Human rights delegation: Winter Term in Guatemala

To the Editors:

During the month of January, ten Oberlin College students, chemistry professor William Fuchsman, and three Oberlin residents traveled through Guatemala as part of a human rights delegation sponsored by the Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA), a group started in 1981 to coordinate local activism on Guatemala in the United States at a time when human rights abuses were at their highest during the thirty-six year armed internal conflict. After the signing of the Peace Accords in 1996 between the Guatemalan government and guerilla forces, NISGUA has supported the work of international accompaniers in Guatemala and has worked to provide grassroots voices for responsible U.S. policy in the region.
On Jan. 3, our fantastic guide and translator Heather Dean met us at the Guatemala City (Guate) airport. She briefed us on the history, culture, politics and security concerns in Guatemala. The following day we headed to Queztaltenango (Xela) for a week of one-on-one language school and home stays with families.
This time was important not only as a refresher in Spanish, but also as an opportunity to learn about the political situation through chatting with teachers, reading the newspaper, and attending special lectures. People from around the world chose to study at Proyecto Lingüístico Quezalteco because of its left leaning politics, an aspect that was hit home at our graduation when we joined the teachers in singing the official school song “Bella Chao,” which contains the line “Soy communista toda la vida.”
While in Xela we took day trips to the nearby women’s weaving cooperative Asociación Mayalan, the hot springs of Aguas Amargas and to the oldest church (1524) in Central America in the town of Salcajá. On Saturday Jan. 11, we worked with a reforestation project called Chico Mendez, which coupled local conservation efforts on indigenous communal lands with an awareness of how they are affected by larger political and environmental issues such as Plan Puebla Panama. After several hours of demanding physical labor, a volunteer guide for Chico Mendez took us back up the mountain to show us several ancient and still active Mayan altars.
He not only dispelled many common misconceptions about Mayan spirituality, but also shared one of their philosophies on life in the words “Qué amenezca” (That it may dawn). This phrase took on a special significance for many in our group as we remembered it throughout the trip.
On the 12th, we returned to Guate for two days packed with meetings including Myrna Mack Foundation (named in honor of assassinated American anthropologist, this group does human rights work, in particular with the genocide cases in the national courts), UPAVIM (United for a Better Life, a women’s organization in a marginalized urban community that works in handicrafts and education), Tropico Verde (an environmental organization that visited Oberlin College in Fall 2001) and lastly with newly appointed U.S. Ambassador John Hamilton at the U.S. Embassy and for an educational, albeit frustrating, experience with diplomats and U.S. foreign policy.
For many the highlight of this portion of the trip was our visit to the University of San Carlos, where by chance a protest was underway against the entrance examinations, which students believe are both discriminatory in nature and an attempt to privatize their university.
During the years of repression, most of the student leaders and their faculty supporters were killed by the government for their actions of dissent; thus, the current students’ courage to put their lives in danger for what they believe in made a strong impression on our group. The day after our return to Oberlin, we received word that the same students have now taken over the entire university as the protest escalates.
The second phase of the delegation began on Jan. 15 when we traveled to CopalAA, a community founded in 1993 by refugees returning to Guatemala after spending twelve years in camps in Chiapas, Mexico. The entire community turned out to welcome us with incredible hospitality. While in the community we stayed with families, attended meetings with community leaders and the woman’s organization Mamamaquín and enjoyed a marimba dance and weaving exposition.
Life within the community presented us with several adjustments; for example, with no electricity the sun dictated the daytime hours, so bedtime was around 8:30 p.m. and the rain quickly turned the dirt roads into lodo (which redefined the way I thought of mud), thus a task as simple as walking to the elementary school became a challenge. The gains the community has made in the past ten years, such as the high level of community organization based on consensus and a strong political awareness, did not fail to impress us. After leaving CopalAA by boat we spent the night of the 18th in Cantabal, the town that houses the Playa Grande military base where in the early 1980s the Guatemalan military systematically tortured and killed thousands of individuals. There a representative of MINUGUA (United Nations Mission for the Verification of Human Rights in Guatemala) spoke to us about their work to monitor the implementation of the Peace Accords since 1996 and to document human rights abuses of the past and present.
In 2004, MINUGUA will pull out entirely as stated in the Peace Accords, but they leave with the hope of having strengthened the framework for human rights and democracy in Guatemala. Also in Cantabal we met with a university student from Santa Elena who spoke with us about his work in the legal department of the Pastoral Social Office of Catholic Church in the Ixcán region, one of the hardest hit by the Scorched Earth Policy of the 1980s.
From there we rode in a pickup truck to Laguna Lachuá National Park for three days of rest, relaxation, and communing with nature. Another student from San Carlos University accompanied us and gave us talks on the park’s ecology, as well as the detrimental environmental effects of political issues such as PPP, Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), and genetically modified foods.
As we headed to Santa Elena el 20 de octubre, the community of retornados that (the Oberlin group Santa Elena Project of Accompaniment (SEPA) has worked in solidarity with since 1997); the big news in the community was the arrival of the new road, which was under construction after six years of waiting, as well as the possession of land titles last fall, which will legally protect their land from seizure. While in Santa Elena we were treated to a demonstration of chocolate making, a chance to pick cacao in the fields, and a community wide marimba dance.
On our final day, SEPA members John Gates, Bill and Barbara Fuchsman and Michael Kay presented families with scholarships that will enable their children to attend middle and high schools in nearby towns.
In the final stretch of the trip, we spent a night in Cobán, which gave us just enough time to visit the Vivero Verapaz orchid nursery, where volunteers preserve 600 of the more than 750 orchid species native to Guatemala.
The next day we hiked in the Biotopo de Quetzal, a cloud forest, which is also a natural habitat for Guatemala’s endangered national bird, the Quetzal. The night of the 26th was spent in Guate, during which time we had a wrap up meeting to discuss the delegation and possible courses of action upon our return. The following morning saw us off at the Guatemala City airport with parting farewells to the talented Heather, who promises to visit us in March.
With all of these varied and valuable experiences, it is difficult at this point even to process them and grasp their full meaning. Instead, I will say that the trip allowed each of us to understand at a personal level the lasting impact left by the thirty-six year armed internal conflict on the lives of Guatemalans.
We leave inspired by the incredible dedication and determination of activist groups to achieve their goals locally and to understand how they fit into the larger world perspective. This coupling of local and global activism offered us a positive example of effective change. For many of us it was a chance to reevaluate the cynicism present in many activist efforts in the United States.
Lastly, we come back to the United States and into the Oberlin community with a message to share of the people’s fight for a just life and of the hope and optimism that continue to exist in the face of suffering and oppression. Unlike other trips with a concrete outcome (eg. building a house), what we bring back is less tangible, a collection of memories as diverse as our experiences and an inspiration to continue efforts to work in solidarity with Guatemala and Latin America.
While I was personally moved by each story of suffering, struggle, accomplishment and hope shared with us, I believe that the giving was not one sided. In some small way our international presence reassured the activists we met that somewhere in the world others are willing to listen and to take action in support of their efforts. The exchange of ideas alone made the trip worthwhile.
The Oberlin students on the delegation feel strongly about this experience and desire to continue the work begun, and inspired, by this trip. A new student section of SEPA is in the process of being formed and any interested persons should contact the author (mschlott@oberlin.edu).

—Marian Schlotterbeck
College sophomore