the unfairness of death, my friend, and third world healthcare

...this is written in one outpouring of inner emotion, as this is the first time I can think about him, but still unable to talk about him...I feel I am not as strong as I should be...that I can run away too easily...the difficulties of health care, life, death, are all so tangent in Guatemala. We live in our world in the USA and many suffer, but many of us live "normal" middle class lives...and I witnessed sickness, suffering, and death in a dear friend...i watched him slip away in front of our eyes...watched his daughters loose weight over worry and lack of money for food because they paid for doctors visits...this writing is a reflection pure and simple...

....my friend, my key informant (as we call them in anthropology), my mentor, someone who taught me what it was to be a Chocolensen passed away last week, during semana santa, in the late hours of tuesday night and the early hours of wednesday morning (march 18-19, 2008). I received the call at 1:02am from his daughter. I was sleeping...the phone awoke me and I turned it off thinking it was my alarm, only to see it was her. I quickly called her back and crying she explained that "mi papa se descanso" (her father had passed away). I could hear many voices in the background and lamented that I could not be there the next morning or for the funeral as I had traveled away from Chocola with my parents for Holy Week. Yet, only 9 hours before, I held his hand, kissed his hand, and cried with his famliy as we listened to the raw difficult sounds of death take over his body. I will NEVER in my life forget those minutes there in his home. The last time I was with him. The cancer had won. His family had placed traditional healing leaves and balm over the tumor in his stomach. Everyone was waiting now. Many in the house just being together. I went into the kitchen with his youngest daughter, now, a close friend. We hugged each other and cried. I gave $100 and felt sheepish.


we knew it was coming. it had been weeks, over two months acutally. but in early january we thought we could beat it, at least for a little while. The tumor. The large tumor growing from his liver blocking his gallbladder. Looking back, maybe I could have done more, maybe I could have pushed harder that he go with me to the American Medical jornada in Tiquisate. Maybe I should have seen it in November. I saw that he was loosing weight. He told me it was gastritis. He took herbs for it. In December he walked so much slower. Said it was the arthritis in his knees. He acutally left an interview before I did, said he had to attend to other business, but I knew he was tired. Tired? Don A? So unusual. I told him to see a doctor, but why didn't I press it? I felt helpless. I volunteer in clinics, but when the doc was nearby Don A didn't come in November. Why? He was only 64. A father, a mother, a grandfather, a town leader, a recovered alcoholic, a K'iche' and Mam man, proud of his indigenous roots, an ex army man, a liberal liberal man who loved Che, a man who loved his people, his community.


I didn't see him enter the ground. I didn't see the funeral or the large parade through the streets as they carried his body in the dark casket. As his family cried, the little kids following behind, walking in a numb state past the catholic church where he spent so much time with his friends, past the market where he went every morning at 530am to buy the food for the household, past the small post office, the house of Don T his good friend, to the unpaved dirt road that heads up the hill and after about 300m is the cemetary, set back off the road behind a coffee field and cow pasture. I heard it was packed, that almost everyone in town came out for his funeral. Why not, it was Don A. He's really gone. I guess I still see him in my mind. A big man, round belly, taller than I. With his loud voice, jolly chuckle, joking manner, and his get down to business style when discussing matters of the community, every meeting with him was full of entertainment, education, and overall my admiration for him. I miss him. I've missed him for the past month, he wasn't the same. I couldn't write about it. He didn't know who I was anymore. For a few moments he would see me and say "ANA!" and would talk for 10 seconds about a project, until he slipped away again, mumbling or falling into sleep. I arrived in January 2007... he was one of the first to be at my house...to tell me how I should research and work in the community...like many others. Yet, he never stopped coming. Soon, he was my friend. We laughed, he spoke in K'iche' and taught me phrases in Mam that he learned from his mom. We talked about Chocola. The good leaders, the bad leaders. Stay away from XYZ he would tell me, go talk to ABC! Education! Education! Education! was his mantra. "I sold my parsela to put my sons through school, and look at them now. Smart boys, doing well!". We had meetings in my house, sometimes earlier than I wanted as he showed up unannounced and quickly seated himself at the breakfast table with Victor, Dona Feliza and I. He joked hard with Victor and gave Dona Feliza a hard time. Sometimes he got in my face. His long thick finger pointed at my nose. "Vos, tu sabes que tenes que hacer" (you, you know what you have to do...) and he would explain his idea. I loved his Che Gueverra baseball hats, or his large white cowboy hat. He ALWAYS had on a hat when he left his home. Many times, I would meet at his house and on our way out the door he would say..."oh mi gorra" and would grab his hat and out the door we went to meet someone new.


Although he was Evangelical, he was in thick with the catholic church cofradia. He always said.. catholic, evangelical, it's all about God, doesn't really matter how you get there! His best friend Don T and his brother are a part of the cofradia. He brought me to meetings and told me how I could help the church, most importantly Semana Santa (holy week!). One of his favorite times of year...as he rubbed his big belly and described the special foods of the week. How that man LOVED to talk about food. He would make hand motions about sizes of meat, and bowl shapes that would be filled with beans, veggies, stews and more. His eyes sparkled as he talked about food.


As he directed traffic for the 15th of september, Guatemalan independance day.... I arrived with my mom to the town square to watch the school band play. He immediatly hugged my mom! He told my mom "Ana isn't leaving, she is staying right here, with us! She belongs here now!"


When Rose came for a month in November and December he was absolutely vital to us. He made so many interviews happen for us. He led us to elders homes, people I had not met yet. He helped us gain entry and trust of the most elderly in town, some who were blind, others almost deaf, or some who didn't speak much spanish, he was our entry. He introduced us as we were his children. He called us Anita y Kotzij (rosa..flower in k'iche'). We walked all over Chocola...one time we sat on the front steps of the catholic church talking...when a small scorpian came crawling out near Rose's feet and he quickly killed it and we chuckled how he saved our lives. Such love he had for his people. Telling stories about the community back in the day, finding the older members of town to talk to us, showing us the fichas (the coins) of chocola back in the day his nephew had. I took pictures of those. Somewhere among the many. Below is a beautiful portrait of don A that rose took. He looks a bit serious, maybe a little sad in this pictures. But That's him. His old faithful cowboy hat, Che close by and overall his dominating spirit.


His wife had died years before leaving him with the 5 children and the grandchildren. His daughter often told me, "he's everything Ana! El es mi madre y mi padre! What am I going to do if he is not here?" His other daughter said...he is the grandfather and father of my child as my husband died when my son was only 2. I remember... in mid november, a friday afternoon. His youngest childs graduation from career school. Don A was so proud! He came over weeks before to ask me to come and have me write my name on a piece of paper so he would make sure to have it spelled correctly on the invitation. I still have that invitation. They decorated the front of the house and made a makeshift roof over a large portion of the road in front of the house. We ate our fill of fried chicken and tortillas. Don A came over to our table many times to make sure we ate enough. Later, in January, he told me he never ate that day....
Before I went home for break... we visited with him so Rose could say goodbye. He asked me to talk to my family (who were doctors)about his gastritis, because it was really hurting him. I said.. I'll do what I can, I promise. I left december 17th. I came back to Guatemala Jan 6 and went to visit him Jan 8. He was in bed.
I got there and his daughters said... ANA he was worried you forget about him, he is in a LOT of a pain. I went in, he was himself, his normal voice, strong personality and direct nature. "Ana you forgot about me!" He said. I said, no Don A, i'm here. What happened. Quickly, I saw how much MORE weight he has lost...gone was the round belly and cheeks. Now, he looked gaunt and skinny. So vunerable laid in bed. The next few hours are a haze. I heard talk about visits to doctors in Xela, about xrays and sonagrams. How the doctors dont' know what to say, that it's a lot of money. I said... my firend, who is a doctor, he is here staying with me now, I will bring him. My friend S came and talked with Don A, examined him, looked at all of his films and diagnosis from the doctors. We went to the kitchen...to talk. My friend, taller than I, in a large room with wooden plank walls, dirt floor, high tin roof, surrounded by 4 small Maya woman listening intently, looked angelic, a true healer who wants to cure his patients. He explained to them what he saw in the films...a tumor...very large, coming part of the liver and pushing on the gallbladder. That is why he had so much pain. It appeared there were other spots of tumor on the liver...but a biopsy would have to be performed to know if it was cancerous.
We sat with don A, my firend and I. We explained everything we knew about his condition. My friend drew pictures to explain it. Don A, had been TOLD NEXT TO NOTHING by the 3 or 4 Guatemalan doctors he had visited. He asked us if he could have an operation and if he could survive. We said...we can't say for sure...but an operation to remove the gallbladder and the major tumor...but there were still spots on the liver. We talked some more...and soon....it became a very emotional expression of spirit and love. We were all close to his bed, my friend and I the closest with 12 of Don A's family behind us. He thanked S for his time and care...we talked about my friend and his background...then Don A turned to me. He held my hand... we talked... and soon cried. He told me how much he cared about me, how much my work meant to the communtiy. He said "Ana, no matter what happens to me, continue on! Fight on! Chocola needs you! The people need you. Times will be hard, but you can do it. We need education, we need a high school here so the kids don't have to leave our town. We need scholarships. If you can ever help, please make sure....he paused....and asked me for the first time, something for him, seriously for him...he said...can you make sure my son continues in school!" he closed his eyes and wept. I squeezed his hand, I cried... and said..." I promise, I promise." We talked some more....and cried some more, and promised to fight for chocola. I will never forget that moment.
It was warm in the room, with all the people, but all could hear was Don A, laying there, looking at me, his face sunken in, tears on his cheeks, his daughters crying...sureal..sometimes I don't know if it really happened. We said our goodbyes and left. I walked home crying...we had been there about 4 hours. Over the next month, I visited often. He was him...talking a mile a minute. Keeping up on the news in town...he knew where I had been only a few hours earlier. He had his contacts in town to keep him up to date. So unlike Don A not to be walking around town all day. I know he felt so trapped in bed. IN between these days...there were doctor appointments in Guatemala city at the cancer center. I felt they played with him.... didn't give him straight answers or help him. I called his daughter every time they went to the city for tests. Most often, she said...we don't know...we dont know... they took some blood....we have to go back next week. The end of January I was taking some children patients to an amazing american clinic COTA and they said Don A could come....at least to have them read his flims, look him over and give him an answer. I presented all the info to his family and they said they would think about it. I went back and they told me...no Ana...we are going to continue with the treatement at the cancer center...we are going to follow through wtih what we started. I was in shock! why ... they are some of the best in their field...they are americans... I left feeling sad, hurt, and frustrated. I wanted to take him to the doctors I KNEW, that I TRUSTED! But, I know better...trust is hard here, the people take a long time to gain trust in their doctors. But often don A talked about american docs as angels. But one family member of his, I felt, had taken over to make decisions... and in the end... I never saw her at his house. But....Feb 4th he went for the biopsy....on the 6th they told us cancer....NOTHING we can do.
Hopelessness was a large feeling in the family... sadly...he started to go downhill. He no longer had pain...but a spirit was fading. Also...this was during the middle two weeks in february...when I was meeting and planning every day with the leaders of Chocola for our town discovery meeting. I rarely went to visit. I visited him the sunday 17th before the big meeting and told him all about it. He was happy to hear about it. I told him...I'll be back...as soon as I can! But, when I got back...he wasn't the same. A week and a half had gone by....he wasn't talking well anymore. His daughter told me...that one day earlier he was ok...but he work up yesterday adn wasn't the same. At times he didn't know who we were. From this March 6... it went down hill fast. He could barely walk, could barely eat, or know who we were. There was some joking and we all sighed in relief to see it. However, his breathing was labored and he had a lot of pain. That evening... after our visit, I sat on the top of Mound 1 in Chocola with Victor and cried. We looked over all of Chocola and discussed the difficulty of life in guatemala, the unfairness of healthcare, why we are born where we are...why the good people have to suffer. Days went by fast...I visited a few more times, but he didn't know us. Maybe for a second. His daughters would say loudly...Papa...ana's here, ana's here! He would maybe come to and then be gone. I sat on the corner of his bed and held his hand. he was so skinny...almost skeletal. Saturday the 15th I spent about 2 hours there just myself and don andres. I helped his daughters give him water and jello. He was barely eating anymore. He didn't know us.
The last time I visited him was tuesday 330pm the 18th.
I guess this is part of my healing...me dealing with the loss of a friend. Finally, feeling, seeing, breathing, hearing, smelling, experiencing the suffering of death...the huge difficulty for the family. Sitting here... in memphis....a thousand miles away from the world I have to come know so well...a life that is so easy...so easy...we make it more difficult, or at least some of us do some of the time. It doesn't make sense...why sometimes when I am here in the states...guatemala is this dream...this place that only exists...when I think really hard. But when I'm in guatemala I never ever forget the USA. I miss it though. I miss the people. I want to call his daughter, but I am scared. I wanted to be there. I did not see him go in the ground. For me he is still there. He is in the projects we do, the interviews I have, the future we build. I broke through a community that didn't want me with so much help from him, because he trusted me and many elderly trusted him, and in turn they trust me. Life is about trust...I only hope I never broke his....

Life...as a development worker?

Wow...it's February?

I'm not sure where half of December or all of January went...but I do know that life in Guatemala is busy. I have wanted to write about so much of what is happening here...I just get to thinking about everything that has happened and there is so much to tell I don't know were to begin...so I'll do the best I can!

First of all...I am back in Guatemala until August and I'm employeed. I'm working for Semillas Para El Futuro in Chocola as the Field Project Manager.

Beautiful People in Chocola!

SOME AMAZING PHOTOS FROM CHOCOLA! Taken by Rose!
The project that Rose and I are doing...is really going great! We have been having interviews with many people in town, young, old, religious or none, farmer or not! We are videotaping the interviews and then Rose does her magic with camera! I am more than excited! We are hoping to have a show in Antigua with pictures and narratives!

ROSE is here!

Sorry...I have been so busy and unable to update...but here is just a little bit...

Making a project of Photos and narratives...
...my friend Rose Cromwell is here!!!
She was Fulbrighter in Panama and is an amazing photographer! Click on her name above to see some examples!
She arrived over two weeks ago and we have been working hard to have in home interviews with many members of the community. We are video taping the interviews and then she is taking photos of them. So far it has been really going great! Yesterday, we had 4 interviews...it was a long day but turned out great! Today, we left at 630am to go to an older mans land, WAY down south in Chocola. After hiking through coffee and corn fields we made it to his home and land. He plants everything from Cacao, to corn, coconuts, herbs, oranges and more! He was blast to interview and take pictures of!
We work really well together and have a lot of fun on the side! We are both here in Guatemala until December 17th when I return to the states and she returns to Panama!
As of November 28th, my Fulbright ended and now I am finishing up projects and gearing up to return to Guatemala January 5th....

Kristen and Nates Honeymoon Adventure in Guatemala

Life is crazy...and until I get more internet time....here are pics!
http://picasaweb.google.com/DragooK/Guatemala

Guatemalan Election RESULTS!

Guatemala's election results are in!

Alvaro Colom of the National Unity for Hope (UNE) will be Guatemala's nextpresident. He garnered 52.8% of the vote and in particular swept thecountryside. This was Colom's third bid for the presidency.

His rival, retired General Otto Perez Molina of the Patriot Party (PP), wonin Guatemala City and secured 47.2% of the vote nationally. Perez Molina,who ran on a tough-on-crime platform, is implicated in human rights abusesincluding the 1998 murder of Bishop Gerardi.

NISGUA Guatemalawww.nisgua.org

Guatemalan Presidential Elections SUNDAY

Sunday November 4th are the Final rounds of elections in Guatemala for the Presidential race.
Two candidates:

Álvaro Colom from theNational Unity of Hope (/Unidad Nacional de la Esperanza/, UNE) and General Otto Perez Molina of the Patriot Party (Partido Patriota, PP)
They are currently neck inneck...please read below!

The report below is by the Washington Office on Latin America, in Washington DC:

The Second Round:**A WOLA Memo on Progress and Pending Issues **for the Guatemalan Elections** *By Maureen Meyer, Associate for Mexico and Central AmericaWashington Office on Latin AmericaNovember 1, 2007*

*This coming Sunday, November 4^th , Guatemalans will return to the pollsfor a second round of elections and cast their vote for one of two finalcandidates for the nation’s presidency. Prior to the first-round ofvoting held September 9^th , the Washington Office on Latin America(WOLA) issued “/Elections in Guatemala: A WOLA Memo on the UpcomingPresidential Vote/,” which outlined our concerns with the process andthe challenges faced by Guatemalan authorities to ensure the adequatemanagement of the elections. On the eve of this second vote, WOLArecognizes Guatemala’s accomplishments in its electoral process,including the decentralization of voting stations to facilitate voterparticipation, particularly in the rural areas, and greater transparencyin campaign financing However, concerns remain regarding the high levelsof political violence that have marked this election process and thealleged involvement of organized criminal groups in Guatemala’spolitical process.

*Where things stand*Currently the two contenders for the presidency – Álvaro Colom from theNational Unity of Hope (/Unidad Nacional de la Esperanza/, UNE) and OttoPerez Molina of the Patriot Party (Partido Patriota, PP) are neck inneck. While Álvaro Colom lead the first round of the elections with 28%of the vote, as compared to 23.5% for Otto Perez Molina, recent electionpolls indicate a technical draw between the candidates. If the votes areclose, many challenges to the results may be lodged; this only heightensthe importance of the /fiscales /(party observers), as well as nationaland international observers in scrutinizing the election process.Special attention will also need to be paid to the Supreme ElectoralTribunal’s (/Tribunal Electoral Supremo,/ TSE) resolution of potentialchallenges to the election results.In the months following the first round of the elections, confrontationsand allegations between the two candidates increased, while real debateabout each parties’ proposals has been sorely lacking. The Myrna MackFoundation further notes that both parties “have avoided directlydiscussing the issue of the criminal structures that surround them,”making it difficult to discern whether the candidates and their key teammembers will implement actions and efforts directed at combating theinfluence of organized criminal groups.

** *The decentralization of Guatemala’s voting stations (more than doublingtheir number throughout the country, particularly in the rural areas),has been lauded by national and international bodies as a significantstep in increasing participation in the country’s electoral process.According to the TSE, 70% of rural voters participated in the September2007 elections, compared to 57% of their urban counterparts. Inaddition, the electoral coalition /Mirador Electoral reported that voter participation in 77 of the94 municipalities with the largest indigenous populations was higherthan the national average. While decentralization has been successful, challenges still remain toupdate Guatemala’s voter registry, which currently contains accurateinformation for less than 60% of all registered voters. It is criticalto address this in order to ensure that voters are able to cast theirballots in the voting stations established under decentralization, asopposed to traveling to the municipal seat. Updating the voter registrywould also attend to the problem of duplicate /cédulas/ (ID documentsused for voting) which occurred in certain cases during the Septemberelections.*

**Campaign financing and transparency*The regulations for control and oversight of private and public campaignfinancing enacted in January by the TSE, and the 2004 reforms to the Lawfor Elections and Political Parties, marked the creation of a series ofcontrols and reporting mechanisms that are an important step towardsincreased transparency and the strengthening of democracy. However, alarge gap remains between the established norms and what is actuallypracticed by the political parties. Two of the 16 parties thatparticipated in the 2007 elections process- the Guatemalan RepublicanFront (/Frente Republicano Guatemalteco/, FGR) and Democratic Union(/Unión Democrático/, UD) - never presented a campaign budget to theTSE. Additionally, several parties have only partially provided campaignfinance information to the TSE. /Mirador Electoral’s/ monitoring ofparty spending on publicity reports that half of the 14 parties whopresented campaign budgets went over their own budget allocations formedia spending. In the case of the PP and UNE, both parties went overthe TSE’s 42 million quetzal limit for campaign spending on publicityexpenses alone, not including what they spent on logistics, personneland other costs. The TSE’s lack of power to investigate campaignfinancing and the insignificant sanctions for non-compliance - a fine of100 to 1,000 quetzals (up to $140 USD) - are also concerning.*Political violence and conflict*The 2007 election campaign is considered by many analysts to be the mostviolent since the country’s return to democracy in 1985. It has beenreported that at least 54 people linked to politics were murderedbetween March and October 2007, and 89 violent acts were perpetratedagainst such individuals. In events closer to the candidates themselves,Perez Molina’s assistant, Aura Salazar, and Valerio Castañón, who servedas Perez Molina’s body guard when he was a presidential envoy, weremurdered while traveling together on October 8, 2007. Days before,Cornel Giovanni Pacay, who worked together with Perez Molina as part ofthe /Estado Mayor Presidencial/ and with whom it is believed PerezMolina maintained close ties, was also murdered. With a little more thanthree weeks left before the second round of elections, the UNE’sstrategist, José Carlos Marroquín, also resigned from his post becauseof threats that he had received from groups linked to organized crime.Due to the high levels of general violence in the country, it isdifficult to determine if these cases of violence are directly relatedto politics. However, the impunity that prevails in investigating actssuch as murders in Guatemala does not present an encouraging scenariofor ensuring the adequate investigation and sanctioning of thoseresponsible for said crimes.The election-day violence and conflict that marked the first round ofelections is expected to be less prevalent during this second round asmany of the conflicts concern local elections. /Mirador Electoral/reported that they had registered 55 electoral conflicts in the month ofSeptember. These conflicts occurred in 41 Guatemalan municipalities andwere mainly due to the reelection of incumbent mayors, disagreement withthe results or allegations of electoral fraud, fake or altered voteridentification cards, and actions against the freedom to vote. The TSE recognized that there were seriousviolations of the voting process in 15 municipalities. In twomunicipalities, Tucurú, Alta Verapaz and San Marcos La Laguna, Sololá,the election results were annulled because of conflicts that led to theburning of at least a third of the ballots. Voting for these municipalrepresentatives will take place on November 4^th .The TSE has reported that there are 19,500 members of the National CivilPolice and 16 thousand soldiers from the army available for securityduring the elections and that special emphasis will be placed on 16municipalities with a history of electoral conflicts.*Election Observation*As with the September 2007 general elections, there will be a largepresence of national and international election observers. This willinclude observers from /Mirador Electoral/, the Indigenous Mission ofElection Observation and other national groups as well as ElectionObservation Missions from the European Union and the Organization ofAmerican States (OAS).*Recommendations*In light of the second round of elections in Guatemala, WOLA reiteratesthe recommendations issued prior to the federal elections held on September 9, 2007:·

WOLA believes that the TSE and Guatemalan government should ensurethat adequate security is in place for election day and during thevote-tallying to prevent any disruption of the process.· The Guatemalan government should carry out prompt, thorough andimpartial investigations into the murders and attacks against partymembers that have occurred in the months prior to the election.· While new campaign financing regulations promote transparency andaccountability, the TSE’s ability to sanction non-complying partiesshould be enhanced. Campaign financing should be monitored moreeffectively to make it harder for organized crime and drug traffickersto make substantial contributions to political candidates.· Given security concerns as well as the possibly close presidentialelections, which may lead to many challenges of the results, WOLAbelieves that national and international observers will need to devoteconsiderable resources to the election. Such observation will be essential to guaranteeing free, fair and transparent elections.

My "New Look"

My "New Look"
I cut off 12inches of my hair and donated it to Locks of Love. I really love my new hair, it sure is a LOT easier here..however the people in Chocola made it the topic of conversation for about a week! Here in Guatemala, espeically in rural Guatemala, long hair is a symbol of beauty and almost all women have long beautiful black hair! Many could not understand why I would want to cut my hair! Many people did not recognize me and we all had to talk about it!
Some told me it was too short, kind of boyish...others said that surely in a month it would be as long as it was before. Some in the road stopped me and said...I didn't think that was you Ana, what did you do to your hair. When I explained that I donated it to children with cancer, many people said oh that's good, you just did not cut it for nothing. But one woman told me that I looked better with short hair, much much nicer!
So who knows :) But below are pictures from the before and after hair cut at the salon in Lawrence. Also are pictures from a recent Tye-Dye t-shirt day with my neighborhood kids. We did about 12 shirts in all. They were excited to actually do the dying but then when it came their turn they freaked out and I ended up dying all of the shirts as the kids chose what they wanted :) They turned out great and the kids had a lot of fun. It was the first time all my neighbors and family here have seen this done!

A view of the short hair in action :)

AFTER BEFORE!

We FINISHED The Bridge!

Bridge of Days in Chocola!

Well our bridge is ALMOST complete! After some months of hard work, many hours of volunteer labor from community members, and many pounds of cement...we have the wall in place!
Currently we are working to fill in our rather large hole! Some men have worked all day for 3 days to haul dirt and put tractor full after tractor full into the hole, but it looks like we only threw in a few stones.
We are looking into hiring heavy machinary to dig out our dirt supply and use a dumptruck to transport the dirt and then our men will spread it and tamp it!
Thank you to Amigos de Chocola and Kitty Mykka and Lance Belanger for their support and help! If we have great luck, Kitty and Lance will be able to come back and make an amazing artwork out of our bridge!
More to come....

Guatemalan elections!

Well....another interesting election year!

For the national presidency: It was
1.Colom, 2. Perez Molina, 3. Giammaeti, 4. Suger, 5. Menchu. However the top candidate did not receive the majority of the vote so there will be a ROUND 2 between Colom and Perez Molina.

A little about them:

Colom is with the UNE party and is somewhat center a little to the right. His party is Uniting for national hope party. He is focused on working with the people and promising them a change that includes their hope; with a big focus on unemployment. The talk on the street is that he is highly involved in drug trafficking.

General Perez Molina is from the Patriota party with the slogan of Mano Dura (hard hand) and is extremely right. His party is pushing for an overall cleanup of violence in Guatemala and security in employment. Many are influenced by him due to the high level of violence and crime in Guatemala, people want a change. However, he was also in the military during the Civil War in the 1980s and was stationed in the Ixil Triangle, one of the worst hit regions during the Genocide, I mean Civil War. It has recently been said that the third place candidate from the GANA party, Giammaeti has joined forces with Molina.

The Run-off for presidential election will be November 4.

CHOCOLA POLITICS: Mayor election.
IT WAS A SURPRISE! I along with many others really thought that Amilcar from the PAN party was going to win. However, Ovidio from the Mano Dura party pulled the victory. The PAN party was not happy and staged protests in front of the papers office the week after. PAN argued that Ovidio cheated etc. A new election was not granted and Ovidio is our Mayor. The history on Ovidio is a long one. Ovidio was mayor in the municipality of San Pablo Jocopilas which Chocola is a part of for 12 years! 4 elections in a row, finally failing 4 years ago, only to win again this year in 07. It was explained to me that he stole a great deal of money from the municipality and I guess this was true because he moved to Mexico shortly after he failed to win reelection and just recently (like RIGHT before this election) moved back to the region. We will see how this goes!


Below are Beautiful pictures from the New York Times about the Guatemalan elections:
A very interesting look at elections in Guatemala and why the indigenous Maya may not have elected Indigenous leader Rigoberta Menchu by the New York Times. Sent to me by my friend Arch.

Below is a report on the Guatemalan elections:
The Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA) has put together an elections analysis that profiles the major candidates and political parties, including their backgrounds and alliances. The piece delves into the violence and exclusion that profoundly affect the exercise of democracy in Guatemala

Guatemala's Election Day

Tomorrow September 9 is election day in Guatemala...thank goodness!

It has been political craziness for the last month and a bit hard to work. Often, meetings are taken over by political talk. Also, friends in the same organization can't meet to discuss activities in Chocola because they are of different political parties and it is too difficult. Needless to say, rumors, gossip, political promises and more have been sweeping the area for some time...but it all ends tomorrow! The pickup trucks blaring annoying songs full of pictures of their parties candidates, meetings on the weekends from political parties, annoying commericals on tv and the radio...will end tomorrow! Plus the NEW road in Chocola, which suddenly the mayor of 4 years who did nothing for Chocola realized we needed a new road...and other false promises will all come to fruition tomorrow! Check my blog from July about elections for more details!

My predictions:
President: 5 main choices are: Colom, General Perez Molina, R. Menchu, Suger, and Giammattei.
I believe Colom and General Perez Molina will take the top positions and have a runoff election in November.

Mayor of Chocola: Well of our municipality which is in San Pablo Jocopilas!
San Pablo Jocopilas Candidates
I believe it will be Amilcar from the PAN party...but we will see!

Read about the Guatemalan Vote!

Let you know the results after sundays VOTE!

My Summer Vacation...

Since it is Summer Vacation in the USA…I decided to have a two weekends of Summer vacation too!

The first fabulous weekend involved one of my all time favorite places in Guatemala, Semuc Champey, introduced to me by James. And for the third consecutive year in a row we have celebrated the 4th of July at Semuc Champey. This year Anne J is in town working with James on her dissertation and Sori from Guatemala city joined us well along with the gang from Oxford school in Coban. It was a relaxing weekend of swimming in the pools, jumping off the swing and having a drink.

Dinner and relaxation!

James and Anne getting ready to work

The second vacation was wonderful. Holly, fulbrighter from Guatemala city, Sarah fulbrighter from Costa Rica, and Liz NGO worker from El Salvador and I toured Antigua and San Marcos on the lake. 4 days of SHOP till your drop, later afternoon happy hour and appetizers, plus the beauty of the lake, boat rides, talking and laughing made for an all around amazing great time with 4 amazing women.

Sarah's friendly dog in San Pedro...why were we in San Pedro? Tuk tuk ride with Liz, Sarah and I in Pana!
Holly, Sarah and Liz from the roof of Sky Bar.
Just a little guate pride. All four of us...with Liz way in the background!

Sarah and I in Antigua! Sarah and Holly in the Palm tree park!
Holly looking beautiful at Lake Atitlan!
A little hookah time as well!

Below are some of Sarahs amazing photographs of beautiful Maya faces in Guatemala!

Plus there were those FUN rainy afternoons when leaving the medical clinic in Ixtacapa! Stuck under a small overhang with Peter on the south coast...provides a good laugh! Often when Peter is in Suchi we join eachother for a chat and a drink in San Antonio, the town between where I work and where he works...it's a nice change of pace!

And the rest of my summer besides working and touring with friends...there are the countless hours that my girls have come over to: draw, play cards, chat, play board games, color, talk, run around and just have a place to be! Now it has expanded to most of my neighborhood...not a saturday or sunday morning goes by that I don't here "ana...podemos dibujar" at 6:45 in the morning! Lots of boys are joining us too and sometimes 7-9 children are coloring on my floor and "my mom" of my house walks in and says... "k'iy" which in K'iche' means.. that's A LOT!

And this summer has proved to be VERY SUCCESSFUL with Semillas Para el Futuro. A new NGO from Guatemala that has been working hard and hand-in-hand with me and the people of Chocola to make positive things happen. In this picture Earl and Suzanne are talking with Don Fidel about his cacao trees! Little by little good things are happening...more to come!

Where in the world am I?

Welcome to Chocola....
Found some nice google maps of Chocola....check em out!
This shows a great view of where I am in Guatemala!
If you click on the one above it takes you to this one...zoom in towards the arrow... I am the town to the right of the arrow! Zoom in a bit more and you will see a soccer field (large square green area) with two bare spots at the goals...I live VERY close to the upper lefthand corner of that field. Zoom in close on the field...you will see 5 or 6 large silver roofed buildings above the field...that is the Official school in town. Go to the building in that school closest to the field...long but smaller roof with the shadows of the palm trees on it..then go directly left...outside of the school wall is a brown roof...and then behind it a silver roof....THAT IS MY HOUSE!!!
Overall this map shows the old German finca buildings, the largest brown roofs towards the right side of town in a sort of L shape. Have fun :)

My 4th of July and the story of Ana, Ani, and Juan: Ages 20, 13, and 14 heading to the USA from Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

It’s late to be out in the Guatemalan countryside and a bit cool of a night to be riding in the back of a pickup truck. Only a few people roam the streets as it is after 10pm. Three of us in the cab of the old rusty pickup and Victor in the bed of the truck, we are all wondering the same thing: what are they are like? Who are these three Hondurans traveling north…but are currently lost in the Guatemalan countryside? Yet, we are their resting point on the journey north. These three Hondurans are only one day into the trip to cross the border to the USA and already there are problems.

Overall, here is how the story begins…a brother/son in the family with whom I live in Guatemala called from the States. He asked if we could help 3 Hondurans. These 3 Hondurans were family members of his dear friend. They needed to cross the border to the USA, but in order to cross into Mexico and then the USA, they needed a Coyote. The plan was that the 3 would stay with us for a day or two and the Coyote would pick them up at our place. Overall, we did not think much about it, as many many Guatemalans and Hondurans have made the trip through Mexico and arrived safely in the USA, especially if they have a good coyote and family members in the USA paying their way. Yet, we started worrying that July 4th afternoon when Victor received a phone call from women, frantic that they lost their way. Women…I guess we had just assumed they would be the usual immigrant demographic…men 18 to 30 crossing the border to look for work. A bit shocked we all instantly became worried. It turned out they had gone too far…had made it almost to the border of Guatemala and Mexico, had forgotten the name of our state and where we were. They were worried and it was getting to be night. Victor made phone calls and connections and soon we had a private driver from that region of the country driving them the 3 hours to get to San Antonio, one town away from us. Then we set out in the evening hours to find a car from Chocolá that would drive us into San Antonio to pick them up and bring them back here. We found someone for only Q100 (average person makes 35 to 45Q a day), but it seemed like a deal for the time of night.

At 10pm dona Felicia and I hopped in the cab of the truck with the driver and Victor in the back. We raced down the dark countryside towards San Antonio…we received a call…they were waiting in Central Park. As we pulled up in front of the Catholic church…I thought this can’t be them… 3 teenage kids, a woman in her late 50s and a 7 year old girl with the cutest curls! But it was. We jumped out of the truck…played that weird… are you those people we talked to on the phone game…while the driver that brought them in from the Mexican border wanted his Q500. Victor paid the man. The older women turned out to be a grandma to two of them, mother to one, and overall their guide from Tegucigalpa to here where then she would leave them with the Coyote.
The grandmother and dona Felicia got in the cab while the rest of jumped in the back of the pick up and sped off into the night…the wind biting cold as we all shivered. Standing in the back of the pickup…we met each of them (Ani 13, Ana 20, Juan 14, and Angelica 7) and learned a bit about them, as they asked about me…a gringa and what I was doing out here. We got home around midnight. Felicia fired up the food…eggs, beans, and coffee for all. They used our phones to make some calls to the states…turns out the mother and father of Ana the 13 year old are in the states…and the mother was crying to know her daughter was alright. Soon…we were all tired…the 5 slept in the empty house of one of the brothers of my family…who lives in the states and had his house built over this year…now it is ready, just missing furniture and him.

The next day…I talked more with Ani 13, Ana 20 and Juan 14 to understand the story. The older woman was Ani’s grandmother and Ana’s mother, and was grandmother to the little girl. She wanted to make sure they made it off safely with the coyote. I asked each of them…why? Why are they making such a journey to go to the United States of America at such a young age? Juan the 14 year old, a lot quieter then the two semi-rebellious/rambunctious girls said he wanted a better life. He said I have been working for the past 2 or 3 years and I want to go to school but I can’t afford it. He said “I finished 6th grade…but then I went to work in the capital of Honduras and even spent time working in the port city of La Ceiba on the eastern side of Honduras, but I want to go to school, want an education to make a life for myself”. He was sincere. Ana the 20 year old wanted to go to work. Many of her older siblings were already in the USA and she wanted to make a stab at working and see what could come of her life. Ani the 13 year girl had the most interesting story. She actually has been living in the states for over 7 years. She speaks English, although not as well as I thought she would for being in school in the United States from first grade until almost 8th grade. Ani went to the states with her parents when she was a young child. She has been living ever since in Mississippi with her family. She made the return trip through Mexico, Guatemala and to Honduras in late May after school was out. She stopped along the way at houses of friends. She wanted to go back to see the her homeland, a country she barely remembered, to see her family she didn’t know, her grandmother, and to help bring her aunt Ana back to the states with her. However, there was a large glitch in these plans, Ani, the 13 year old did not want to go back to the USA! Only in Honduras for about 2 weeks, she felt at home, wanted to stay, learn about life in Honduras and not go back. Part of it was her rebellious nature of a soon to be 8th grader but more of someone who doesn’t exactly have an identity!

I have talked many times with my dear friend Rebecca, an immigration expert, about how hard it is for children of immigrants to find their way in the USA. She has explained that they could have been born in the USA or brought as small children to the USA…but where do they fit? They don’t know the “homeland” so when the parents and family talk of this they cannot identify, but their own families can’t speak English, or identify with their own children’s new American lives, friends, wants and needs. It is a hard life…one of searching for an identity, searching how to merge two cultures without loosing much of either culture…being able to fit in at home and at school and at a very young age. Ani fit this description 100%. She wanted both worlds but really couldn’t fit in either. She said she had a “boyfriend” in México. She had met him in the states until his family had to go back. She wanted to stay there or in Honduras, she did not want to go back to the USA.

The day they were here was interesting. They made many phone calls…some to the USA and some to Honduras. Ana the 20 year old called her boyfriend in Honduras many times. They were somewhat bored and felt stifled by their mother/grandmothers overbearing protection. She took the phone and money away from the girls. I provided them with magazines to read and crayons, coloring books, and games for the little 7 year old that was absolutely adorable! Later in the afternoon I took all of them on a walk and up Mound 1. It is the best place to see all over Chocolá, enjoy the weather and nature. It was also a chance to get out of the house. We enjoyed a nice walk, chatting on the hill, and overlooking the surroundings. They explained how it was a lot hotter in Tegucigalpa. They lived similar to we did, but more city like than country. The grandmother/mother pulled me aside and told me that the girls were acting very spoiled and I shouldn’t let them use my phone or give them money as she had taken it away. At times it was very soap opera. Lastly she explained that the Coyote was to come the next morning around 7am and the 3 would be on their way north while she and the young girl would be heading south to Honduras.

That night I had meetings and was not able to talk to them as much as I would have liked and the next morning I left at 5am with the soccer board of directors to go to Guatemala City to purchase our Lawnmower. I was not able to say goodbye to them that morning. However I gave them my phone number here, in the USA, and my email…I said let me know how you are, how life is and what you are up to. Who knows if they will ever contact me…but it was worth a shot. The last we heard of them…was two days after they left…a phone call from the states revealed that Juan and Ana were with the Coyote almost to the USA while as Ani the 13 year old…was somewhere in Mexico. Turns out…when they stayed in a hotel in southern Mexico, she ran off. The coyote waited for awhile and got madder and madder, because he had a deadline to meet and the longer he waited he was pushing his luck. We heard the next day that Juan and Ana (20 year old) were safely in the USA while Ani (13 year old) was somewhere in Mexico. That is the last we have heard of them.

Immigrants, “illegal aliens”, undocumented workers, friends, people looking for a new life, family, Latinos, Mexicans- as they are called no matter what country they are from, adult men, or young children…no matter what name or labels are put on them, they are human beings looking for a better future for themselves and their families. I don’t have the answers…as I wrote in June immigration is life reality here in Chocolá. Yet, I am learning, feeling, and living what Rebecca is always telling me and what my immigrant friends in the USA have explained to me but probably what many news reporters, congress people, and many typical Americans do not understand…there is no other choice…make the trip to cross the border to the USA to find a life or sit in Central America or Mexico without a job, without a future and without an opportunity…so we should all ask ourselves…what would we do? Sit…or making something of our lives…I understand now why many tell me there is no other choice.

Maybe it’s ironic that this was my 4th of July in Guatemala Maybe it was supposed to be this way. The plan had been to make “American food”- grilled cheese sandwiches and coke. Later we would watch a movie and relax to celebrate Independence Day. It turned into planning and finding cars to take us to town and discussions about Immigration while eating grilled cheese. Happy Birthday America…just as the immigrants flocked to your shores 500, 300, and 200 years ago looking for a better life, safety, a future, a place to create a beautiful nation…the people continue today. A recent article I read on CNN.com said the “white person” is becoming the minority in many counties in the USA. We are the country that shelters the poor, the meek and the hungry…etc. We have fought great wars of the pen and of the sword to create our country and we need defend it, but we cannot forget what it was founded on…the diversity of people looking to have a better life, to create a place that welcomed all religions, colors, creeds, and futures… and even some 13 and 14 year olds looking for education.

The Funeral of Octavio

Te Recordemos Octavio!
July 31, 2007 Octavio was killed in Suchitepéquez. President of the soccer board of directors, member of the board of directors for the Pronade Chocolá school and past community president, Octavio was always a friendly and good man to me.
August 2, at 10am was his funeral. Almost 300 people walked the streets of Chocolá behind his casket. His casket was carried by 6 men dressed in full soccer uniform. It was the soccer team from his sector of the community, Calvario. The morning started off with prayers and music in front of his house on the street. Next his body was carried through his sector of town and then through a main portion of Chocolá to the soccer field. The entire time an 8 piece band marched with us playing. The road leading to the soccer field was decorated with pine boughs. The boughs were about every three feet on both sides of the street for over a block. Tied in the boughs were black and purple ribbons. Signs hanging over the street said “Te recordemos Octavio”, “Sector Calvario, nunca te olividamos”, and more. The casket entered the soccer field and half of the gathering walked a lap around the entire soccer field finally stopping under the trees, near the large rocks where he always watched the games every Sunday. A member of the Soccer board of director said a speech. Soon the march was continued to the school, while on the way his coffin was turned and saluted at the house of close friends. At the school his coffin was placed in front while members of the school board said speeches. Following this, Octavio was taken to the ECA building (government building) and saluted and then the march was continued through the main road of Chocolá, in front of the Catholic church and finally up the long road to the cemetery. I walked towards the back of the march and as we walked up the dirt road towards the ceremony, hundreds of people stretched between me and the coffin. It was an amazing, emotional experience. The entire time, the family followed close behind the coffin, most weeping and being held up by close friends and family. The band followed shortly behind this and then members and friends in the community followed this. I walked primarily with my close friends of the Soccer Board of Directors and Victor. I also saw many friends and acquaintances in the community. (Picture of the board of directors of soccer, Octavio in the middle on the Microphone).
Once in the cemetery, many people gathered around, sitting on graves and on the ground to listen to the preacher. Bible verses were read and speeches given as his body was laid to rest. Slowly the family said their goodbyes and then they are led out of the cemetery weeping and be clutched, fanned, and supported by good friends. The outpouring of grief was overwhelming. The daughters and his wife, screaming, crying, and moaning, his mother in law a very elderly K’iche’ woman could barley walk due to grief as friends held her. A young man, only in his early 50s, the pain of loosing a father, a spouse, or a good friend is something we all have or will experience in life. Yet, the pain in Guatemala is felt by even the most distant observer. Not that pain is stronger or different here then in the USA, it is just expressed with such rage, feeling, and brute force. Often I have encountered funerals in Guatemala, as they walk the streets, but never one of this size and never have I participated in one. It was powerful. Everyone in the community was aware of the situation, of the funeral, and many joined in as the funeral went by their home. For example, many school children and teachers were waiting at the school, when his body was set down everyone gathered around to hear the speeches, then the school children and teachers joined in the procession as we continued on. We stopped traffic countless times. Overall, the funeral and procession lasted just under three hours. The two days before the funeral were the “wake” where many gathered to visit with the family and the body. Many bring flowers and spend time with the grieving family. I sent flowers along with friends but did not attend the wake as I felt unprepared. I have known Octavio since I arrived in January but have never met his family or many children, and felt unprepared to face the situation. As a person unprepared for death and funerals in my home culture of the USA, I chose to wait on this.
Wednesday, the night before Octavio’s funeral, we had our usual meeting of the soccer board of directors and representatives from each of the 10 teams. We discussed his death and whether we should continue the next soccer season this Sunday or wait until the following one. This meeting was to be the first of the next season. We all discussed that Octavio would want us to continue on with soccer, so we dedicated the season to his name. Also, this Sunday, all players will wear black sashes on their arms in his memory. A small memorial is planned for Sunday morning at the soccer field and a plaque will be placed on a bed of cement on the Eastern side of the field near the large stones (archaeological altars) under the trees where Octavio always sat to watch the games. Not sure exactly how to participate in all of this, I made a small remembrance picture frame for Sunday’s ceremony which will later be given to his family.
As I slept Thursday night, I was awakened at 3am by loud music and preaching. My friend Paco’s mom died that night. She was elderly and had been ill, the family was with her, including the preacher, who started the music and preaching as soon as she passed. The music will continue all day and into the next while people visit her body…and the next funeral takes place.
Death is more accessible here. I’m not sure if that is the word I want to use but Death is louder here, more vibrant, it is felt by all people in town. We know who dies because of the music and preaching, all neighbors are aware, and the funerals take over the town bringing a heavy weight on everyone. It is a constant reminder of life and its fragility. Alone this year I have witnessed at least 15 funerals in Chocolá, not to mention the many I have missed. Three friends have died or been killed in the 6 months I have been here, for me it is a shocking amount as I really have only had to live through a few deaths in my entire life, Thank God. Life is hard in Guatemala. Yet, the Guatemalans are resilient and continue each day with “gracias a Dios” (thank you to god). When discussing new projects or plans the people in my community always remind me and say “primero dios” (God First), meaning in a way, we don’t know what will happen, but lets keep God in mind and then maybe everything else will work out. Also, I have never been blessed by friends and acquaintances so much in my life. Not a day goes by where someone does not say Dios Te bendiga (God bless you) to me. Now I know why.