El femicidio el genocidio racista, y su desarrollo histórico

Posted on June 14, 2011 by MIA

SCROLL DOWN FOR ENGLISH VERSION – Updated June 14th to add the author’s English translation.

El ‘femicidio,’ el genocidio racista, y su desarrollo histórico

David Inczauskis

Doctora María Claudia González

Español 318

25 de abril de 2011

“Yo no encuentro otra solución más que exterminarlos o meterlos en reservaciones como en Estados Unidos. Es imposible meterle cultura a alguien que no tiene nada en la cabeza, culturizar a esa gente es obra de titanes, son un freno y un peso para el desarrollo, sería más barato y más rápido exterminarlos.”

-Un blanco ingeniero industrial de 55 años, 1979-80 (Casaús Arzú, 56)

Sin duda, el femicidio y el genocidio son dos de los temas más controvertidos y ocultos en la historia del ser humano; aun así, en los finales del siglo XX y en la actualidad son problemas notables que todavía forman parte de la sociedad centroamericana. A pesar de que la información acerca del genocidio y el femicidio en Centroamérica—especialmente en la sociedad contemporánea guatemalteca—sigue presentándose con más fuerza y más esperanza de cambios definitivos, la verdad es que el número de muertos, ya alto, sigue aumentando cada semana, cada mes, y cada año. Aunque el femicidio y el genocidio alcanzaron su presencia más obvia en el periodo llamado La Violencia, la cual tuvo lugar entre 1978 y 1983 durante los últimos anos de la guerra interna, las raíces de este tipo de violencia en Centroamérica se encuentran en periodos anteriores: la cultura maya (las influencias precolombinas) en el caso del femicidio, el colonialismo en el caso del genocidio racista (las influencias coloniales), y las primeras dictaduras del siglo XX en el caso de los dos (las influencias contemporáneas).

El trasfondo de la sociedad guatemalteca antes de la dilatada guerra civil (1960-1996) destaca los orígenes del problema del femicidio, los cuales permitieron que el Estado y el ejército nacional realizaran—sin dificultad—las atrocidades que sucedieron en los años setenta y ochenta. Las dos raíces violentas más fundamentales en la comprensión de la mentalidad del gobierno y el hombre de la época son la mentalidad machista que provenía de las relaciones familiares mayas y las dictaduras de la primera mitad del siglo XX que sistematizaron la matanza cotidiana doméstica de la mujer. En cuanto a la sociedad maya y su apoyo de la violencia del hombre contra la mujer, un estudio realizado por David Carey Jr. y M. Gabriela Torres declara que “el derecho consuetudinario en muchas comunidades mayas admitía que los hombres pegaran a sus mujeres” (Carey 146) (1). Por lo tanto, las costumbres mayas han consolidado el punto de vista de que la mujer es propiedad de su marido y que el hombre tiene la potestad de golpear a su esposa si ella no hace lo que quiere él. Lo sorprendente es que una de las razones citadas hoy en día es la continuación del uso de las traiciones mayas para ‘justificar’ su crimen ante el juez. De tal manera, la historia se repite. Además, el trabajo de Carey Jr. y Gabriel Torres destaca otra muestra de las raíces históricas del femicidio en sus comentarios sobre las dictaduras de la primera mitad del siglo veinte, específicamente las de Estrada Cabrera y Jorge Ubico. Por ejemplo, afirman que la “violencia que se basa en el género sostenía las dictaduras” y—aún más chocante—“los gobiernos más democráticos que gobernaron desde 1920 hasta 1931” (Carey 146). La utilización del femicidio por parte de estos gobiernos normalizó la violencia en contra de la mujer guatemalteca y permitió que los hombres siguieran con sus actos maliciosos. Por eso, cuando la guerra interna comenzó en el año 1960, la violencia basada en el género ya se había establecido firmemente en la sociedad.

[1] He traducido las citas que utilizo del trabajo de Carey y Gabriela Torres. Si desea ver los textos de primera mano, mire la bibliografía.

Del mismo modo, el establecimiento y la normalización del genocidio racista en parte proceden de las dictaduras antes de la guerra civil en la época contemporánea; sin embargo, adicionalmente, hay que añadir la influencia de fases sustancialmente anteriores: el colonialismo del siglo XVI y el calvinismo del siglo XIX. El primer rasgo del origen del racismo contra-indígena es el colonialismo. En lugar de incorporar a los indígenas en la vida cotidiana española al llegar en las nuevas tierras, hasta cierto punto los recién llegados establecieron “una sociedad dual y de castas” (Casaús Arzú 22) en la cual fue difícil traspasar las limitaciones sociales y económicas de las fronteras racistas. Ya se podía observar las raíces bien formadas de una sociedad opresiva cuando los criollos y los peninsulares se ponían por encima de los nativos simplemente a causa de la sangre. La situación se hizo más dura y opresiva con la llegada de documentos que certificaban la pureza de la sangre de algunas familias originalmente españolas. Una muestra concreta de la importancia del color de piel, estas certificaciones pusieron los pensamientos racistas sobre el papel. Conjuntamente, los pensamientos religiosos (y calvinistas, sobre todo) habían contribuido al ambiente racista de la época antes de la cúspide del genocidio guatemalteco porque estos pensamientos decían que se puede discriminar a los indígenas “porque son idólatras, pecadores y representan las fuerzas del mal” (Casaús Arzú 32). La ideología protestante—en su forma más radical—también actuó contra la igualdad a base de su propia racionalización del prejuicio sistematizado. Mientras Hitler establecía su opresión religiosa en Alemania, los altos guatemaltecos ya habían absorbido su mentalidad genocidita. Con respecto a los regímenes de Estrada Cabrera y Ubico, un estudio escrito por Marta Elena Casaús Arzú subraya el influjo de la homogeneización guatemalteca durante aquella etapa sobre el desarrollo del racismo confirmando, “[los modelos] de nación y nacionalidad eran partidarios de la homogeneización nacional y del blanqueamiento racial por la vía de la eugenesia” (Casaús Arzú 36). Ante un periodo mundial en el que los alemanes y los italianos estaban desarrollando pensamientos purificadores, algunos blancos guatemaltecos se sometieron—nuevamente—a estas influencias violentas que recalcaban la necesidad de purificar la raza nacional y en consecuencia fomentaban el genocidio de los años siguientes.

La culminación de la violencia a modo de genocidio racista y femicidio tuvo lugar entre los finales de los años setenta y los principios de los años ochenta con más de 200.000 muertes. A lo largo de esta época oscura de la historia guatemalteca, el gobierno y el ejército utilizaron su influencia, su poder, y el temor para mantener su régimen y para suprimir los derechos de la mujer y del indígena. Como ha destacado Casaús Arzú en su sección sobre esta etapa de la guerra civil, el ejército aspiraba a “exterminar al pueblo maya, declarándolo enemigo interno” (Casaús Arzú 58). El resulto de esta estrategia militar fue la inhumana matanza de miles de ciudadanos indígenas con un montón de asesinos obviamente marcados por el exceso de violencia. La mayoría de los mayas no habían sido traidores del gobierno militar ni habían participado en ninguna acción distinta de sus vidas cotidianas; no obstante, los mataron. Acerca de la mujer indígena, las consecuencias de la guerra fueron bárbaramente fatales. En un reportaje dado por un testigo de la brutalidad del genocidio, se describe, “[Los soldados] abrieron la panza de una mujer embarazada y sacaron el nene y al nene le pusieron un palo atrás hasta que le salió por la boca” (Casaús Arzú 63). Es decir, el ejército realizó asesinos públicos y tortura pública para que la comunidad indígena ‘terminara’ dando ayuda al bando que luchó contra el gobierno establecido y para que se diera cuenta de que son inferiores para siempre. Esta idea de que los indígenas ‘merecen’ la tortura en base a su raza no terminó con la llegada de la democracia años después; más bien, empezó a solidificarse como la normalidad del tratamiento del indígena y de la mujer. Hoy en día, el gobierno hace la vista gorda cuando aparecen cuerpos en las calles, y los tribunales no dan castigo (o castigo suficiente) a los criminales.

Lo más sorprendente en cuanto al femicidio y el genocidio racista es que son obstáculos graves que todavía no se han solucionado completamente. Mientras los asesinos, la violencia doméstica, y el racismo siguen siendo problemas insoportables—y en muchos sectores han ido aumentando con respecto a su gravedad—en la sociedad actual en algunas regiones de Centroamérica, los gobiernos distintos no han respondido a los gritos de auxilio—de las mujeres en particular. De hecho, en la última sección de su análisis del femicidio, Carey Jr. y Gabriela Torres cifran, “La policía hoy en día solamente hacen arrestos en dos por ciento de los cinco mil homicidios cada año en Guatemala” (Carey 161). En esta época posguerra en la cual no es fácil distinguir entre los asesinos respaldados por el estado y los asesinos no afiliados, las organizaciones no gubernamentales tienen más problemas acerca de la identificación del origen contemporáneo de los asesinos racistas y los asesinos basados en el género. Por lo tanto, es más importante que nunca empezar a estudiar nuevamente las causas de este problema real y comprometido. En vez de continuar soportando el femicidio y el comportamiento irracional de un porcentaje de los hombres actuales guatemaltecos, hay que comenzar el proceso del aumento del conocimiento internacional para que el gobierno guatemalteco se dé cuenta de que su inacción inadmisible. Sin embargo, no solo es necesario incrementar la consciencia mundial, sino también educar la población interna para que las mujeres y los indígenas aprendan que hay modos de encontrar ayuda si se encuentran en una situación violenta o despectiva. Como la violencia, el sexismo, y el racismo siguen constituyendo parte de la vida cotidiana centroamericana, cada día se hace más relevante que haya un cambio radical y de ruptura que cambie la circunstancia desdeñosa.

Bibliografía

Carey, David, y M. Gabriela Torres. “Guatemalan Women in a Vortex of Violence.”

Precursors to Feminicide. Impreso.

Casaús Arzú, Marta Elena. “Genocidio: ¿La máxima expresión del racismo en Guatemala?.”

Cuadernos del presente imperfecto. 4. Impreso.

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David JW Inczauskis is a Reynolds Scholar from Wake Forest University, class of 2014, who just finished a semester abroad at Universidad de Salamanca, Spain. This essay was written as a school assigment while still in Spain. The goal was to address issues in modern day Latin America, and he chose the topic in order to relate to the reading assignments provided by MIA in preparation to his time in Guatemala. In July 2011, David will be joining MIA in Guatemala and help with the Hombres Contra Feminicidio campaign as he also does research on children, youth and women issues.

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Feminicide, Racist Genocide, and Their Historical Development

David JW Inczauskis

Doctor María Claudia González

Spanish 318

April 25, 2011

“I do not find another solution than to exterminate them or put them on reservations like in the United States. It is impossible to force culture on someone who has nothing in their brain, to culture those people is the work of titans, they are an impediment and deadweight to development, it would be cheaper and quicker to exterminate them.”

-A 50 year old White industrial engineer, 1979-80 (Casaús Arzú, 56)

Without doubt, feminicide and genocide are two of the most controversial and hidden topics in human history; even so, towards the end of the 20^th century and in modern times they were and are notable problems that still form part of Central American society. In spite of the fact that information about genocide and feminicide in Central America—especially in the contemporary Guatemalan society—continues to present itself with increasing voice and increasing hope for definitive changes, the truth is that the number of killings, already high, continues increasing each week, month, and year. Although feminicide and genocide reached their most obvious presence during the period called “the Violence,” which took place between 1978 and 1983 during the last years of the Guatemalan civil war, the roots of this type of violence in Central America date back to previous times: Mayan culture (pre-Columbus influences) in the case of feminicide, colonialism in the case of racist genocide (colonial influences), and the first dictatorships of the 20^th century in the case of both (contemporary influences).

The societal background of Guatemala before the elongated civil war (1960-1996) highlights the origins of the problem of feminicide—the ideological base that allowed the State and the national army to commit—without much difficulty—the atrocities that occurred in the sixties and the seventies. The two most fundamental violent roots that serve to understand the mentality of the government and the Guatemalan citizen of the time are the “machismo” that came from Mayan relationships within their own families and the dictatorships of the first half of the 20^th century that systematized the daily domestic killings of women. Concerning Mayan society and its support of male violence against women, a study conducted by David Carey Jr. and M. Gabriela Torres declares that “the customary rights in many Mayan communities allowed men to hit women” (Carey 146). Therefore, the Mayan customs have strengthened the point of view that a woman is the property of her husband and that men have the responsibility of hitting their wives if their wives do not do what they want. One of the most surprising aspects is that men continue to use these Mayan customs in the courtroom to justify their malicious actions. Unfortunately, history is repeating itself. Moreover, Carey Jr. and Gabriel Torres’s work highlight another example of the historical roots of feminicide through their commentary about the dictatorships of the first half of the 20^th century, specifically the dictatorships of Estrada Cabrera and Jorge Ubico. For example, the researchers affirm that “gender violence sustained dictatorships” and—even more shocking—“sustained the more democratic governments that held power between 1920 and 1931” (Carey 146). The usage of feminicide by those governments normalized violence against Guatemalan women and permitted men to continue their violent acts. Therefore, by the time that the internal war initiated in 1960, gender violence already had established itself firmly in Guatemalan society.

Similar to gender violence, the establishment and the normalization of racist genocide in part find their origins in the pre-civil war dictatorships; however, additionally, one must include the influence of earlier epochs: 16^th century colonialism and 19^th century Calvinism. The first source of anti-indigenous racism is colonialism. Instead of incorporating the indigenous into daily Spanish life in the New World, the newcomers established a “dual society of castes” (Casaús Arzú 22) in which it was difficult to overcome the social and economic limitations created by the racist barriers. It was already easy to observe the well-formed roots of an oppressive society as the Spanish put themselves above the natives solely because of their ‘untidy’ appearance. The situation became more harsh and despotic with the appearance of documents that certified the purity of the blood of the families of European origin. A concrete example of the importance of the color of one’s skin, these certificates put racist thoughts on paper. Similarly, religious beliefs—above all Calvinist beliefs—had contributed to the racist environment in the era before the height of Guatemalan genocide because these beliefs stated that anyone could discriminate against the indigenous “because they are idolatrous, sinners, and they represent the forces of evil” (Casaús Arzú 32). The protestant ideology—in its most radical form—also acted against equality given its rationalization of the prejudiced system. While Hitler was establishing religious oppression against the Jewish in Europe, the high-status Guatemalans had already constructed their own form of genocide. With respect to the regimes of Estrada Cabrera and Ubico, one study written by Marta Elena Casaús Arzú emphasizes the influence of Guatemalan homogenization during those dictatorships on the development of racism confirming, “The models of nation and nationality were supportive of national homogenization and racial whitening through eugenics” (Casaús Arzú 36). Faced with a global period in which the Germans and the Italians were developing their purifying ideology, some Ladino Guatemalans submitted themselves—again—to these violent influences that stressed the necessity of purifying the national race and as a consequence fomented the genocide that was to come.

The culmination of violence by way of racist genocide and feminicide took place during the final years of the 1970s and the first few years of the 1980s with more than 200,000 slayings. Throughout this dark time in Guatemalan history, the government and the army used their influence, power, and fear to maintain their regime and to nullify the human rights of the women and of the indigenous. As Casaús Arzú has highlighted in her section concerning this stage of the civil war, the national army aspired to “exterminate the Mayan people, declaring them an internal enemy” (Casaús Arzú 58). The result of this military strategy was the inhumane killing of thousands of indigenous citizens with a large amount of slayings marked by excessive violence. The majority of the Mayans had not been “traitors” of the military government nor had participated in any action different from their normal lives; nevertheless, they murdered them. Regarding the indigenous women, the consequences of the war were barbarously fatal. In one report given by a witness of the brutality of the genocide, the witness describes, “The soldiers opened the womb of a pregnant woman and took out the fetus. Then, they took a poll and stuck it up the fetus until it came out of its mouth” (Casaús Arzú 63). Better said, the army carried out public assassinations and public torture so that the indigenous community would “finish” giving help to the revolutionaries that fought against the established military government and so that they would once and for all realize that they were “inferior.” The idea that the indigenous deserved the torture based on their race did not end with the arrival of democracy years later; rather, it started to solidify itself as a normality of the treatment of the indigenous people and of women. Today, the Guatemalan government turns a blind eye when corpses appear in the streets, and the tribunal courts do not punish (or do not adequately punish) the criminals.

The most shocking component of feminicide and racist genocide is that they are both obstacles that have not yet been eradicated. While the slayings, domestic violence, and racism continue being insupportable problems—and in many sectors have heightened in their graveness—in modern society in some regions of Central America, the national governments have not responded to the cries for help—from women in particular. In fact, in the last section of their analysis of feminicide, Carey Jr. and Gabriela Torres cite, “The police of today only arrest in 2% of the 5,000 homicides committed each year in Guatemala” (Carey 161). In this postwar stage in which it is not easy to distinguish between the murderers backed by the State and the unaffiliated crimes, the non-governmental organizations have even more problems identifying the contemporary origin of racist attacks and gender-based murders. Therefore, it is more important than ever to renew the study of the causes of this all-too-real problem. Instead of continuing to support feminicide and the irrational behavior of a percentage of current Guatemalan men, we must begin a process that raises international awareness so that the Guatemalan government will realize that its inaction is unacceptable. However, it is not only necessary to raise international awareness because we must also educate the domestic population so that women and natives learn that there are ways to find help if they find themselves in a violent or aggressive situation. As violence, sexism, and racism continue constituting part of the daily Central American lifestyle, the necessity of radical change becomes more and more relevant.

Bibliografía

Carey, David, y M Gabriela Torres. “Guatemalan Women in a Vortex of Violence.”

Precursors to Feminicide. Impreso.

Casaús Arzú, Marta Elena. “Genocidio: ¿La máxima expresión del racismo en Guatemala?.”

Cuadernos del presente imperfecto. 4. Impreso.

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Student activists

Posted on April 1, 2011 by MIA

At the risk of sounding repetitive, I’d just like to start with: what a week!

On Monday, Lucia went down to the U.S. embassy to promote the right to vote outside the country for presidential and congressional elections, as well as to explain to the social movement here the various initiatives undertaken in the United States to support the request of TPS for Guatemalans in the United States presented by the Guatemalan Government last June.

You can read more about it in Spanish at La Hora’s website: http://www.lahora.com.gt/notas.php?key=83369&fch=2011-03-25.

This is where MIA wears two hats: working with our own mission and also as a part of the Red para la Paz y el Desarrollo para Guatemala.

THE CAMPAIGN

We had a pretty successful day at the all-boys’ school in Zone 8. The boys are enamored with our facilitator, Manolo. Already the boys “aww” when we leave. There’s always “discipline” issues, but usually we can channel all their vivacious energy into our activities. (No small feat this, with classes of about 40 ten-year-olds.)

USAC classes on Thursday were fun times. We assigned a reading on the role of women in the history of the Maya-Quiché, based on their presence in the Popol Vuh, which generated a lot of interest and discussion. The students had a lot to say about how societies develop their social norms and where these norms might come from. During the course of the workshop we talked about people who influence us, and in our responses we got everything from Daddy Yankee to Álvaro Colóm (el señor presidente) to our mothers and fathers, and even our kids.

The students’ homework for this week is to get together their midterm project: an interview with a person who influences them in a positive way and an oral presentation about this person. I am really, really excited to hear more about the students’ backgrounds and learn about the people who have made them who they are. I think one of the students is even going to talk about Lucía as her “persona influyente”!

INCA

On Friday, Carlos and I headed over to el INCA (Instituto Normal de Centro América), the all-girls’ school where Angie studied (see my previous post for more on Angie’s story) and where we give our workshops on Fridays. We were feeling some pretty mixed emotions because this was going to be the first time we would see the girls since the death of their friend and our former student.

I’m not sure what exactly we expected to hear from the students, but what we saw was nothing like what I had expected.

When we turned the corner to go towards the school’s main entrance, three girls standing in the sidewalk said hi and explained to us that the students’ association was occupying the building and had cancelled classes for the day. They took us to one of the girls guarding the entrance and the girls there (students of 6to magisterio, 15-year-olds) explained to us and to some parents who had gathered around that there was nothing to worry about. Everyone in the building was safe and no one was being held against their will. All students would be let out at the normal end of the school day at 12:30.

When we asked if they could tell us more about what was going on, they explained that (and this paragraph is all more or less translation and paraphrasing) after Angie’s death, when the students of the three highest grades decided to march in protest to the Palacio Nacional, where Ban-Ki Moon was visiting with the president, their principal forbade them to leave school grounds. But the girls wanted justice and wanted to make their voices heard and so they left, with 16 teachers (none of whom had pressured the girls to leave). The principal was ticked off and has since declared that 4 of those 16 teachers are essentially eligible to be fired (even under Guatemala’s employee protection laws) for “abandonment of their posts”. The students are outraged by this abuse of power and have taken possession of their school in a non-violent way to speak out against the principal’s actions and in fact, ask for her to be replaced instead of the teachers.

They let us in to see the girls’ and as far as I could tell, there was no one being held against their will. The girls were letting the younger kids go about their classes and recess as usual on their side of the building (their was even a sound system to play music for the kids during their recess). The other side of the building, where the older students have class was basically a scene from last year’s student power protests but with younger actors. The girls were sitting on the floor anywhere they could find shade, and a bunch of them had gathered in the central courtyard under the (scorching!) sun to listen to girls from 6to explain their demands and join them in chants of “El INCA unido jamás sera vencido!” And “ Qué queremos?” “Justicia!” And “Voz y voto”, because those are the two things that in the current system, our girls just don’t have.

Photo by LA HORA: JOSÉ OROZCO

Check it out for yourself:

http://www.lahora.com.gt/notas.php?key=83383&fch=2011-03-25

Angélica Aimé Martínez Vivar

Posted on March 25, 2011 by MIA

This week, 16 year-old Angélica Aimé Martínez Vivar, who participated in MIA’s workshops at INCA (all-girls’ school in zone 1) last year, was killed on her bus home from school by a stray bullet. Angie’s death marks the second time in the last two years that MIA has lost a young family member to senseless violence.

A “bala perdida” is a bullet that misses its intended mark but finds another. These are the two scariest words I have ever heard in any language. It is the epitome of senseless, random violence. There is no precaution against pure chance. Angie wasn’t engaging in any “high-risk behaviors” when she was killed: she was caught in cross-fire on a bus going home from school.

But honestly, this is the reality in Guate right now. Living in the city means living under a shroud of fear and distrust. You step out on the street and everyone you see is a potential mugger/assaulter/rapist/murderer. You must always be on guard, evaluate everyone you see, keep track of places to duck into if everything goes wrong. Going for a walk around the block can be exhausting.

It might be the legacy of thirty years of civil war, it might be the result of a market flooded with small arms, it might be due to the government’s inaction over the past few decades. But it’s hard to care about why and how we got here when a 16-year old dies and we cannot hold a single person accountable. If justice exists in cases like this it will not come through the trial of one individual.

We must prosecute the entire society, the structural violence and lack of opportunities that led three men to board a bus with arms and demand money from the passengers. We must prosecute the culture of fear that led one man to carry a firearm for personal defense. We must prosecute the culture of individualism and machismo that made him defend himself by opening fire.

I know all this sounds like rhetoric with no practical application. But in a way, this is what MIA does. From our own humble place we are fighting all these things and struggling each and every day to change them, one person at a time.

And for what it’s worth, I am proud of our girls at INCA. When they heard about this senseless act of violence they did not just go home and cry like generations of women were taught to. They marched out onto the streets, protesting against all those ineffable evils that force them to stay inside. They went out and they screamed, not with fear or anguish, but with anger, with outrage at the mindless violence that surrounds them. They marched to the Palacio Nacional, the seat of the Guatemalan executive on a day when Ban-ki Moon himself was in attendance to make themselves heard.

I can’t know if MIA being in this school played a part in these girls’ ability to find their voices, but I’d like to think that our workshops, where many of these girls get to talk about what it means to be a woman with a voice and how to channel this voice to make Guatelinda a little more linda plays a part in the confidence, courage, and valor it took for them to do this.

We’ll be back in INCA next week with these girls, and until then, kudos to these bright young girls, with them at the helm, we can all have high hopes for the future of this city.

Photo from El Periodico: http://www.elperiodico.com.gt/es/20110317/pais/192570/

Getting ready for USAC – UPDATE

Posted on March 16, 2011 by MIA

So I missed opening day, but Carlos, Manolo, and Lucia, who facilitated the first three workshops de-briefed me and the classes were a resounding success. And by resounding success I mean applause, standing ovations! Around 50 students all told, and all excited to continue learning about gender roles and violence in Guatemala!

This is incredible! We are getting college students who are hungry to learn more about our work and to get involved with the lucha! Even before class started, Lucia was bombarded with e-mails asking for readings and information to get started. These young people are ready and excited to learn more, and MIA is here to guide them. We have started a journey that is going to be transformative for our students and hopefully for us facilitators too. A very exciting time for MIA!!

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Vineeta Singh is young American college graduate woman who in 2010 worked in Guatemala as an English teacher for a well-to-do private school. As she learned about the violent reality of Guatemala, particularly for women, Vineeta looked around for activities that she could get involved with. She found this website first then Lucia Muñoz, who welcomed her immediately. Vineeta quickly embraced the Hombres Contra Feminicidio Campain and soon became a co-facilitator. She returned to Guatemala in February 2011 to work with MIA for 5 months.

Getting ready for USAC

Posted on March 14, 2011 by MIA

What a week!

It started like a regular week, I did some training with Manolo and Carlos (our facilitators who are going to help us at USAC) and some planning with Edwin (who helps us at Pedro Pablo Valdez). In the middle of the week Lucia was able to get the names and contact information for ALL the schools at the University who work on a credit-based system!!! This meant I could go talk to the HEADS of EVERY department where we could give students credit.

Talk about a break!

So I saddled up and spent Wednesday and Thursday running from one faculty to the next. I visited Agriculture, Humanities, Dentistry, Political Sciences, Engineering, the Normal School for teaching, Social Work, and the Chemical Sciences & Pharmacy. (Turns out the USAC campus is huuuuuuuuuge.)

After a lot of getting lost and a loooooooooooot of waiting in offices, I was able to make friends with many of the Deans’ secretaries and got in some face time with almost every dean or their close representative. Three of them agreed to let me post fliers and go into classrooms to talk to students (IN PERSON!) about our workshops. As MIA’s ambassador, I went from class to class plugging the awesomeness that is our Hombres Contra Feminicidio. Several of the professors made a point to tell their students how important MIA’s work is, and we had a bunch of students call and write Lucia to sign up! Success(es)!

It was absolutely exhausting, but I cannot believe how many important people I was able to see in the space of two days, crash-course in networking at the university!

Yesterday we had another succesful day at Inca. The teacher who hosts us was absent but we talked to the vice principal who gladly let us into the classes. Without a teacher of course it was a little tricky to keep the girls on task, but we ended up being able to direct their energies into lively discussions about how men and women “are” and how they “could be”.

I’m writing right now at the airport (free wi-fi at the airport? Guate win!) because I have to skip town for a few days. Unfortunately I have to miss our big opening day at the University THIS THURSDAY(!!), but Lucia is filling in for me with Manolo and Carlos, so I’m hoping my new trainees will make us all proud! Suerte ‘manos!!!!!

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Month 1

Posted on February 26, 2011 by MIA

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Yesterday I finished a whole month working full-time for MIA.

It feels like just yesterday that I met Lucia for the first time and she took me to the plaza central for an authentic atól experience.

At the same time, it feels like I’ve been working with my co-facilitators for a lifetime.

Most of this last month for me consisted of paperwork and legwork. Both of these things taught me that the only way to not go crazy working for an NGO in Guatemala is to cultivate a Zen-like tranquility and patience.

Lots of patience

I don’t know how many hours of my first two weeks I spent in waiting rooms trying to get in some face-time with this or that contact at the San Carlos University, how many times I told Lucia, “No I still haven’t heard back from…” But with patience and persistence I’m making sure all my chair-warming and e-mail sending gets me responses.

On the Feb. 11th, I finally got to show off my stuff at USAC when Paco and I facilitated a mini-workshop with activities from workshops 1 and 4 of Hombres Contra Feminicidio for everyone who works at the Unidad de Salud at the University. (Check out the pictures on the Facebook page!)

On the 15th, Edwin (El Colocho) and I started our workshops at La Escuela Primara Pedro Pablo Valdéz in zone 1 with boys in fourth, fifth, and sixth grades. The kids are really energetic, and they’ve been makind. El Colocho and me work really hard to channel all that energy into class discussions. Some of them have taken workshops with other facilitators before and they’re really an interesting bunch with opinions all over the spectrum.

On the 18th, Paco and I started our workshops at instituto INCA in Zone 1 with girls in high school (I want to say they’re all sections of the 10th grade, but I might be totally wrong, they’re in 4to magisterio, and Paco and Jenny have explained the school system to me multiple times, but it just won’t stick.). More on them when I’ve had a chance to hear from them in class discussions.

Recently, I’ve been spending time training two brand new facilitators: Manolo and Carlos. Manolo is an old friend of MIA’s who used to work with delegations a couple of years ago and is going to make his debut as a bona fide facilitator on the 10th of March, when we officially start up at the University. Carlos is a “practicante” (intern), who’s working with MIA to fulfill his internship requirement for school. He just started with us this week but we hope to have him ready to facilitate on the 10th too.

I unfortunately have to be out of town on the day of our big debut, so Lucia is going to be the one to dazzle our students on Day 1 with Manolo and Carlos.

Looking ahead to the next week, there will be a lot of planning and rehearsing with the new facilitators to make sure they’re ready to shine on the 10th and last-minute logistics double-checking to make sure we get all our prospective students in the right place at the right time.

More to come in March 2011.

Guatemala, September 2 – 12, 2010

Posted on October 7, 2010 by MIA

By Daniel Velásquez

I was in Guatemala from September 2 to the 12 to support the work M.I.A. is currently performing in regards to Campaña Hombres Contra Feminicidio (Men Against Feminicide) and raising awareness among civil society organizations of the country’s needs for a Temporary Protection Status (TPS).

Training for Trainers

My first assignment was to lead a workshop for the Campaign facilitators. M.I.A. has recruited about 12 young college students from USAC to facilitate the campaign workshops at the National Police Academy, an elementary school in zone 8 and USAC itself.

: Facilitators preparing for a presentation

My workshop focused on developing better presentation skills and introducing evaluation techniques. Part of the exercises were to lead a workshop and have a feedback session to identify strengths and weaknesses in their skills.

The facilitators were motivated throughout the workshop. Their excitement was noticeable, specially when they had to make posters for their presentation.

: Two facilitators presenting.

There was also a chance for Simón Pedroza, a poet and former facilitator, to share his experience with the Campaign.

: Simon Pedroza, left, speaking to facilitators

The workshop ended with an evaluation of this same workshop. Among the feedback was the need the facilitator feel for more similar workshops.

Bus Driver Widows

In Guatemala City, many bus drivers have been killed by gangs that demand money for letting them work in the neighborhood the gangs themselves control. (Read more here)

For the past two months, M.I.A. has been meeting with a group of 5 bus driver widows and worked on ways for them to empower and help themselves have financial stability under the new circumstances. Many of these women have had little education and live in neighborhoods considered very dangerous. M.I.A. recruited two young women to help these women come up with a plan. After a few meetings, they decided to get training to start their own small business. M.I.A. gave these 5 women a micro credit to help them get their business started.

During this trip, I had the opportunity to visit one of the widows and learn first hand about her work. Both of the women we visited are managing their own food stand outside their homes. Among the feedback collected is the need for the women to get more training in accounting and managing their expenses and counting their profits.

: M.I.A. volunteers evaluate the developing of the microcredit.

: M.I.A. volunteers visit another of the microcredit receipients.

Although the financial benefits of the micro credit will take a few months to show, the impact they have on the receipients are noticed immediately. The opportunity M.I.A. offers with the micro credit gives these women a boost to their self esteem: independence, control, confidence and a sense of pride and ownership for what they do.

Speaking Immigration at Canal VEA

Through Lucia Muñoz, M.I.A. Executive Director, I was invited to speak live on TV at a local cable channel, VEA Canal. The show was called “Conversemos” and was conducted by Karina Gonzalez de Rottmann. The topics of conversation were about the Temporary Protection Status (TPS), the xenophobic environment for Guatemalans in the U.S. and also the financial and emotional price of migrating from Guatemala to the U.S.

: Vea Canal studios.

The overall interview went really well. However, I had to explain to Karina about my background as an immigrant and how I relate and get myself involved in the issues of those Guatemalans who live in the U.S. undocumented. I assumed I was not the stereotypical immigrant man he expected to meet.

The HCF Campaing at I.N.C.A.

During the month of September, M.I.A. was most active with the Hombres Contra Feminicidio Campaing at the all-female Instituto Normal para Señoritas Centro América, I.N.C.A. I had the opportunity to co-faciliate workshops there with Lucía Muñoz and Ana L. The topic for that week was sexual harassment.

Lucia Muñoz introduces the topic of sexual harrassement to the students.

Lucia Muñoz introduces the topic of sexual harassment to the students.

The workshop made emphasis on the different ways that sexual harassment occurs. Students discovered that harassment often depends on the circumstances in which it happens and that when it does happen, it is due to a power inequality. They were also made aware of the harassment as something unwanted, discriminatory based on gender and sexual orientation, and it also creates an unhealthy emotional and physical environment for the victim. We also discussed how harassment is an expression of authority and power through sex.

Ana and me explaining to the class the workshop's methodology.

Ana and me checking with the class the workshop's exercise.

Meetings at the Human Rights Ombudsman office

M.I.A. and the GPDN, represented by Lucía Muñoz and myself, respectively, met with the representative of Migrant Affairs at the Guatemala Human Rights Ombudsman office in order to coordinate a letter from the civil society and the Catholic church to the Guatemala President, Alvaro Colom, asking to pressure more the U.S. in asking for the TPS for Guatemalans in the U.S.

There were two more meetings to polish the content of the letter. It was delivered by activist and representatives of M.I.A. and GPDN on September 24 at the Presidential Palace. Prensa Libre reported on the event here.

Meeting Estudios Tecomate

Lucia Muñoz and I had a chance to meet Abner García from Estudios Tecomate and present to him the Hombres Contra Feminicidio campaign. Among the ideas that were discussed there were Abner’s own: podcasts.

Although podcasts are new territory for M.I.A., and me personally, I offered to write a script for the first show. Abner volunteered his time and expertise in audio technology to produce the shows.

The best part of working with Abner is his professionalism and quick delivery. In less than a month now M.I.A. has its first podcast AVAILABLE HERE. (spanish only)

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Daniel Velásquez is Guatemalan and a member of the Guatemala Peace and Development Network. Daniel has helped M.I.A. since its foundation with translating documents and production of graphic materials. He currently lives in New York.

M.I.A. is a founding member of the Guatemala Peace and Development Network, GPDN.

Workshop with group Epsum

Posted on September 29, 2009 by MIA

Workshop at Epsum group from Daniel Velasquez on Vimeo.

Video by Marina Wood.

Posted on September 28, 2009 by MIA

Today I went with Dania and her entire family, grandmother included, to a private high school in Zone 16 called Colegio el Sagrado Corazon de Jesus, an all girls school which specializes in teaching English. We were there to see her little sister Jessica take part in a presentation about youth in Guatemala and recreation for kids and present on her involvement with a drug prevention program at a local school.

The family at the beautiful campus

Me and the Izaguirres

Jessica Izaguirre

When we walked onto campus I was shocked at how beautiful and clean it was since Simón and I had been going to the night school, also private, which was frankly unkempt. There was a beautiful tennis court, pool, bridge, and river.

After the graduation we sat outside and ate and I took pictures of the family on the bridge. Next, Dania, her father Estuardo (who is a part of the RDPG- and I went to Hotel Plaza in Zone 4 for an Immigration Workshop and Speaker Series put on by an organization called CEDMUC, or the Center for Community and Municipal Development. The speakers talked about immigration issues in the US and I was interested to see that Raul Molina, the executive director of CEDMUC, spoke about ICE raids, specifically the huge raid in Postville, Iowa on May 12, 2008.

Informational pamphlet about ICE raids in the US

We then we broke into groups and discussed solutions to different problems such as how to improve CEDMUC, how the Guatemalan government can help migrants, and in my group’s case, how we personally could improve conditions for Guatemalan migrants going north to the US.

Raul Molina, Executive Director of CEDMUC

The groups were chosen randomly so Dania, her father and I were in separate groups. Each group wrote their idea on large poster-size paper and presented our findings to the rest of the groups. My group’s ideas consisted of know-your-rights trainings here in Guatemala so they would be more prepared for when they are migrants in the US. Another idea was to skill-share meaning that if anyone knew English they could help teach the soon-to-be-migrant as much as possible. After the group presentations to my surprise we all got certificates of participation with our names on it!