antigua during a botched robbery of his motorcycle.

Juan Chiti was held up and shot while running during the annual September 15th Independence Day torch relay near his hometown of Santa Cruz Quiché. Serious injuries left him paraplegic after barely surviving the attack. Juan has been a staff member of Transitions for over ten years and Alex Gálvez describes him as “fully independent, studies English, and is a recognized leader in Guatemala who has helped and motivated hundreds of disabled people over the years.”

Since 2002, Transitions’ Prosthetics and Orthotics Clinic has equipped and trained over 400 patients. Nacho, 18, lost both arms in a corn grinder accident as a child. He first joined Transitions a decade ago as the beneficiary of an educational scholarship. Today, Nacho works in the wheelchair workshop and also trains patients on the use of upper limb prosthetic use.

Transitions also operates a small graphic arts, desktop publishing, and offset printing enterprise. The print shop functions both as a disabilities job-training program and an income-generating project. Earnings are used to cover training costs, printed material costs, and small salaries for the employees.

Alex Gálvez with members of the Special Education Program during an event commemorating the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, held last December 3rd. The Escuelita (or little school, as it’s affectionately called) offers education to children with special needs from low-income households in the neighboring indigenous community of San Antonio Aguas Calientes. Transitions is continually looking for individual sponsorships for students. For more information, please contact development@transitionsfoundation.org.

“The results of armed violence go beyond the obvious physical injuries,” explains Alex Gálvez, “they also greatly affect mental health and socio-economic conditions both for the survivors and their families… [Nevertheless], despite the difficulties, a disability does not necessarily mean that life is over.”

Activities involving the wheelchair basketball team reflect the general philosophy behind Transitions. “Besides their recreational value,” continues Alex Gálvez, “sports provide people with disabilities with self-confidence, higher self-esteem, a better health, and ultimately provide a cornerstone for individual independence.”

The team, which scrimmages every Friday afternoon, has gained notoriety throughout the region. The current Guatemalan National Wheelchair Basketball Team, made up mostly of Transitions’ members, is the current Central American & Caribbean champion and will participate for the first time in the upcoming Parapan-American Games to be held in Guadalajara, Mexico, in November 2011.

Hugo Leonel Andrino, who suffered from poliomyelitis during childhood, co-founded Transitions with Alex Gálvez and John Bell. His leadership and vast experience manufacturing wheelchairs has been key to the success of the workshop. In addition, Hugo Leonel is widely considered Central America’s best wheelchair basketball player.

Twenty-three year old Diego Armando Marroquín Estrada (right) signed a professional soccer contract at the age of 18. He played in Guatemala’s top division with Deportivo Antigua, C.S.D. Comunicaciones, and was a key player with the Under-20 Guatemalan National Team during the 2007 Olympic soccer qualifiers. On March 2008, Diego suffered five bullet wounds during a robbery. “I never thought about playing basketball,” Diego states while smiling broadly. “But now, I love it! The truth is that my life has not changed much since the incident, because deep down, I am still the same kid.”

Juan Chiti and Alex Gálvez battle for the ball during an inner squad scrimmage.

“Small arms can be purchased cheaply on the streets,” comments Alex Gálvez. “Poverty, violence, and fear caused by decades of war still bear heavy consequences on everyday life for Guatemalans… Surgery and therapy healed my body, but sports and art helped me envision a future for myself.”

Over the years, Transitions has provided wheelchairs for hundreds of low-income disabled Guatemalans. A designated gift of $450 will provide a new wheelchair and a gift of $150 will refurbish an existing wheelchair.

For more information, please visit:
http://www.transitionsfoundation.org/index.php/en

Flash version of the photo essay, click here.
Version en español aquí.

This photos essay was made possible with the financial support from the Daniele Agostino Derossi Foundation, as well as the editorial assistance from Angela J. Bunch C.

01 “Violencia marca inicio de año”. Prensa Libre. February 4th, 2011.
http://www.prensalibre.com/noticias/Violencia-marca-inicio-ano_0_421157918.html
02 Leveraged Freedom Chair (LFC) Website. http://mlab.mit.edu/lfc/Welcome.html

Maximón and the Worship of Saint Simon in Itzapa

2010-10-30T23:37:00.005-06:00

San Andrés Itzapa. Chimaltenango, Guatemala.
October 28th, 2010.
Issue: Society / Cultural Syncretism

One of the region’s most interesting and perplexing expressions of Mayan-Catholic syncretism involves the worship of Maximón or Saint Simon. Every October 28th, catholic feast day for Saint Simon, thousands of pilgrims from all over Guatemala and neighboring countries flock to San Andres Itzapa to worship the effigy lovingly known as Monchito.

Multimedia slideshow with extra images and live music recorded during the event: Milagroso Señor San Simón, or Miraculous Lord Saint Simon, by Mariachi Los Aventureros.

The atmosphere resembles other town fairs: couples sway back and forth to the sound of a live orchestra blasting cumbias, fireworks explode, kids run, families eat grilled corn on the cob, drunks stagger. Nevertheless, the devotion to San Simón is no joke. Outside the chapel, devotees carry out spiritual cleansings, or limpias, and numerous Mayan ceremonies before entering.

Aq’ab’al Audelino Sajvín explains: “In oral tradition, Maximón represents Kaji’ Imox, the last ruler of the Maya Kaqchikel people [during the Spanish conquest], who was tied, tortured and murdered. This entire episode is known as Xkiyüt Xkixïm/Ximon, which is surely why they call him Maximón: ma refers to a male person in the Maya Kaqchikel language, and ximón means he who is tied up.”

According to Aq’ab’al Audelino Sajvín the syncretism between Maximón and Saint Simon began when “the Christian [conquistadores] realized they could not eradicate the image of the great protector of the people. Hence, they began to promote the idea of Maximón as being the same as Saint Simon, often related with Saint Jude, a treacherous figure.”

I have come from a faraway land, to worship Lord San Simón,
I have come from a faraway land, to worship Lord San Simón,
When the bells toll, my soul fills with glee,
When the bells toll, the whole world begins to pray:

Our father who art in heaven, I have come to sing you a Rosary,
Miraculous Lord San Simón, I have come to bestow you my soul.
Don’t forget your country and children; don’t abandon your people,
Miraculous Lord San Simón, scatter blessings throughout.

From Honduras and Nicaragua, people come across borders,
Mexicans come singing, Guatemalans and Salvadorians,
They are many the pilgrims, who visit your sacred temple,
When the bells toll, the whole world begins to pray:

Our father who art in heaven, I have come to sing you a Rosary,
Miraculous Lord San Simón, I have come to bestow you my soul.
Don’t forget your country and children; don’t abandon your people,
Miraculous Lord San Simón, scatter blessings throughout.

The image of San Simón in San Andrés Itzapa.

Mariachi Los Aventureros, from Jutiapa, Guatemala, make the pilgrimage each year to thank and worship San Simón.

Devotees wait for their turn to approach San Simón.

In compliance with regional Catholic tradition, tablets and plaques thanking San Simón for granted miracles fill the walls of the chapel.

San Andrés Xecul, Totonicapán

The phenomenon of Maximón is not unique to San Andrés Itzapa. Another image of San Simón sits in its own chapel in the town of San Andrés Xecul, Totonicapán.

Zunil, Quetzaltenango

One of the most important and well known representations of Maximón is found in the highland town of Zunil. The Brotherhood of San Simón cares for the wooden statue and changes its location on an annual basis.

A makeshift store in the patio of the cofrade, or brotherhood member in turn, sells candles, medicinal herbs, tobacco, liquor, and everything needed to carry out an offering or cleansing.

Handwritten sign matches the different colors of the candles to be lit with their meaning:
Red: love, faith and personal will.
Green: business and prosperity.
Blue: work and good luck.
Pink: health and hope.
Black: against enemies and envy.
Puple: against vices and negative thoughts.
Light blue: money, happiness, safe travels and succesful studies.
Yellow: protection for adults.
White: protection for children.

“Many believe one must give Maximón expensive offerings in order to receive his blessings. Nevertheless, he will accept whatever one can give him as long as it is done with lots of faith. In addition to his liquor and cigar or tobacco, he also accepts other offerings such as Kakaw (cacao), incense, music, flowers, pine needles and food. Contact with him can be made through the sacred fire carried out in a ceremony by Ajq’ija’ (Mayan priests). The color of the candles also does not matter as he will accept any as long as they are lit by true believers.” (1)

Santiago Atitlán, Sololá

Arguably the most recognized representation of the deity can be found in Santiago Atitlán. The wooden-carved image of Maximón represents “Ri Laj Mam, the Little Great Grandfather, the rebel, the native who has always known that indigenous peoples are called upon to care for Mother Earth and Father Sky. The riotous native who provided ideas for defense and to evade exploitation during the conquest, to carry on with original beliefs during the colony and who continue to promote resistance by being loyal to oneself.” (2)

Dressed in a similar fashion as Maximón with hat and cape, a local worshiper prays as members of the brotherhood listen and help guide the private ceremony.

“Our great grandfather has cured many people through his energy. He takes care of the sick, helps console those who lose family members, watches over those who travel, and cares for our homes and the animals left uncared for when we are absent.” (3)

To view this photo essay in Flash, click here.
Versión en español aquí.

1. Aq’ab’al Audelino Sajvín. “Rijlaj Mam Rilaj Mam Ri Nimamam El Gran Abuelo Rukan Tanaj Segunda Versión.”
2. Hurtado, Leonor. “Ri Laj Mam, el Pequeño Gran Abuelo.”
3. Op. Cit. Aq’ab’al Audelino Sajvín.

Resounding Consultation: K’iche’ People Reject the Exploitation of their Natural Resources

2010-10-25T22:45:00.004-06:00

Santa Cruz del Quiché. Quiché, Guatemala.
October 22nd, 2010.
Issues: Mining / Hydroelectric Dams / Community Consultation

On a historic day, residents from the municipality of Santa Cruz del Quiché - one of Guatemala’s most important hubs and the birthplace of the Maya K’iche’ people – unanimously rejected the exploitation of natural goods and resources, in particular through mining and hydroelectric activities.

“Due to the lack of political will demonstrated by the State of Guatemala in carrying out its obligations to consult the local indigenous populations as stated in various accords, particularly Convention 169 from the International Labor Organization, and faced by the proliferation of licenses to explore and exploit their natural resources without consent, local indigenous peoples have organized themselves and carried out their own community consultations. These plebiscites have fortified their will both in the national and international stages, and strengthen their right to auto determination, land tenure, natural resources, health, and life itself.” (1)

October 21st, 16:45. Municipal Capital.

A Mayan ceremony launches the orientation session for the dozens of national and international observers who were to participate in the Community Consultation of Good Faith for the Municipality of Santa Cruz del Quiché regarding the extraction and exploitation of natural goods and resources.

Around 175 observers arrived from numerous countries and municipalities within the Republic in order to validate the process.

Lolita Chávez, coordinator of the K’iche’ People’s Council (Consejo de Pueblos K’iche’s, or CPK, in Spanish), reads the municipal act number 62-2010, official document that ratifies the plebiscite. The CPK belongs to the Western People’s Council, or Consejo de Pueblos del Occidente in Spanish. This umbrella organization spans several departments in the Guatemalan western highlands and defines itself as a “space where the original peoples of the region can summon local support for relevant struggles and gather their own representatives with the final purpose of strengthening and articulating efforts in response to common issues that affect local communities.” (2)

October 22nd, 7:03. Municipal Capital.

The provisions committee gives out simple breakfasts to the observers and organizers while the crowd gathers in front of the central park.

The consultation was carried out in 93 voting centers: 87 rural communities and six urban zones within the municipal capital.

Observers get ready for the long drives out to the rural communities.

A member of the organizing committee displays his satisfaction with the participatory democracy process.

Members from the organizing committee fine tune last minute details before voting is to begin on the 44th community consultation of good faith to take place in Guatemala since 2005.

Unfortunately, the army marked a menacing presence during the event in a region where its population still suffers from the repercussions of a very recent and bloody war. According to the report by the Inter-Diocesan Project to Recover the Historic Memory (REMHI) Guatemala: Never Again, the Guatemalan Armed Forces carried out a genocidal campaign in the department of Quiché during the internal armed conflict (1960-1996) by killing thousands of civilians through at least 263 registered massacres.

8:44. El Tabil Village.

MiMundo.org traveled through a handful of rural communities during the consultation in an attempt to document as many voting procedures as possible. According to members of the CPK, El Tabil Hamlet is located within an area already licensed for mining exploration by the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) without the consent of local residents.

Under blazing morning sun, roughly 300 residents of El Tabil, mostly K’iche’ Mayans, emphatically and unanimously rejected the appropriation and exploitation of the natural goods and resources in their territory.

9:10. Cruzche Primero Hamlet.

Just a few kilometers uphill from El Tabil, leaders of Cruzche Primero hamlet were barely beginning the plebiscite procedure under a dense mountainside fog.

An observer from the neighboring Maya Ixil region fills out an official document.

Members of the CPK assure that roughly 32 valid mining exploration licenses exist in the department of Quiché, from which at least three are located within the municipality’s borders of Santa Cruz del Quiché.

9:59. Paxicay Hamlet.

Residents of Paxicay hamlet follow registration procedures before the plebiscite voting takes place.

10:24. Las Cafeteras Hamlet.

Community members from Las Cafeteras hamlet reject unanimously the privatization of water, construction of hydroelectric dams, as well as the extraction of oil and minerals.

“No to mining. No to hydroelectric dams. No to the sale of water. Yes to life.”

11:04. Municipal Capital.

Back in the voting center for Zone 1 of Santa Cruz del Quiché, in between the central park and provincial government building, those present also vote unanimously against the privatization of natural resources and the construction of mega projects.

12:10. Panajxit District.

“Raise a hand whoever is NOT in favor of allowing national and international companies or individuals, be it a person or a corporation, to appropriate and exploit our natural goods like minerals, water, forest, oil, and others, within the municipality of Santa Cruz del Quiché.”

"No!"

14:56. Municipal Capital.

The provincial government building served as the headquarters for the community consultation of good faith.

Slowly, the results began to arrive for tabulation.

The Moto Taxi Association, better known as tuk-tuks, manifested its support against the exploitation of the municipality’s natural resources.

Members of the Anti-Imperialist Block as well as the Historic Memory and People’s Resistance collectives streamed live footage via www.justin.tv and transmitted live audio through an FM channel.

The final results were resounding: 98% of the adults voted; 27,778 rejected the extraction and exploitation of their natural goods and resources, while zero voted in favor. The municipality’s population stands at 62,369, yet more than half are under age.

Francisco Osmundo Oxlaj, CPK member, declared: “The natural resources were plundered and forcibly taken from our ancestors. Now it is our turn to stand up and make sure our will, as original peoples, is respected – even at the price of our own lives. The consultation’s results speak for themselves. We do not want any special privileges. We just want our mountains, rivers, forests… and no one is going to take them from us.”

To view this photo essay in Flash, click here.
Versión en español aquí.

1 Central Sindical de las Américas (CSA), Confederación Sindical Internacional (CSI) & Movimiento Sindical, Indígena y Campesino Guatemalteco (MISCG). El derecho de consulta de los pueblos indígenas en Guatemala: La ruptura entre el discurso y la práctica. 1996-Marzo 2010. p. 50.
http://www.ituc-csi.org/IMG/pdf/Informe_PCGIG.pdf
2 http://www.resistencia-mineria.org/espanol/?q=node/93

Exhumations at La Verbena: The Time has Come, with this Evidence, to Seek Justice

2010-09-23T19:04:00.008-06:00

Guatemala City, Guatemala.
September 24th, 2010.
Issue: Post-war / The Disappeared

Members of the Guatemalan Forensic Anthropology Foundation (FAFG) have now been working for seven months on the landmark exhumations at La Verbena Cemetery. Without a doubt, this is the most complex and ambitious project in search of the 45,000 detained-disappeared, victims of Guatemala’s State-induced terrorism against its citizens primarily during the 1970s and 80s.

La Verbena

La Verbena Cemetery is one of the main graveyards in the capital city. It is located on the edge of a canyon, adjacent to a marginal slum. Sometimes it is hard to distinguish one from the other, due to the similarity in their structures. Unidentified corpses, labeled XX in Guatemala, have been buried in common graves here in La Verbena for many decades.

Corpses deemed XX are literally thrown into deep ossuaries that serve as common graves. The depths of these are unknown even to the cemetery’s registrars. Over the years, bodies from graves with irregular or incomplete payments have also been disinterred and relocated in the ossuaries.

In the absence of appropriate records for the ossuaries in La Verbena – names, quantities, depths – it has long been suspected they have also served as the final resting place for many of the victims of forced disappearance during Guatemala’s internal armed conflict. Over the years, lack of political will, judicial holdbacks, and lack of appropriate technology have all played a role in stalling the yearned for exhumations of these common graves.

Inauguration Ceremony

Finally, on February 28th, 2010, a special ceremony marked the inauguration of the long-awaited exhumations at La Verbena. The event coincided with a special ad campaign ran at the time by the FAFG titled My name is NOT “XX”.

Among those present were, from left to right: Rosalina Tuyuc from the National Coordination of Guatemalan Widows (CONAVIGUA), Marylena Bustamante, Mario Polanco from the Mutual Support Group (GAM), Aura Elena Farfán from the Association of Family Members of the Detained-Disappeared of Guatemala (FAMDEGUA), and Dina Mayarí de León.

Those in attendance congregated around the first of the three ossuaries to be exhumed in order to pay their respects to those deceased.

Ana Lucrecia Molina Theissen (left), who is still searching for her brother Marco Antonio who, at 14 years of age, was kidnapped from her parents’ home and forcibly disappeared by members of the Guatemalan Army, declared: “If it wasn’t for our stubbornness, it would seem that the disappeared never actually existed… We are not at a party but a funeral. A funeral three decades overdue.”

Perhaps the most emotional moment came when those in attendance spontaneously began naming many of the victims who are hoped to be found in the ossuaries.

Marylena Bustamante, sister of the forcibly disappeared Emil Bustamante, exhorted US ambassador Stephen McFarland to declassify any documents that could contain information regarding the disappeared. She added: “Silence serves as an accomplice to the military. Let us say no to forgetfulness and yes to remembrance!”

Dina Mayarí de León, daughter of the renowned author and poet Luis de Lión, another victim of forced disappearance, declared: “In order to heal we need to know the truth! Because justice is based on the truth.”

Exhuming the Ossuaries

The first common grave to be worked on, Ossuary 1, required special excavations in order to expand its diameter. Additionally, a circular wall was built to reinforce the ditch and aid in the process of recuperating the human remains.

At first, it was believed the depth of Ossuary 1 lay somewhere between 20 and 40 meters (60 and 120 feet, respectively). Nevertheless, the bottom was reached at 7 meters, or 21 feet, three months after the exhumation began.

Forensic anthropologists prepare for work inside Ossuary 1, where a preliminary 2,400 corpses were recovered.

The process of exhuming the ossuaries has proven very difficult. Many skeletal remains have been found nearly in their entirety inside plastic bags or sacks. But forensic anthropologists have also found large quantities of loose bones, as well as numerous corpses in a state of decomposition, or saponification, well below skeletal remains. The latter has intrigued members of the FAFG, but they suspect that this slow decomposition is primarily due to the high levels of humidity found in the depths of the pits.

Fibula and Tibia found inside a sock.

Currently, towards the end of September 2010, forensic teams from the FAFG are exhuming Ossuary 2 at depths nearing 10 meters (30 feet).

A special scaffolding is being used in order to lower and raise the forensic anthropologists through a rappel system, in addition to facilitating the extraction of soil and human remains.

The forensic teams truly work in admirable fashion and coordination as some dig, others exhume, while another group registers the findings.

A loose maxilla, or upper jaw bone, is registered as skeleton number 2,398 from Ossuary 2.

Ossuary 2 has already surpassed Ossuary 1 in both depth and quantity of human remains recovered.

A skull as it is measured and registered.

Aerial view of the FAFG team working nearly 10 meters (30 feet) below the surface in Ossuary 2.

Analysis of the skeletal remains

Fredy Peccerelli, director of the FAFG, states: “The analysis itself is far more time consuming than the actual recuperation.” (1)

Each bone extracted from the ossuaries must be cleaned and catalogued in La Verbena.

Nevertheless, DNA analysis is only carried out on craniums, maxillas and left femurs. These results are then crosschecked with DNA samples from the victims’ family members in order to look for matches.

DNA samples from family members play a crucial role in the process of identifying the skeletal remains exhumed from the ossuaries. In order to provide a sample, please call 5198 or visit the following web site (in Spanish): http://www.fafg.org/XX/pincipal.html

“Loose bones are measured and catalogued, [but unless they are skulls or femurs] they are not assigned an individual number. Instead, they are placed in a large bag that is eventually taken to the lab for analysis when full.” (2)

“Individual corpse numbers are assigned when a fairly complete corpse is recovered, which in turn is placed inside a plastic bag while it awaits analysis.” (3)

All recovered bones go through a preliminary analysis in the mobile laboratory in La Verbena. Here, before being packaged and sent to the FAFG’s main lab, the following registrations take place: sex, age, and existing traumas, if any.

“Bones with signs of trauma are given special treatment, as preliminary studies determined that most of the victims of forced disappearance who were eventually buried as XX in La Verbena were most likely executed first. Hence, whenever a bone shows trauma it is sent to the Genetic Forensics Lab for further testing.” (4)

This skull displays clear trauma that was most likely caused by a machete, ax, or similarly sharp instrument.

In this image, an ulna from a forearm shows two sharp traumas. According to the forensic anthropologists, this type of lesions are commonly found when a victim attempts to protect his or her face from an attack with a machete or a similarly sharp object.

The exhumations at La Verbena will continue until the last of the three ossuaries is completely emptied, which should occur during the first months of 2011.

Numerous family members of those forcibly disappeared anxiously hope to recover the remains of their loved ones in order to finally close decades of painful uncertainty. Nevertheless, many others adhere to the words of Marylena Bustamante: “The time has come, with this evidence, to seek justice.”

To view this photo essay in flash, click here.
Versión en español aquí.

1 http://www.fafg.org/pagNoticias/2010/Mayo/AvancesProyectoVerbena.html
2 Ibid.
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid.

Project of Mass Destruction: Goldcorp's Peñasquito Mine

2010-08-11T12:41:00.005-06:00

Mazapil. Zacatecas, Mexico.
August 10th, 2010.
Issue: Mining

Five years ago, a new neighbor arrived in Mazapil promising employment, medical services and general development for the peasant communities of Cedros, Las Palmas, and El Vergel, among others. Unfortunately, the new neighbor has failed to deliver and hope for a brighter future has dimmed among the locals. In fact, the new neighbor, Goldcorp’s Peñasquito Mine, has turned out to be a very troublesome addition to the community as its main contributions involve environmental contamination and guzzling of the scarce water sources. (1)

Life in the Zacatecan Semi-desert

Mazapil, one of the largest municipalities in Mexico, covers an area of 12,063 square kilometers and is located on a high plateau roughly 2,000 meters above sea level.

As annual rainfall hovers between 200 and 400 millimeters, Mazapil’s climate is classified as semi-desert.

Founded in 1568, Mazapil is “one of the poorest and most marginalized municipalities in the country.” (2)

“Even though it has been a mining town by tradition, [Mazapil] has never been prosperous. Its population has managed to survive off agriculture and the raising of livestock.” (3)

The Ejido system still prevails in this part of the country. It consists of community members, known as the ejidatarios, sharing a common landholding, both for agricultural and living purposes.

A wedding in the ejido of Cedros coincided with MiMundo.org’s visit to Mazapil.

Water: Source of Life

Despite having an annual rainfall lower than 400 millimeters, the local ejidos have managed to subsist thanks to the existence of massive aquifers that provide vital groundwater, used primarily for the irrigation of crops.

In Mazapil, the main underground water reserves are located directly underneath the ejido of El Vergel.

“Our life support system depends on water, because we live off what we harvest!” declares Irma Hernández Herrera, resident of El Vergel. “Here we grow chili peppers, alfalfa, corn, beans, squash, and our lives depend on this, because this is what we eat.”

Nevertheless, since 2007, groundwater levels have been deemed as critical statewide, as the water tables have suffered “an annual deficit of 220 million cubic meters.” There is barely enough water for agricultural purposes. (4)

Peñasquito: Project of Mass Destruction

The Canadian-owned mine produced its first bar of gold in 2008, but was officially inaugurated this past March by Mexican President Felipe Calderon. “Peñasquito is one of the three largest mining operations in the world, and Latin America’s largest gold producer.” (5)

This panorama shows two massive mounds from the mining complex very near Mazapil’s municipal capital. Peñasquito, an open pit mine, will require thousands of liters of water per hour in order to operate during its estimated 22-year lifespan.

Before operations began, a contract between community members from the ejido of El Vergel and Goldcorp, stipulated the perforation of only 10 water wells for industrial use. Nevertheless, by the end of 2009, Goldcorp was already operating 30 wells. Joel Mancilla, Commissioner of El Vergel, accuses “the mining company of using in one hour, the amount of water a local family would use in 25 years.” (6)

Goldcorp’s disregard for previous agreements and Peñasquito’s inordinate use of an already scarce groundwater supply have caused widespread uneasiness among the local population.

Armando González Alvarado, resident of El Vergel and member of the Negotiation Committee with the mining company, asserts: “The mine’s wells reach 300 meters below the surface, while ours at El Vergel only reach 100 or 130 meters.”

Aside from the harsh competition for groundwater between company and communities, local residents justifiably fear for the contamination of the aquifers due to cyanide leaching processes used in Peñasquito. As the above image shows, a cyanide solution is irrigated over mounds of soil in order to separate gold particles from the rock product. “The cyanide filters through the brute mineral, gathering gold and other metals and pushing them to the bottom of the mounds. From here, the concentrated particles flow towards a pool known as the tailings pond where gold is recovered via the absorption of carbon.” (7)

“Cyanide leaching has an elevated environmental cost… Drippings from the tailings ponds contaminate underground aquifers. Even though these toxic pools are lined with layers of high density polyethylene, these tend to tear due to a variety of factors.” (8)

“Short-term exposure to high levels of cyanide – be it inhaled, consumed in food products, drank, or absorbed through the skin - is extremely toxic, even lethal. While long-term exposure to low levels of cyanide can result in serious respiratory problems, affect the nervous system and severely damage the digestive tract.” (9)

This image from another Goldcorp-owned mine, the San Martin Project in the Siria Valley, Honduras, shows the same cyanide leaching method by ways of irrigation. Ten years after having begun operations, the environmental disaster in the Siria Valley is evident. Adjacent communities, particularly Palo Ralo and Pedernal, have reported hundreds of health issues involving intestinal and/or renal cancer, nervous system disorders, and research from a 2006 study found that 96 per cent of the population suffers from rashes and other skin problems most likely caused by exposure to toxic materials from the mine. (10)

Community members from the ejidos of Cedros and El Vergel are already complaining about strange odors, lack of water, respiratory problems, cattle and wildlife showing up lifeless near the mine, as well as crop diseases never experienced before. In this image, Mr. Santiago identifies the fungus affecting the bean crops.

Deceptions and Social Conflict

“Peñasquito is expected to produce about 500,000 ounces a year of gold, 28 million ounces a year of silver, 450 million pounds a year of zinc and 200 million pounds a year of lead, over a 22-year mine life.” (11) As of August 11th, 2010, an ounce of gold was valued at US $1,197. If the price of gold per ounce remains this high, Goldcorp can expect to earn around US $598.5 million per year, just from its gold production.

Despite the exorbitant earnings, profits do not benefit locals in Mazapil. For several days in May 2009, community members blocked the entrance to Peñasquito, demanding a monetary adjustment for the 6,000 hectares leased out to Goldcorp. Lauro Herrera, community leader from Cedros, claims Goldcorp “’took advantage of our ignorance and poverty by drafting a lease contract in which they agree to pay us only half a Mexican Peso per square meter during 30 years.” (12)

“Leaders from the ejidos state that, according to Mexican Mining Law, local residents must receive a compensation of at least 100 million Mexican Pesos for every year the company works their land, this being retroactive to 2006. In addition, the National Water Commission should severely reprimand Goldcorp for the likely contamination of the underground aquifers.” (13)

Felipe Pinedo, member of the Zacatecas Popular Front for Struggle (FPLZ), considers the claim from local ejidatarios to be legitimate: “the mining law requires Goldcorp to pay the peasants from Zacatecas a percentage of the annual earnings, which roughly stand at 17.5 million pesos per day.” (14)

In May 2010, another sit-in by the locals halted operations for about a week. This time, disgruntled community members demanded higher wages as hundreds of workers “earn 800 pesos a week for 12-hour workdays.” Most believe this is unfair, particularly taking into consideration the massive earnings from the Canadian corporation. (15)

“Yes, we are very disillusioned with how things have worked out. We expected differently. Our husbands who do work there earn very little.” (16)

Vicente Pérez Esquivel, Mayor of Mazapil, states that Goldcorp made all the previous arrangements with the federal government and since 2007, when the first stage of operations began, the municipal government has not received any tax payments from the mining company, not even the construction license fees. (17)

Just from property taxes, the municipal government should be receiving one million pesos annually from Peñasquito. Such revenues would come in very handy in a municipality where: only 30% of the population has running water, 65% has electricity, 18% has sewage, 3% has a garbage pickup service, 50% enjoys public security, and 7% of the roads are paved. (18)

Lauro Herrera Médez, from Cedros, declares: “ Here, no one will be able to avoid the consequences. We are not against employment. On the contrary! But the truth is that the company has not hired many locals. We want the governments to take action and be more proactive about the contamination, the environmental impact… But one thing I do tell you: we are not going to stop until we find a favorable solution for everyone here. We have seen elsewhere the destruction and well, death, that is left behind wherever an industrial mine like this one passes through.”

Irma Hernández Herrera, community member from El Vergel, concludes: “In the future, I see a deserted image of what once was this town… It makes me very sad, especially for the children that will live such a situation. We have had a very hard life and struggled enormously to upkeep this ejido. We have already suffered so much, and now, this monster comes to devastate our territories. What will we do once the water runs out? And it is clear that it will run out! Because in every place where a mine establishes itself, the water eventually runs out.”

To view this photo essay in flash, click here.

Version en español aquí.

1 Jiménez , Paulina. “Vecinos incómodos llegaron hace más de tres años a Mazapil”. Zócalo Saltillo. May 27, 2009.
http://www.zocalo.com.mx/seccion/articulo/vecinos-incomodos-llegaron-hace-mas-de-tres-anos-a-mazapil
2 Morales Navarrete, Roberto. “Inauguran la mayor mina de oro de México”. El Economista. March 23, 2010.
http://eleconomista.com.mx/corporativos/2010/03/23/inauguran-mayor-mina-oro-mexico
3 Noriega, Sofía. “El Dorado mexicano. Un pueblo minero por tradición, pero sus habitantes viven de la agricultura y ganadería”. El Diario de Coahuila. April 19, 2010.
http://www.eldiariodecoahuila.com.mx/notas/2010/4/19/locales-175601.asp
4 http://oeidrus.zacatecas.gob.mx/oeidrus_zac/zacatecas/periodico/CampiranoEnero/Alertan%20sobre%20explotaci%C3%B3n%20de%20mantos%20acu%C3%ADferos.htm
5 http://www.zacatecashoy.com/noticias/2010/03/23/inauguran-amalia-garcia-y-el-presidente-felipe-calderon-minera-penasquito/
6 http://www.elfinanciero.com.mx/ElFinanciero/Portal/cfpages /contentmgr.cfm?docId=191854&docTipo=1&orderby=docid&sortby=ASC
7 http://www.sospatagonia.netfirms.com/informes/lixiviaycianuro.html
8 Ibid.
9 Ibid.
10 Trujillo, Daniel. “Valle de Siria: El verdadero rostro de la minería”. Diario Co Latino. September 27, 2008.
http://www.diariocolatino.com/es/20080927/nacionales/59223/?tpl=69
11 Hill, Liezel. “Goldcorp 'weeks' from big milestone at Penasquito.” MiningWeekly.com. July 30, 2010.
http://www.miningweekly.com/article/goldcorp-weeks-away-from-commercial-production-at-penasquito-2010-07-30
12 Jiménez, Paulina. “Cierran mina de oro ‘El Peñasquito’ por abusos de la empresa canadiense Gold Corp.” Zócalo Saltillo. May 26, 2009.
http://www.zocalo.com.mx/seccion/articulo/Cierran-mina-de-oro-El-Penasquito-por-abusos-de-la-empresa-canadiense-Gol
13 http://www.elfinanciero.com.mx/ElFinanciero/Portal/cfpages/contentmgr.cfm?docId=191854&docTipo=1&orderby=docid&sortby=ASC
14 http://www.diariocritico.com/mexico/2009/Mayo/noticias/152122/ejidatarios-molestos-bloquean-mina-de-oro.html
15 Valadez Rodríguez, Alfredo. “Mineros de Zacatecas protestan por bajos salarios.” Periódico La Jornada. May 22, 2010. P. 30.
http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2010/05/22/index.php?section=estados&article=030n1est
16 Op. Cit. Jiménez. May 27, 2009.
17 Op. Cit. Noriega.
18 Ibid.

Easter in Zone 1: Processions

2010-07-31T14:17:00.004-06:00

Guatemala City, Guatemala.
March 30th to April 3rd, 2010.
Issue: Society

Religious fervor and cultural traditions liven up Guatemala City’s center like no other time of the year.

To view this photo essay in flash, click here.

Versión en español aquí.

Easter in Zone 1: Street Vendors

2010-07-30T18:08:00.035-06:00

Guatemala City, Guatemala.
March 30th to April 3rd, 2010.
Issue: Society

Easter celebrations in Guatemala City’s historic center provide a much-needed income earning opportunity for the thousands of Guatemalans who depend on the informal economic sector to survive.

To view this photo essay in flash, click here.

Versión en español aquí.

May my Blood be the Seed of Liberty: Monsignor Romero, 30 years later

2010-03-31T20:36:00.040-06:00

San Salvador, El Salvador.
March 24th, 2010.
Issue: Historical Memory

“On Monday, March 24th, 1980, Monsignor Oscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdamez, Archbishop of San Salvador, was assassinated while giving a mass in the chapel of the Divina Providencia Hospital. He was gunned down by a professional sniper who fired a single caliber 22 shot from a red vehicle parked outside the small church.” (1)

7:03 –Divina Providencia Hospital

“Monsignor Romero had become a recognized critic of violence and injustice. He was therefore perceived as a dangerous enemy by certain military and right wing civil groups. Monsignor Romero’s homilies, which constantly focused on human rights violations, profoundly irritated these factions.” (2)

“Monsignor Romero’s murder in particular, polarized even more Salvadorian society and became the breaking point that symbolized the utmost disregard for human rights and a clearly marked prelude to the full blown war between the government and the guerrilla forces.” (3)

Samuel Ruiz, Emeritus Bishop of San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico, presided a mass honoring Monsignor Romero’s memory on the same altar where the latter one was gunned down exactly thirty years before.

During the mass, both clergy and parishioners solicited urgent prayers and action with regards to the following issues: against “projects of death” like metal mining and hydroelectric dams, the repression currently going on in Honduras as a result of last year’s coup d’état, sweatshop abuses mostly suffered by women, a proper and dignified reconstruction of Haiti and Chile due to the recent earthquakes, against “uncontrolled and voracious consumerism”, for peace and justice for indigenous peoples – “true inhabitants of our lands”, against wrongfully used mass media that is alienating instead of informing, due reparation for the victims of human rights abuses during the internal armed conflicts that took place in the region, and so that rich countries in the North truly act in solidarity with the poor ones in the South.

Nevertheless, Monsignor Romero’s own words still resound today and rightfully serve as a testimony of his struggle for justice. His homilies prove, 30 years on, that the roots of numerous social ills have not changed enough or, in some cases, at all.

“Peace is not the absence of war. Peace is not an equilibrium of two opposing forces in a struggle. Peace above all is not reached by repressing until death those who are not allowed to speak… True peace is based on justice and equality.” (August 14th, 1977)

“I denounce above all the absolute control of wealth. This is the root of all evil in El Salvador: wealth and private property as an untouchable absolutism, as a high voltage cable that will burn down whoever dares even touch it! It is not fair that few have it all… while the vast marginalized majority starves to death.” (August 12th, 1979)

“[Economic indexes of] progress are not the solution in this country. It is necessary that progress is based on the foundations of justice. If not, national security will become the personal security of those few who are rich, and progress will always benefit a minority.” (November 19th, 1978)

“I do not know why, in a civilized country, we still discriminate women. Why will a woman not earn as much as a man if she works just as hard?” (July 8th, 1979)

“Development demands audacious and profoundly innovative transformations. We must embark on urgent reforms without any further delay. Each one of us must generously accept their role; above all, those who have a greater possibility of action due to their education, financial situation and status. (January 5th, 1978)

9:15 – March begins towards the Cathedral

“The oligarchy is the cause of all our misfortunes. This small nucleus of families does not care if the rest of the people starve to death. In fact, they need these conditions to have abundant cheap labor available to them for the picking and exporting of their harvests.” (February 15th, 1980)

“Why is there an income available to the poor peasant majority only during the sowing and harvesting of coffee, cotton and sugar cane? Why does this society need to have unemployed peasant farmers, an underpaid working class, and unfair salaries? These mechanisms must be analyzed not from the eyes of an economist or a sociologist, but from a Christian point of view so as not to be an accomplice to this machinery that continually makes people poorer, marginalized, homeless.” (December 16th, 1979)

“It is a shame to have a mass media that is completely sold out. It is a shame not to be able to trust the information from the newspapers or the television or the radio because everything has been bought off and the truth is not divulged.” (April 2nd, 1978)

“So much violence in the country deeply worries me. But what worries me the most is that the people’s capacity to react, condemn, and protest, in general, has decreased significantly. This has allowed the continuation of repression in a shameless manner with complete liberty.” (March 2nd, 1980)

10:05 – At the Savior of the World roundabout

“Until when are we to endure these crimes without any vindication of justice? Where is this justice in our country? Where is the Supreme Court of Justice? Where is the honor in our democracy if people are to die in this way, like dogs, and their deaths are never investigated?” (June 21st, 1979)

“The Right means exactly that: social injustice. It is not morally correct to ever maintain a right wing political agenda.” (March 19th, 1980)

“When the People are unorganized, they become a mass that can easily be manipulates. But when they become organized and defend their values, their justice, they become a force that must be reckoned with.” (March 2nd, 1980)

12:05 – Cathedral and Monsignor Romero’s Crypt

“A situation of injustice reigns in Latin America. Violence has been institutionalized… Because whenever there is a force that oppresses the weak and disallows their right to live in justice, their human dignity, then we have a situation of injustice.” (July 3rd, 1977)

“This week I received information that I am on the list to be eliminated next week. I want to leave on record that now, the voice of justice can no longer be killed.” (February 24th, 1980)

“The military aid provided by the United States is only reinforcing the oppressors of the People.” (November 4th, 1979)

“It is sad to read that in El Salvador the two main causes of death are: first is diarrhea, and second is murder… Therefore, right after the result of malnourishment, diarrhea, we have the result of crime, murder. These are the two epidemics that are killing off our people.” (September 9th, 1979)

“I want to make a special request to the men in the armed forces: brothers, we are from the same country, yet you continually kill your peasant brothers. Before any order given by a man, the law of God must prevail: ‘You shall not kill’… No person should have to follow an immoral law.” (March 23rd, 1980. One day before his assassination)

“We want the Government to be aware that blood-stained reforms are completely worthless. In the name of God, well, and in the name of the Salvadorian people who have suffered enormously and whose wails rise each day higher and higher towards the sky, I beg you, I beseech you, I order you in the name of God: stop de repression!” (March 23rd, 1980. One day before his assassination)

Monsignor Romero’s figure has transcended spiritual barriers within Salvadorian society, and the processes for his canonization are on their way in the Vatican. On his crypt, an offering from an emigrant reads: “Gratitude to God and Monsignor Romero for his miraculous intervention in protecting my voyage towards the United States. – Manuel Guillen.”

“The forces at the service of the oligarchy may register an ephemeral victory, but the voice of justice for our People will once again be heard and, rather sooner than later, it will prevail. The new society is coming, and it is coming fast.” (February 15th, 1980)

Versión en español aquí.

1 Mártinez Peñate, Óscar (Compiler). El Salvador. Los Acuerdos de Paz y el Informe de la Comisión de la Verdad. 1st. Ed. San Salvador, 2007. P. 231.
2 Ibid.
3 Op. Cit. Mártinez Peñate. P. 142.

In Memory of our Martyrs and the Bloodshed in Comalapa

2010-03-05T12:06:00.017-06:00

San Juan Comalapa. Chimaltenango, Guatemala.
February 24th, 2010.
Issue: Postwar / Historical Memory

The National Coordination of Guatemalan Widows (CONAVIGUA) inaugurated a small memorial chapel in the former military garrison of San Juan Comalapa, as part of the commemorations held during this year’s National Day for the Dignity of the Victims of the Internal Armed Conflict. The structure, named Nimajay or big house in the local Maya Kakchiquel language, will serve as a place to honor the victims of the State-perpetrated genocide.

Multimedia presentation with photographs and music recorded during the commemoration.

Between 2003 and 2004, CONAVIGUA organized 49 exhumations in Comalapa’s former military garrison. This long and arduous process gave way to the retrieval of the remains of 179 wartime victims.

For more information, please view the following photo essay:
Day of the Dead in Comalapa

Born and raised in Comalapa, CONAVIGUA’s director Rosalina Tuyuc (right) endured the forced disappearance of her father Javier Tuyuc in 1982. Three years later, her first husband, Rolando Gómez, suffered the same fate as her father.

Thirty years later, it is still painful for Filomena Cúmez to remember her son Álvaro Adolfo Cúmez, disappeared on July 26, 1980.

Angelica Chalí displays a photograph of her grandfather Benedicto Chalí, victim of an extrajudicial execution on April 24, 1981.

Griselda Kiná holds an image where Felipe Chalí, her disappeared father in-law, appears.

Alberta Osorio holds a photograph of her father Agustin Osorio, abducted and disappeared by the Guatemalan Armed Forces on July 23, 1983.

The Poyón Cúmez family with an image of the late husband, father and grandfather Felipe Poyón Saquiquel, forcibly disappeared by the Armed Forces on May 8, 1981.

Julia Cúmez, daughter of Felipe Poyón Saquiquel, states: “Even though the remains of many of the victims, including my father, were not found in the former military garrison, this Nimajay is a symbol in honor of all those who were forcibly disappeared and executed. Now we have a little place where we can bring them a flower and remember them.”

“In memory of the dignity of the victims of genocide. CONAVIGUA is present”

Version en español aquí.

Gold Fever: Artisanal and Industrial Extraction in the Mining Triangle

2010-02-28T23:02:00.054-06:00

Municipalities of Bonanza & Siuna. North Atlantic Autonomous Region, Nicaragua.
February 20th, 2010.
Issue: Mining

Since 1880, güirisería, or artisanal mining, has been the main economic activity in the municipalities that make up the so-called mining triangle in the North Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAN).

Enormous extensions of tropical forests cover most of the RAAN in northeastern Nicaragua.

Currently, population density hovers around 17 residents per square kilometer. Human presence has always been scarce in this part of Central America.

In 1880, a gold rush unleashed the colonization of the geographic center of the RAAN, giving birth to the three municipalities that make up the mining triangle: Siuna, Rosita and Bonanza.

Industrial mining has come and gone on several occasions, but multiple generations of güiriseros have been extracting gold in this region for 130 years.

The Process of Güirisería:

Artisanal gold extraction begins with the gathering of auriferous mineral from abandoned mines, external outcrop, or river sediments. This is done manually, sometimes with the aid of explosives. (1)

The material collected is called broza and it contains small particles of gold. Broza can be sold to a mining company, or the miner can transport and process it in an artisan workshop called rastra. (2)

The first treatment of broza consists of grinding it with mallets and separating futile particles that do not contain gold. (3)

A rastra always has a mill to grind the broza. These mills can be either manual or minimally motorized. (4)

Automobile engines are commonly used in the rastras to propel the mills.

Most motorized mills spin around large sized rocks that grind down the broza as they rotate.

This group of güiriseros in Siuna helps propel a mill motorized by an actual car.

“Once it's ground, broza is ‘cleaned’ and its muddy water is driven to a woody canal with drawers where heavier particles are deposited. Obviously, particles of gold are included.” (5)

Mercury is used in order to extract, or capture, the gold from this type of sand. The mercury blends with the gold particles creating an amalgam. (6)

The amalgam is poured into a handkerchief and thoroughly rinsed, giving way to an amalgam pearl.

Mercury has numerous negative effects on humans that include: disruption of the nervous system, damage to brain functions, DNA and chromosomal damage, allergic reactions, skin rashes, fatigue, headaches, sperm damage, birth defects and miscarriages. (7)

In order to separate mercury from gold, the amalgam pearl is heated in a common pan or pot. This process poses a great health risk to the miner and those nearby due to the inhalation of mercury-containing fumes.

The heat evaporates the mercury which, once in a gaseous state, adheres to the leaves placed above the amalgam pearl in the saucepan.

In order to recuperate the mercury for later use, the leaves are submerged in water to separate the heavy metal. Over time, however, traces of this very dangerous metal are lost due to its constant transformations from solid, liquid and gaseous states. This loss of mercury affects the local air, water and soils, posing a serious hazard to the health of the local population.

Afterwards, a blow torch is applied to evaporate the last traces of mercury.

“In this way, at the end of the process, a small quantity of gold is obtained and sold.” (8)

Usually, the owner of the rastra keeps 40 to 50 percent of the price of the gold, while the rest goes to the miner who brought in the broza.” (9)

Industrial Mining in the Triangle

Between 1909 and 1979, U.S. and Canadian companies extracted the mineral quarries in the three municipalities through industrial methods. “In 1979, the triumph of the Sandinista Revolution in Nicaragua, combined with the drop in the international value of gold, prompted the North American companies to abandon the mines. Employees were not appropriately compensated” nor were responsible closure procedures carried out to mend environmental damages or prevent future ones. (10)
This image shows a panoramic view of the former Rosario Mining Company mine in Rosita.

In 1980, the revolutionary Sandinista government nationalized the abandoned industrial sites in the mining triangle. But due to low yields and the internal armed conflict involving U.S.-backed Contras, all mines were eventually closed. In 1994, exploration and exploitation licenses were once again privatized and put up for bidding. “On May 9th, 1994, the Minister of Economy signed off a 12,400-hectare and 50-year mining concession for a Panamanian company called Hemco Nicaragua S.A. (also known as Hemconic).” (11)

During the past 15 years, Hemco has been a subsidiary of several Canadian mining companies: from the now bankrupt Greenstone to RNC Gold to Yamana Gold. Today, Hemco operates as a subsidiary of a private U.S. company. (12)

On July 2009, Calibre Mining Corporation, a Canadian company, acquired from Yamana Gold the license to extract gold, silver and copper from the so-called NEN Project. Renamed Borosi Project by Calibre, this vast concession reaches all three municipalities for a total of 710 square Kilometers. (13)

Current Socio-Economic and Environmental Situation:

Even though the large-scale mining industry has always promised work, development, and progress, the reality has been an endless and prolonged trail of poverty, social conflicts, and environmental degradation. This image shows the tailings pond in Bonanza, where the waste product from the open-pit Hemconic mine has accumulated over time. Besides cyanide and heavy metals that accrue in this type of artificial waste pond, this particular one also contains dozens of barrels used to transport the cyanide needed to separate gold from the rock.

This past January 30th, 2010, an earthquake measuring 4.3 in the Richter scale cracked part of the containment wall that is supposed to keep the toxic waste product from flooding the town and contaminating a local river. “Seventy-four people from thirteen families who reside on the edge of the tailings pond in Bonanza had to be urgently resettled, as they were in serious risk of being flooded and buried alive inside their humble homes.” (14)

“Alexander Alvarado, Mayor of Bonanza, stated that the toxic lagoon was built very close to the town itself and poses a serious threat to the urban population. If one side of the containment wall were to give in, it could flood and seriously affect several of the town’s barrios. Alvarado also mentioned that the water in the local river was being tested to make sure cyanide had not spilled into it.” (15)

“The current situation in the mining triangle, where industrial mining and güirisería coexist, clearly confirms grave levels of poverty, severe social deficits, terrible health and environmental deterioration, and an important loss of natural resources.” (16)

Barrels of cyanide are used as public trash bins in Bonanza.

In Siuna, the cyanide barrels-turned-trashcans are proudly sponsored by the Mayor’s office (Alcaldía in Spanish), Hemconic and Yamana.

This family resourcefully, yet dangerously, used barrels of lethal cyanide to build a fence around their home.

“Neither the companies nor the governments have cared for the protection of the local population. There have been, and continue to be, great deficiencies in basic services, such as potable water, hygiene services, electricity, sewage, schools and community centers.” (17)

“The extraction of gold has created wealth for the North American companies and has provided a precarious way of life for the local miners and güiriseros.” (18)

The current market price of gold has reached astronomical levels never before imagined. In February of 2000 the ounce of gold sold for around US $300. Today, ten years later, an ounce sells for over US $1,120. “According to market experts in specialized web sites, within the next few years, the ounce of gold could reach a record price above US $2,000.” (19)

This outrageous fever to acquire gold, worsened by the speculation driven by powerful economic sectors, insures that the dangers behind its extraction, be it industrial or by güiriseros, continue to affect populations not only in Nicaragua, but also in dozens of countries in our fragile planet.

Version en español aquí.

All images were produced with the support of Oxfam America and are co-property of Oxfam America and MiMundo.org. If there is interest in republishing this photo essay, we ask that you please receive consent from both organizations first.

Several images first appeared in the publication: Mining in Central America: Pain and Resistance.

1 http://www.conc.es/foscor/Castellano/mineria_proces_cast.htm
2 Ibid.
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid.
5 Ibid.
6 Ibid.
7 http://www.lenntech.com/periodic/elements/hg.htm
8 http://www.conc.es/foscor/Castellano/mineria_proces_cast.htm
9 Ibid.
10 http://www.conc.es/foscor/Castellano/mineria_historia_cast.htm
11 http://www.manfut.org/RAAN/bonanza.html
12 http://www.radiolaprimerisima.com/noticias/general/52405
13 http://www.calibremining.com/s/Projects.asp
14 López, Fermín. “Ante peligro de derrame de laguna de oxidación: Reubican a 13 familias en Bonanza”. El Nuevo Diario. Managua, Nicaragua. Thursday, February 11, 2010. Edición 10597.
http://impreso.elnuevodiario.com.ni/2010/02/11/departamentales/118887
15 Ibid.
16 http://www.conc.es/foscor/Castellano/mineria_historia_cast.htm
17 http://www.conc.es/foscor/Castellano/mineria_humans_cast.htm
18 Ibid.
19 http://www.radiolaprimerisima.com/noticias/general/52405

History Repeats: Committee of Relatives of the Detained-Disappeared of Honduras

2010-02-09T18:54:00.017-06:00

Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
February 7th, 2010.
Issues: Dirty War / Coup d’état

“The so-called 80’s were characterized by a wave of violence in several countries in Latin America. Our country, Honduras, was not an exception. Even though the phenomenon of ‘disappearances’ occurred mostly during the military dictatorships, many people also vanished during democratically elected governments.” (1)

“A forced disappearance can be defined as: The illegal detention of a person by a State security agent or a force acquiesced by it, without the appropriate legal procedure, and in which the act is denied without any further information regarding the location or wellbeing of the detainee.” (2)

“An important characteristic of forced disappearances is that ultimately the victim is executed and the body hidden for good, hence disappeared. In all cases, the main objective is to avoid that the remains be found. Or, if the body is found, to make sure the victim cannot be identified due to grave disfigurement. This important aspect differentiates forced disappearances from another tragic human rights violation: the extrajudicial execution.” (3)

“The victims are not only those disappeared, but also the parents, spouses, offspring, or any other close friend or relative. These secondary victims are placed in a situation of uncertainty and anguish that can last for many years. Due to these reasons, forced disappearances tear open deep wounds within the social fabric of a nation-wide community which ultimately affect political, social and professional circles, and thus weaken the fundamental institutions of a country.” (4)

“By 1982, sixty-nine families were victims of forced disappearances. On November 30th of that same year, twelve families came together to form the Committee of Relatives of the Detained-Disappeared in Honduras (COFADEH). The organization’s primary objective was to recover alive, if possible, their family members disappeared by State forces. As sometimes the victims were held in clandestine jails for weeks or months before being irreversibly disappeared, COFADEH’s main objective was accomplished in a few cases. But most of the victims’ remains were never recovered. Between 1980 and 1989, one hundred and eighty-four people were disappeared by the State of Honduras without any due course of legal action followed by the authorities against those responsible.” (5)

“Halfway through the 90’s, COFADEH proceeded with attempts to exhume bodies found in clandestine cemeteries, where some of the disappeared were brutally dumped… Beginning in 1998, a new series of objectives are included in the organization’s formal mission: To defend collective rights, the right to a healthy environment, and liberty of expression. In addition, COFADEH has contributed to demilitarize Honduras, build democratic processes, and act as a human rights watchdog over State security forces.

The importance and quantity of COFADEH’s work increased dramatically after the military coup d'état removed democratically-elected president Manuel Zelaya on June 28th, 2009. During the following seven months of de facto governance by Roberto Micheletti, the COFADEH’s offices served as a central headquarters for documentation and analysis of the human rights situation. Human rights violations carried out by the illegal regime continue to be compiled and recorded here on a daily basis, and numerous foreign delegations and alternative media members head here first for last minute information. Just between June 28th and October 10th, 2009, COFADEH has documented 4,234 human rights violations. (7)

For more information on the coup d'état carried out on June 2009, please view these previous photo essays:
Mel, Our Friend, the People are with You!
Tragedy at Toncontin: Army Shoots and Kills Protesters

Shortly before Micheletti’s de facto regime carried out a dubious national election on November 2009, Bertha Oliva de Nativí, director of COFADEH, declared: “I believe we are experiencing a dictatorship without precedents, even worse than in the 80’s. Back then, while we lived under the military boot, paramilitary groups and death squads would assassinate and disappear people in a clandestine manner, so that it was difficult to point them out as the criminals. Today, they do it in broad daylight, openly challenging all national and international structures of human rights and governance.” (8)

Tomás Nativí, founder of the People’s Revolutionary Union (URP), was abducted from his home, in Tegucigalpa, before dawn on June 11th, 1981. His wife, Bertha Oliva, three months pregnant at the time, witnessed the illegal abduction and recognized one of the assailants as Alexander Hernández, leader of Intelligence Battalion 3-16. Mr. Nativí was forcibly detained-disappeared by State forces and 30 years later, his corpse has still not been found. (9)

During the 80’s, General Gustavo Adolfo Álvarez Martínez was primarily responsible for the organization of the death squads in Honduras. First as Chief of the Public Security Forces (FUSEP) and eventually as Chief Commander of the Honduran Armed Forces, Álvarez Martínez established “an elite counterinsurgency force [in Battalion 3-16] that became the spearhead of the dirty war in Honduras.” The whole setup emulated the Argentinean counterinsurgency structure and was assessed by military personnel from Argentina, the U.S. and former Nicaraguan Elite Guard members (pro-Somoza dictatorship). (10)

“The information acquired from witnesses, surviving victims, family, and press regarding the forced disappearances, clearly indicates that special units such as the National Direction of Investigation (DNI) and Intelligence Battalion 3-16 were [directly] responsible for the atrocities… This latter unit specialized in vigilance and the production of intelligence regarding specific Honduran citizens who were suspected of subversive acts by the Armed Forces.“ (11)

As in other countries, powerful elites in collaboration with the armed forces nurtured the dirty war in Honduras economically and ideologically. These national elites - who have historically controlled the government in order to protect its economic interests—literally felt threatened by the 1979 triumph of the Sandinista Revolution in neighboring Nicaragua. This powerful oligarchy allied with foreign corporate and political interest groups, helped finance the dirty war through an entity named the Association for the Progress of Honduras (APROH).

“The APROH was the sole creation of two men: Gustavo Adolfo Álvarez Martínez and [U.S. ambassador to Honduras] John Dimitri Negroponte [in 1982]. Its origins go back to secret meetings held by Álvarez with elite businessmen, bankers, industrialists, commerce moguls, public administrators and [right-wing] intellectuals.” (12) The APROH gained legal status through a presidential resolution issued by then-President Roberto Suazo Córdoba and its board members were: “President: Gustavo Adolfo Álvarez Martínez; Vice-president: Miguel Facussé; Secretary: Oswaldo Ramos Soto; Treasurer: Bernand Casanova; Finances and Membership: Rafael Ferrari… [in addition to] Paul Vinelli, Leonardo Callejas Romero, Osmond Maduro, Benjamín Villanueva, Abraham Bennaton, Edgardo Sevilla and Emín Barjún.” (13)

Leticia Salomón, researcher from the National Autonomous University of Honduras, states: “The coup [against Mel Zelaya on June 2009] was planned by a loose association of businessmen lead by Carlos Roberto Flores Facussé, former President of Honduras (1988-2002). Flores Facussé’s ‘La Tribuna’ newspaper, in cahoots with two other major newspapers ‘La Prensa’ & ‘El Heraldo’, and TV channels 2, 3, 5 and 9, were the main pillar behind the coup… This group of businessmen, who control 90% of the country’s wealth, also includes Jaime Rosenthal and Gilberto Goldstein (directors of the Continental Group, a conglomerate that monopolizes the Honduran banking system, agro industry, and owns mass media outlets like ‘El Tiempo’ and channel 11), José Rafael Ferrari, Juan Canahuati, financier Camilo Atala, lumber mogul José Lamas, energy industrialist Fredy Násser, Jacobo Kattán, sugar baron Guillermo Lippman, construction tycoon Rafael Flores, and real estate and African palm magnate Miguel Facussé”. (14)

The similarities between the APROH from the early 80’s and the elite businessmen association identified by Leticia Salomón are remarkable. Aside from the fact that some men are found on both lists (Ferrari, Facussé), the two groups represent and defend the same economic interests. And, just as in the 80’s, these economic elites are once again fueling repression via death squads run by the criminals of yesteryear. During an interview with Amy Goodman of Democracy Now!, ousted president Zelaya confirmed that Billy Joya Améndola, former member of Battalion 3-16 who has been accused of numerous human rights violations during the 80’s, served as advisor for Micheletti and has lead terror and torture campaigns for the de facto regime.

Recently-inaugurated president Pepe Lobo has wasted no time in revealing his firm associations with the coup plotters. “His first presidential act consisted of ratifying a political amnesty law proposed by the National Congress, intended to clear all crimes related to the political crisis stemming from Zelaya’s forceful removal from power.” (16) Such bold action awards full impunity to the hundreds of criminals who committed thousands of human rights violations against members of the civic resistance movement.” (16)

In addition, Lobo immediately set forth his strategy of containment against the ever-growing popular resistance catalyzed by last June’s events, by naming Oscar Álvarez as his Minister of Security. Having already served this post during the presidency of Ricardo Maduro (2002-2006), Álvarez has been highly criticized for his evasion of legal procedures, disregard for human rights, and hard-line approach, all reminiscent of his uncle, the aforementioned Gustavo Adolfo Álvarez Martínez. “Less than 24 hours after having been sworn in, Minister Álvarez carried out one of his infamous madrugones, or pre-dawn raids. These illegal forced-entry procedures, which often violate national laws, were rather common during his stint under Maduro. On this occasion, he sent a clear message to the Popular Resistance Movement.” (17)

Researcher Robinson Salazar Pérez analyzes: “The coup d'état in Honduras on June 28th, 2009, clearly marks a turning point in the future path of Latin American politics. Three issues in particular, have been clearly signaled and appear to be the target of right-wing hardliners: Avoid any economic alternative [i.e. ALBA] that may block the markets of multinational corporations, detain the progressive advance of the nationalist governments of Bolivia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Nicaragua and El Salvador, and sow the seeds of fear among Latin American leaders, by reminding them that extra-national interests are well above legitimate internal governance, even if this latter one is backed up by votes.” (18)

The powerful Hall of Living Memories, inside COFADEH’s headquarters, reminds us that certain chapters in history must not repeat themselves. Nevertheless, in Honduras, the oppressors of the past, using proven methods, once again apply their tyrannical despotism in 2010. A concerned Bertha Oliva concludes: “I am convinced that this is a project they want to emulate throughout Latin America. If they succeed in Honduras, they will also try to do so in other countries that have already been identified.” (19)

Version en español aquí.

Spanish-English Translation: MiMundo.org

1 Comisionado Nacional de los Derechos Humanos. Los hechos hablan por sí mismos: Informe preliminar sobre los desaparecidos en Honduras 1980-1993. 2a. Edición. Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Editorial Guaymuras, 2002. P. 19
2 Op. Cit. Comisionado Nacional de los Derechos Humanos. P. 20.
3 Op. Cit. Comisionado Nacional de los Derechos Humanos. P. 21.
4 Op. Cit. Comisionado Nacional de los Derechos Humanos. P. 19.
5 http://www.cofadeh.org/html/historia/index.htm
6 Ibid.
7 Comité de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos en Honduras (COFADEH). Violaciones a Derechos Humanos en el marco del Golpe de Estado en Honduras: Cifras y Rostros de la Represión. Segundo Informe. Tegucigalpa, Honduras. 22 de octubre de 2009. Full report can be downloaded here (in Spanish only):
http://www.defensoresenlinea.com/cms/documentos/segundo_informe_situacional_cofadeh.pdf
8 Trucchi, Giorgio. “Esta dictadura es peor que la de los 80”. Rel-UITA, 29 de Noviembre, 2009.
(http://www.honduraslaboral.org/leer.php/4659112).
9 Op. Cit. Comisionado Nacional de los Derechos Humanos. Pp. 267-8.
10 Becerra, Longino. Cuando las tarántulas atacan. 11a edición. Tegucigalpa, Honduras. 2008. Pp. 390-1.
11 Op. Cit. Comisionado Nacional de los Derechos Humanos. P. 258
12 Op. Cit. Becerra. P. 404.
13 Ibid. P. 285.
14 http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=89427
15 http://www.democracynow.org/2009/7 /30/exclusive_ousted_honduran_president_manuel_zelaya
16 http://www.radiolaprimerisima.com/noticias/69434
17 “Oscar Alvarez inicia gestión con prepotencia y soberbia amenazando a la Resistencia”. El Libertador. 28 de enero, 2010. http://ellibertador.hn/Nacional/3726.html
18 Salazar Pérez, Robinson. “Honduras factor estratégico que cambió el rumbo de América Latina”. America Latina en Movimiento. Golpe de Estado en Honduras: ¿Laboratorio de dictaduras siglo XXI?. Publicada por la Agencia Latinoamericana de Información (ALAI). Agosto 2009. P. 9. (http://alainet.org/publica/447.phtml)
19 Op. Cit. Trucchi.

The Incessant Search for the Disappeared: Exhumation in Villalobos

2009-12-23T01:20:00.040-06:00

Kilometer 12. Highway to Villalobos, Mixco. Guatemala, Guatemala.

December 16, 2009.
Issues: Impunity / Justice / Post-war

Twenty-some years later, the question remains the same: where are the disappeared? Based on a witness testimony, the Association of Family Members of the Detained-Disappeared of Guatemala (FAMDEGUA in Spanish), along with the Forensic Anthropology Foundation of Guatemala (FAFG in Spanish), began a process of exhumation in a possible clandestine mass grave on December 10, 2009.

The mentioned testimony was provided by a former member of the Estado Mayor Presidencial -an infamous military hit squad and presidential guard (1) - during the military government of Oscar Humberto Mejía Víctores (1983-1986). The witness declared an empty lot along a highway in the southern end of Guatemala City served as a mass grave for several detained-disappeared victims of the dirty war, particularly those who appear in the document known as the Death Squad Dossier (referred to in Spanish as the Diario Militar, or Military Diary).

“The so-called Death Squad Dossier was declassified by the National Security Archives (NSA),” an independent and non-governmental research institute and library located at The George Washington University, in Washington D.C. “The document, made public by NSA analyst Kate Doyle in 1999, consists of 54 pages with notes and photographs of 183 victims from the armed conflict (1960-1996) [who were forcibly detained by the State’s security forces and] whose final whereabouts still remain unknown.” (2)

Aura Elena Farfán, director of FAMDEGUA, states that the witness specifically mentioned her brother, Rubén Amílcar Farfán, as one of the victims buried in the site. Mr. Farfán participated in a labor union and was a student at the University of San Carlos when he was forcibly detained and disappeared on May 15, 1984.

The witness also claims this site to be the final burial place of Luz Haydee Méndez, mother of Wendy Méndez - a founding member of the H.I.J.O.S. collective.

(For more information on the Méndez case, please view the photo essays: Offensive for Remembrance: Where are the Disappeared? & HIJOS: Public Poster Campaigns)

Members of the FAFG declared, “the site is located about 800 meters from the Villalobos River, it is 80 meters long and 10 meters wide. But before the actual exhumation can take place, several layers of debris that have accumulated over the years must be removed.” (3) As a result, two excavators were used in order to dig small trenches that would allow for land-layer analysis.

Some present during the excavations mentioned the location is particularly difficult for several reasons. First, the exact location of the mass grave is unclear, thus making the exploration of the large terrain a time-consuming and labor-intensive one. Also, this road remained a one-lane unpaved highway throughout the 1980s. Hence, many worry that the clandestine cemetery may be located under the pavement, a situation that would render the exhumation project impossible.

This exhumation process has been the first carried out by forensic anthropologists of the FAFG in search of any one of the 183 victims from the Death Squad Dossier. “Since 1992, the FAFG has carried out about 1,100 exhumations of mass graves in which the remains of 5,025 victims from the internal armed conflict have been found… Remains from another 800 victims have been recovered by separate institutions.” (4)

(For more information, please view the photo essay: Visit to the Forensic Anthropological Foundation).

“Helen Mack, president of the Myrna Mack Foundation, organization that legally represents families of 28 victims [listed in the Death Squad Dossier], declared: until now, no one has been found due to the judicial authorities’ lack of will. They have filed the document for good, and not one current or former member of the military has been brought before justice.” (5)

“In November 2005, Mack recalled, a legal process was filed against the State of Guatemala through the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in Washington. It is hoped such institution will present the case before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Costa Rica this coming 2010.” (6)

Amancio Samuel Villatoro served as secretary general for the Chiclets Adams labor union when he was forcibly detained on January 30, 1984. Mr. Villatoro appears in the Death Squad Dossier numbered at 55. Rosario de Villatoro, Amancio Samuel’s widow, who has spent over 26 years searching for her husband, states: “I hope in God’s name that he, or anyone else will appear. We just want to give them a proper burial and have a place where we can take them flowers. His loss has already produced an immense suffering. He died struggling to improve our society, to provide us with more options.”

Also present was Oscar Hernandez, son of the disappeared Oscar David Hernandez Quiroa. The latter served as a volunteer firefighter who, at barely 22 years of age, was disappeared by Guatemalan security forces on February 23, 1984. “Even though my father is not listed in the Death Squad Dossier, my family has a strong hunch that he is here,” states Oscar.

(For more information regarding this case, please view the photo essay: Letter to a Forcibly Disappeared Son).

“The worst torture they could have applied to us was this: the forced disappearance,” comments Aura Elena Farfán. “Both for them who suffered the physical pain, as for us, the families. I have spent 25 years of never-ending struggles searching for my brother. Whether we find him or not, it is a great satisfaction for me to help out the families of the disappeared.”

After a long week, the search unfortunately did not render any signs of human remains. Nevertheless, the organizations plan to continue searching different areas of the terrain along the highway during the first months of 2010.

For more information about the Death Squad Dossier, please follow this link.

To download a pdf version of the entire Death Squad Dossier, click here.

Versión en español aquí.

1 http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-6951217/GUATEMALA-PRESIDENTIAL-CONTEST-WILL-GO.html
2 ACAN-EFE. “Buscarán a dos desaparecidos incluidos en Diario Militar”. Prensa Libre, electronic edition. Guatemala, December 10, 2009.
(http://www.prensalibre.com/pl/2009/diciembre/10/362087.html)
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid.
5 Ibid.
6 Ibid.

Migration and Cultural Syncretism: Patron Saint Day in Todos Santos Cuchumatán

2009-11-24T16:02:00.049-06:00

Todos Santos Cuchumatán. Huehuetenango, Guatemala.

November 1st, 2009.

Issues: Culture & Migration

“We understand cultural syncretism as a process of acculturation, or mixing of different cultures. In general terms, it basically refers to the process by which Europe, and particularly Spain and Portugal, blended with the so-called ‘New Continent’”. (1)

Nevertheless, it is impossible not to perceive the new syncretism that continually embeds itself in our territories due to the complex links arising from the South-to-North migration phenomenon.

The Cuchumatanes sierra is Central America’s highest mountain range. Entrenched in its summits, the municipality of Todos Santos Cuchumatan rises 2,470 meters above sea level. Maya Mam communities have inhabited these cold, dense, and hostile peaks for generations. Mexico is only a few crests in the distance.

Traditions

As Catholic traditions prevail in Guatemala, each town carries out its largest annual festival on its patron saint day. Todos Santos (Spanish for all saints) celebrates its yearly fair on November 1st, All-Saints Day. It is customary in Guatemala, Mexico, and most countries in the region to commemorate the deceased on that date, and well into the 2nd, by visiting cemeteries, decorating graves and placing offerings to those who have passed on. Here in Todos Santos, a jovial spirit from the annual fair reigns above all.

“It is not customary in Guatemala for Mayan men to wear their traditional clothing. But in Todos Santos the men are very proud to do so, as the design and colors were adapted to their worldview in relation to the sacred Mayan calendar – as part of the syncretism found throughout Guatemala.” (2)

“Without a doubt, the horse races are the center of attention in the todosantero festival. Their meaning and origins are vague. One interpretation views them as a recreation of a triumphant escape by [Maya] Mam warriors from Spanish forces. A different opinion sees the event as tied with symbolism relating to the cleansing of the land, as the participants sacrifice a rooster before galloping.” (3)

“In the end, there is no race or competition. The riders, decorated with feathers, woven sashes, and capes, dash along a hundred meter course at the sound of a whistle. Once done, they turn around, and again – over and over, from one end to the other, for hours.” (4)

Migration

“The migratory phenomenon [is] a product of factors that immerse the population in a generalized feeling of despair and an absence of opportunities to live in their country. The lack of governance, combined with the [high] incidence of violence and criminality faced by Guatemalan society, have created a state of extreme insecurity for its citizens.

In addition, the high levels of exclusion and discrimination that the indigenous population is subjected to, strengthen the correlation between indigenous background and poverty in Guatemala. As a result, domestic and international migration becomes the only alternatives to improve their chances in life and to meet subsistence needs." (5)

“Maya Mam peasants, experts in crossing frontiers, have crossed international boundaries between Mexico and Guatemala, identity borders between mestizo and Mam cultures, religious adherence from Catholicism to Protestantism, and, once again, risk their lives to cross international borders as they migrate toward the Unites States.” (6)

Culture

“Culture is the collection of symbols with which humans relate to their environment and through which they explain and recreate that relation. Identity is a manifestation of culture, one that results in the selective and distinctive internalization of certain elements and traits by social subjects.” (7)

“Indigenous cultures are dynamic. Their knowledge and traditions display characteristics of continuity from the past, but they also incorporate modernization processes. Emigration causes changes in life: the community, region, and country are left behind. It affects cultural models and notions about the world that reflect in daily choices involving eating habits, housing, clothing, as well as in collective and public activities. This does not necessarily involve a complete tear with the past, but rather a cultural reconfiguration.” (8)

Young nine-year-old Daniel tells us that he “loves Barcelona!” – reflected by the cap he wears with the football club’s symbol. His traditional outfit also includes a belt that at first seems commonplace. Upon further scrutiny, the belt reveals motifs from a well known animated Hollywood film.

Syncretism

Nevertheless, “how far does the resistance against the hegemonic culture really go and, along with it, a return to the origins, traditions, purity, fundamentalisms? Is it more appropriate to talk about cultural hybridism? Or syncretism? Or pastiche? Those who return, do they bring back only a strong influence of mass culture, of consumerism, of meat and cars, of alcohol, of laziness, of hygienism? Arguments and realities exist for all tastes; the only thing we can be sure of is that all different life modes are constantly in transformation. As a consequence, so is culture, as the guide that helps us wade between trials and errors, between traditions and innovations, between recreations and technologies, the new challenges we all face.” (9)

“The [United States] flag is in itself another marketing symbol, a good, a merchandise that generates profits and is available to whomever wants to purchase it. The expansion of the flag as an icon beyond US borders demonstrates the capacity of the capitalism and cultural hegemony managed by the United States. But it is also a sign of its own weakness. Users of all walks of life – immigrants, youth, rockers, middle-class folk – assign their own meanings and experiences [to the flag]… And, in our case, it reaches out to immigrants and their families, creating a sense of belonging that sometimes surpasses that which their home country has offered them – even if this weighs heavily on northerners and southerners alike.” (10)

“In the cities as in the countryside, we cannot help but notice the most kitsch homes – as if the architecture produced by remittances was just that… The truth is that these improved products are modifying their agents’ landscape. Bordering between mixtures and mestizajes, these products make the changes that migration is bringing to the urban and rural areas evident. These homes reflect that, among other dynamics, migration brings social differentiation. We must always keep this in mind. But, at the same time, these houses represent the search for an improved quality of life and the enjoyment of certain comforts, such as added light, and more private spaces. All in all, a different habitation concept.” (11)

“This brings us to the idea that these people have reached a certain level of development on their own; one that the State has never facilitated for them and that is infinitely more costly for rural than for urban populations. It is a shame that dignified housing and minimal conditions of comfort must be achieved through such extraordinary efforts. Under this view, [migrant] architecture is a monument to the indifferent governments and elites from Central American nations who have not known how to channel these people’s energies other than to overexploit them.” (12)

“All of this becomes increasingly complex when we realize that there is recognition for the immigrants who head north only if their venture is successful. If so, there is an increase in remittances, improved housing, and gold teeth. But no one ever hears about those who disappear, or simply the “failed” ones who could not reach their dreams in physical and economic terms.” (13)

“Alcoholism is a negative cultural factor that is aggravated with the migratory experience – both in the departing and receiving communities.” (14)

“Those who stay build a wall against the failed ones who return, and condemn them to public derision, ostracism, and oblivion. The force behind the ideology of the return – those who leave must do so always believing they will return better off than when he or she left – is expressed throughout Central America and fuels migrants’ efforts. It is a necessary force in order to gather the strength and courage required for the departure, especially considering how brutal and dangerous the journey north can be.

This ideology, however, boasts serious limitations if one does not return triumphantly surrounded by material goods: those who fail earn the branding of a “leper”. Hence, a deep feeling of frustration and the urge to try the journey again pervades among those returnees viewed as failures. This cruel wall of disdain is built by all of us, and as such, it is our responsibility to dismantle it.” (15)

Even on All-Saints day, when families visit their dead, the tombs of those who triumphed in El Norte continue to cast the shadow of disdain on those who failed or never left.

Patron Saint D...

By James Rodríguez -...

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Please follow the link above to preview the 40-page book version of Migration and Cultural Syncretism: Patron Saint Day in Todos Santos Cuchumatán. Available in soft or hard cover, the book includes 80 full color photographs. All proceeds help fund the production of the photo-essays found in MiMundo.org.

Versión en español aquí.

1 http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sincretismo_cultural
2 http://www.tuaventura.org/node/276
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid.
5 Bezáres Cóbar, Patricia. “Aproximaciones para el análisis y estudio sobre la situación de las mujeres indígenas y migración en Guatemala”. Migraciones indígenas en las Américas. Instituto Interamericano de Derechos Humanos. 2007, San José, Costa Rica. P. 115.
6 Hernández Castillo, Rosalía Aída (2004), in International Colloquium Chiapas, ten years later. Ciesas. San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, México.
7 Duarte, Rolando y Teresa Coello. La Decisión de Marcharse: Los pueblos indígenas migrantes de Guatemala y Chiapas. Consejería en Proyectos (PCS). Guatemala, 2007. Pp. 97.
8 Ibid. Pp. 97-8.
9 Cazali, Rosina. Conversation with Manuela Camus and Santiago Bastos. “Mirando desde el Sur”. Migraciones: Mirando al Sur. Centro Cultural de España en México. México, 2009. P. 64.
(http://www.ronaldmoran.com/mirandoalsur.pdf)
10 Ibid. P. 60.
11 Ibid. Pp. 62-3.
12 Ibid.
13 Ibid. P. 61.
14 Op. Cit. Duarte & Coello. P. 101.
15 Op. Cit. Cazali. P. 61.

Xeabaj II: Beneath the Rock and the Storm

2009-10-30T18:13:00.024-06:00

Xeabaj II Village. Santa Catarina Ixtahuacán, Sololá, Guatemala.
October 25th, 2009.

The dense humidity accumulated by violent Pacific currents, crashes brutally against the peaks of the Panimaquín range along the departments of Sololá and Quetzaltenango.

Here, generation after generation, day after day, life goes on amidst the clouds.

The small rural community of Xeabaj II sits surrounded by cornfields, clouds, and pine trees. In the Maya Kakchiquel language, xeabaj means “beneath the rock”. On October 2005, however, nature roared fiercely and the villagers had no choice but to abandon their ancestral lands and relocate above the rock.

“We never thought about moving out here,” the women from the community recount. “We were happy were we used to live. But, one Sunday, it started to rain very heavily all day without stopping. And then again all day Monday. And all day Tuesday. A few landslides began that third afternoon. But by Wednesday, when landslides started occurring everywhere, we became scared.” (1)

That Sunday was October 2nd, 2005, and the endless rain was due to the outer bands of tropical storm named Stan that was crossing the Yucatán Peninsula. “Hurricane Stan was the tenth hurricane of the 2005 season in the Atlantic Ocean… It was a relatively strong storm that, while it was established as a category 1 hurricane during a short period of time, caused floods and landslides in Mexico and Central America… The hurricane caused at least 1,620 deaths (1,500 in Guatemala). This places Stan above Hurricane Katrina with regards to confirmed deaths, and top of the list as the deadliest tropical system of the Atlantic hurricane season in 2005.” (2)

“Our greatest worry were the children, but we tried to hide our fear. The men met with the local mayor and decided to evacuate everyone because the danger was imminent. That was how on Wednesday [October 5th, 2005], we left with our children barely wrapped in sheets and the few belongings that we could carry.” (3)

“It was a terrible tragedy because we didn’t know what to do at the time. We felt we were sinking in the mud that was everywhere. Our sandals and shoes would slide off our feet and were lost in the mud. We were brought to the main town of Santa Catarina Ixtahuacán and were all packed in a small shelter as if we were sheep. There was great despair that lasted for many days.” (4)

Thanks to the solidarity of neighboring communities, and the sale and exchange of plots of land, the relocation of Xeabaj II to a new, much higher, site was completed on December 18th, 2005. “[This land] was not a donation from the municipality, or the government, or some organization. It was thanks to our effort and the support of neighboring communities that we managed to attain this piece of land.” (5)

“When we were already living here, some organizations gave us a few shacks that more or less sheltered us. But the winds were still very strong, and sometimes we would wake up with the canvas roof missing. In the end, we were still suffering. The emergency help was gone quickly, and we had to look for ways to survive. This was when we decided to organize ourselves better.” (6)

“Afterwards, several organizations offered us credit. But since we didn’t have jobs, we didn’t have an income to repay the loans. We didn’t want to indebt ourselves, so we didn’t accept. That was when we met Ramona from the NGO Oxlajuj B’atz’ and were able to start this women’s group to produce candles and textiles. Now, thanks to this project, we are receiving some support. We can’t say our work is perfect, but we are glad that we are moving ahead.” (7)

Lucía Chávez, Oxlajuj B’atz’ field supervisor, explains that the women’s project includes workshops on candle-making, thread-dyeing with natural pigments, textile production, small business management courses, personal health and wellbeing workshops, as well as organizational strengthening of the women’s group.

“Here we don’t have large plots to grow enough produce to sell. All of our harvest is for local consumption. But it’s so cold here that only corn and potatoes grow. The little income we have is from the men who work as day laborers in other communities. We, the women, are in charge of sustaining the community.” (8)

“Now that we have these skills, we want to refine our work. We would also like to learn how to make handcrafted soap to sell, since it is widely used. But our greatest problem is the lack of market for our products. We need to develop a costumer base and find a market where we can sell our products.” (9)

For more information, support, and/or to purchase products made by the Xeabaj II women’s group, please contact:

www.oxlajujbatz.org
thirteenthreads@gmail.com
Ramona Kirschenman, director: ramonakir@yahoo.com

Versión en español aquí.

1 Interview with the Xeabaj II women’s group. Santa Catarina Ixtahuacán, Sololá, Guatemala. June 24th, 2009.
2 http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurac%C3%A1n_Stan
3 Op Cit. Interview with the Xeabaj II women’s group.
4 Ibid.
5 Ibid.
6 Ibid.
7 Ibid.
8 Ibid.
9 Ibid.

Barrio La Union Leader Killed by CGN’s Security Agents in El Estor

2009-09-29T13:35:00.005-06:00

Barrio La Union. El Estor, Izabal, Guatemala.

September 28th, 2009
Issues: Land / Mining / Impunity
(Unless indicated, all photographs were taken in June 2009)

As a result of a frustrated eviction attempt in the community of Las Nubes in El Estor, Izabal, Adolfo Ich Chamán (middle in photograph) was brutally shot and killed by private security guards subcontracted by the Guatemalan Nickel Company (CGN), local subsidiary of HudBay Minerals Inc., a Canadian mining company.

Mr. Ich Chamán was chairman of the Community Committee for Development (COCODE) of the nearby Barrio La Union community, a primary school teacher, and brother-in-law of Ramiro Choc, a high profile imprisoned indigenous and peasant leader. During the attack, the following men were also shot and injured to varying degrees: Samuel Coc, Ricardo Tec, Alfredo Xi, Haroldo Cucul (left in the photograph), Alejandro Acté, Luciano Choc, Hector Choc y Guzman Chub.

According to a National Front for Struggle (Frente Nacional de Lucha in Spanish) communiqué, the events occurred as follows:

On the morning of Sunday, September 27th, 2009, the Departmental Governor, Luz Maribel Ramos, presented herself at the community of Las Nubes without previous warning. A pair of Civil National Police officers and approximately 20 private security agents subcontracted to CGN accompanied the Governess. Maribel Ramos claimed to represent the Government and ordered the community members to immediately vacate the area. According to local witnesses, she stated: “You do not pay taxes. CGN does.” The Governess did not have an official eviction order nor any other document issued by a judge. Therefore, her orders lacked legal backing.

Community members argued that CGN had failed to fulfill any of the previously accorded agreements set by previous negotiations. In the midst of such argument, community members of the neighboring Barrio La Union arrived and offered their solidarity. The Governess left the premises along with her entourage.

Residents of Las Nubes and La Union then initiated a walk towards El Estor so as to denounce the illegal eviction attempt to local municipal authorities, to the Human Rights Ombudsman’s office (PDH in Spanish), and to gather more support from other local groups. However, they never arrived to their destination.

Upon arriving to the community of El Chupon, the group of nine men was ambushed by CGN’s private security agents under the orders of Mynor Padilla and an engineer identified as Otto. Adolfo Ich Chamán, a primary school teacher, was killed as a result of such savage aggression. Hours after the attack and well into the evening, officers from the public prosecutor’s office (Ministerio Publico in Spanish) had still not arrived.

The community of Barrio La Union suffered three violent evictions at the hands of CGN in 2006 and 2007, including the one of January 8, 2007 (photograph of Haroldo Cucul, right, during such event). The land struggle between Maya Q’eqchi’ communities and the Canadian mining company has unleashed a severe and extremely worrisome conflict in the region.

For more information on the conflict and problems caused by the reactivation of the former Exmibal nickel mine, known today as the Fenix project, please view and read the following photo essays:

The Eternal Struggle for Land
Eviction Day
Canadian Mining Company Orders Eviction of Indigenous Communities
Barrio La Revolucion Burns
Eviction Despite Dubious Legal Status
Canadian Ambassador to Guatemala Spreads Misinformation About Mining Issues
We Are Not Squatters, We Are Natives of Guatemala
El Estor Evictions: 6 Months Later
Lake Izabal: Majestic Life Source Flowing Towards its Death
Mining Resistance Continues in El Estor: Barrio La Union

In June 2009, MiMundo.org visited Barrio La Unión and was pleasantly surprised to see how the community had grown and how well they had been using the lands that the mining company wishes to claim for its own use. The following photographs document the visit to the community, approximately three months ago.

Nevertheless, in a meeting with the two main community leaders, Mr. Adolfo Ich Chamán (RIP) and Haroldo Cucul, I was given a document that stated:

We, the people of Barrio La Unión, in El Estor, Department of Izabal, express our concern over the current situation and call the attention of the President and members of Congress to the violation of our indigenous rights, which are protected under Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization.

We are a community of 200 families who have settled on a piece of land that is said to belong to the Guatemalan Nickel Company. The place where we established our community was abandoned when we arrived. CGN began to pressure us and it has been able to do as it pleases - carrying out illegal evictions, destroying our homes – while no one from the local authorities or any organization has taken any action. No one said anything when we were violently evicted, nor did anyone come to our defense. We have been treated inhumanely.

Here, families living in poverty do not have even a small plot of land to call their own where they can build a roof over their heads and pass their days and night with their children in dignity. Our community has many necessities that our authorities must verify. We have widows in need of support, malnourished children, land titles that must be legalized promptly, lack of potable water, dirt roads, lack of electricity.

As of mid-2007, and throughout the following two years, CGN changed its posture and pushed for participation in so-called “dialogue tables”. Violent evictions and harassment of local leaders from surrounding Maya Q’eqchi’ communities ceased significantly. Communities such as Barrio La Union, La Paz, and Barrio La Revolucion managed significant growth in terms of population and agricultural production. Nevertheless, the indigenous communities also began to seriously doubt the true intentions behind such dialogue tables. They strongly suspected CGN was only trying to buy time as this period coincided with a period of industrial inactivity due to well-documented financial problems faced by Canadian parent company Sky Resources. Such financial difficulties resulted in the takeover by current majority stockholder HudBay Minerals Inc. in 2008.

Mrs. Jesusa Ixtecoc Juarez, who courageously attempted to resist the destruction of her humble living quarters during the January 2007 evictions (see photo-essay), has managed to build and upkeep a small general store within Barrio La Union. Her case is one of many that clearly displays positive results from the community’s hard work and resistance.

Appropriately, her store is called “La Union”.

A few weeks ago, on September 11th, community leaders from Barrio La Union, Barrio La Revolucion, La Pista, La Ceiba, Roberto Dala, El Chupon (all in the municipality of El Estor, Izabal), as well as from La Paz, Quebrada Seca, San Julian Vista Hermosa and Chacpayla Lote 8 (all in the municipality of Panzos, Alta Verapaz), released an uncompromising communiqué declaring their cohesion against CGN in which they primarily stated the following:

The meetings during the so-called Dialogue Tables with CGN have not yielded any positive results, as most of the accepted measures by CGN having to do with the ownership of land have not been respected. These futile discussions have only delayed the legal processes… We do not accept any more Dialogue Tables… We demand that the mining company leave our territories in a peaceful manner immediately… In case the company does not comply with our demands stated in this document, we will have to take drastic measures to make sure it does.

The full communiqué can downloaded as .pdf here (in Spanish only).
http://www.mimundo.org/docs/2009_09_11-Comunicado-ComunidadesElEstor.pdf

Only 17 days after the release of the communiqué, these violent events are carried out in El Estor which culminate with the death of a key local leader, Adolfo Ich Chamán, and the hospitalization of eight more community activists.

Furthermore, a day after the events in El Estor, Rights Action had coincidentally scheduled a disaster prevention workshop in Coban, Alta Verapaz that included several local leaders from most of the previously mentioned communities. At a place, known as the Devil’s corner, on the road between La Tinta and Tucuru, men armed with machine guns opened fire on the mini-bus from all sides. Nine men were emitted with bullet wounds. [Originally, erroneous reports suggested the death of Martin Choc, auxiliary mayor of the “Lote 8” community. Nevertheless, no mortal casualties resulted from this violent incident].

Adolfo Ich Chamán (RIP) and Haroldo Cucul during the 30th anniversary of the Committee for Peasant Unity (CUC), April 2008.

February 2008: Adolfo Ich Chamán (bottom left) with Barrio La Unión community members commemorating the violent eviction's first anniversary.

More Information:
Recent killings linked to Canadian-owned nickel mine in Guatemala, by Dawn Paley

Versión en español aquí.