CAMINOS Update- April 2005

Accompaniment in Genocide Cases

The genocide cases against two Guatemalan generals continue to move slowly through the Guatemalan court system. Meanwhile, the families that are testifying in these cases receive steadfast accompaniment, provided through solidarity groups worldwide, including CAMINOS. Our newest accompanier, Heidi Gross, went to Guatemala in mid-February for a 6-month stay in the villages of Xix and Ilom, where CAMINOS members have been accompanying witnesses for over 3 years. Heidi is from Spokane, WA, where she was an AmeriCorps Volunteer for Washington Reading Corps, and tutored children in grades K-8 to develop and improve their reading skills. Heidi’s background includes a year in Morelos, Mexico, where she worked in Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos Orphanage teaching English for 250 special case high school students without funds or textbooks, and mentoring troubled teenagers and struggling students. Heidi’s training in Guatemala will include workshops on the human rights situation in Guatemala and the genocide cases in particular, as well as an intensive study of the Ixil language, the language of the region. We welcome Heidi, and look forward to first-hand news from the Guatemalan highlands.

CAMINOS forms the Promesa Partnership to support health needs in the Guatemalan resettlement community of El Tesorito

CAMINOS would like to thank the many participants who danced ‘til dawn (well, 10:30 anyway!) at the recent salsa dance fundraiser at the Mercury Café. People had a terrifically fun time and raised close to $1,000 for CAMINOS’ new health initiative, the Promesa Partnership!

Partnering with a church from Tucson, and a Mayan board of advisors in Guatemala, CAMINOS has pledged to support the ongoing work of health promoters in the resettlement community of Tesorito, in southern Guatemala. CAMINOS has a long history of involvement with the families of Tesorito, including accompanying the families during the founding of the community in 1998. Resettlement from the mountains to the coast brought health concerns, which have not been alleviated in subsequent years. According to a recent report by Tesorito health workers, the most common illnesses are diarrhea and severe respiratory infections. The most frequently infected populations are children under 5 years old. This is caused by a scarcity of latrines, poor hygiene habits, lack of education around preventive measures, large families, environmental contaminants, and lack of adequate resources that support health. All money raised at the fundraiser will go directly to Tesorito’s health team. Huge fundraising thanks go to the band ‘La Quinta Nota’, DJ Jack Mudry, Rick Clifford and Jennifer Dolle, and the staff of the Mercury Café.

Our Culture is our Resistance

Jonathan Moller’s new book of compelling black and white photographs, Our Culture is our Resistance, is intimately linked with the communities that CAMINOS has worked with since 1996. His work documents the history of the Communities of Populations in Resistance, the CPR’s. The story of the CPR/Sierra (where the first two CAMINOS accompaniers lived and worked) is told in quotes, poems, photos and essays by notable writers and activists. Other photos show the CPR resettlement communities where CAMINOS still works and takes delegations. Some of the most moving photos and text portray the exhumations of clandestine graves and massacre sites, and reburials, in the Ixil region, and where the infamous "scorched earth” genocide campaign of the 1980’s took place. The incredible history of the CPR’s, and their courageous, ongoing struggle to live a life of dignity and equality, continues to motivate accompaniers, human rights activists, writers, artists, poets, indigenous groups, and others to contribute to the work of Romero’s “dynamic and generous” peace.

Updates from Brad Lawton:

July 2004 Update

May 2004 Update

March 2004 Update

January 2004 Update

December 2003 Update

Update from Accompanier Matt Lowen:

April 2004 Update

Guatemalan Elections Articles:

Guatemala: Elections and Impunity

Elections but no Democracy in Guatemala

The Promise of the Guatemalan Elections