Tuesday was very busy!
I began my day with a nice 40 minute run that took us to the Xela cemetery. There is a slightly crowded road/hill that you have to run up, but once you turn the corner, you have a hilltop view of the whole cemetery. We have been there before, but Tuesday morning the sun was shining and it sparkled off the dew and in a creepy way, with the mountains in the background, it was really beautiful (that description sounds super cheesy!). I need to take my camera the next time we go so I can take pictures, but as always I’m sure they won’t do it justice.
At the beginning of the week, we switched teachers and I now am working with a new teacher who happens to be the head of the school. That means nothing, but it is kind of cool because she is telling me all the history of the school and her life and her children’s lives and how she got to where she is today.
We only had classes until 11. After a 15 minute break, we had a conference with an Ex-Guerilla fighter. Like at the finca, he spoke in Spanish and Erika (the head of the Somos Hermanos program) translated for us. I wrote down notes during the conference to help me remember dates and names.
His legal name is Amaro Cifuentes, but during the war he was called Robert. He worked for Orpa, one of the many Guatemalan Guerilla operations. Orpa covered Xela, Totanicopan, San Martis and essentially most of the south coast. The war began in the 1960s and lasted 36 years (the peace signing occurred on December 29, 1996). From 1944-1954 there was a period of democracy where two presidents made changes for the poor and education. But in 1954, democracy was cut off by the US and Guatemalan military. If I understood correctly, Amaro said that the president at the time, Arbenz, was a progressive leader, but that the US didn’t like him because he was threatening international investments.
As a result, suppression began. The military tortured Amaro’s father because his father was a leader in his community. This occurred when Amaro was 8 years old, and his family escaped to Mexico. At the age of 13, Amaro returned to Guatemala to work against the army, defend the goals of his father, and fight for freedom of expression and reform. Amaro said that he doesn’t think war is the best option, but sometimes it is the only option.
Amaro described some of the conditions he survived through, saying that he is lucky to be alive today. At times, he would go for 3 days without food, he often carried 100 pounds on his back as he wandered through the mountains. There were specific rules for when they could make a fire, depending on their location and cloud cover or visibility. The Guerilla got their arms by defeating army squads, and learned how to fight and survive through experience of elders.
Today, Amaro believes that the “left” side has a voice and can fight for what they want. Right now, he is campaigning to be a leader within the URNG (if you are interested, here is their website: www.urng-maiz.org.gt). Many people won’t speak of the past because they fear what government officials may do to them. But Amaro has no fear. He says it is important to speak the truth. He spends days touring around the outskirts of Xela educating people about the reforms that he supports and says education is the most important factor in creating change. He also spoke of the foreign companies that still exploit Guatemala today, resources such as mining, African Palm for ethanol, and other hydroelectric plants. He asks that we educate people about these companies, such as United Fruit Company (aka Chiquita) and the harm they are doing to Guatemala and other Central America countries. I hope to be able to do so, but I still feel that I need more education to be able to explain the situation at hand.
That afternoon, we watched a movie called Las Cruces. It is a Guatemalan movie that tells the story of an indigenous community threatened by attack from the army. A Guerilla team decides to help the community fight. The movie exposes the many emotions that can result while waiting for an attack… the way everyone sees war differently and experiences different motivations. People can predict the outcome, but it is usually not known until way down the road. The movie did include some extremely cheesy Spanish pickup lines that made everyone laugh, but it made us feel the absolute fear and anticipation, and the difficulty in distinguishing “good” from “bad” in war, when in reality it is all fighting.
After the movie, we discussed our reactions and had a chance to ask questions about the conflict. I have never really studied history (all of my classes have been science related), so I wanted to clarify the motivations of each side. In a nutshell, the goal of the army was to keep the elites (a small percentage of Guatemala) in economic power. The army forced inscription, and many were brainwashed to kill their own communities and innocent people. The Guerilla existed to fight for the rights of Guatemalan people and the freedoms and democracies they desired. While it is tempting to pick a “good” side, I feel that it doesn’t really exist because corruption and torture occurred on both ends.
It is interesting to learn all of this historical information and how it affects the culture that exists today in Guatemala, and I am excited to continue learning more.
Also…I apologize for the length of my entries. I know it is a lot to read, and you certainly don’t have to read all of it! I am including so much detail because I am also using this blog as a “scrapbook” and a way to put down all the experiences I have been having (because I’m pretty sure a 6 month long scrapbook would be far too large).
Tuesday was the 23rd birthday of one of the girls in Somos Hermanos, so we had a little birthday celebration that night at another person’s house. The house was huge, compared to mine (the family clearly has a lot of money). There were 2 bathrooms and a large courtyard in the middle, and a separate kitchen and eating room. It was cool to see another Guatemalan house and make comparisons. I hope that as time goes on, I’ll be able to see other houses as well.
After Tuesday, Wednesday was a rather uneventful day, although I did learn how to make tortillas at the school after classes, and we had a huge lunch to go with the class. Wednesday night I went to another yoga class.
Today, I have class in the afternoon. My teacher is sick and couldn’t talk, so I got a phone call from her husband last night asking if I would be willing to take class in the afternoon with another teacher. I spent the morning studying, reading, watching SpongeBob in Spanish (yes I did that), and writing this blog. Now, I’m off to class.
Have a great day/evening/night!
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