alis volat propriis: guatemala

so in the midst of working full-time, I've managed to completely forget to blog about the two trips I went on recently to guatemala and tunisia. foolish I know!

I'll start with guatemala first, mostly because it came first in the travel line-up and I also feel like I've had no time to process this trip since Tunisia was so soon after.

going into this trip, I honestly didn't know a lot about guatemala or the civil war and genocide that occurred. I had read "I, Rigoberta Menchu," and taken a Human Rights in Latin America class, but neither of this prepared me for this trip.the first seven days were spent on at a catholic mission in San Lucas, and then we traveled to Guatemala City to delegation work with the Guatemalan Human Rights Commission for the last three days. these last three days were easily the hardest and most emotionally draining days I've had in awhile. the stories we heard were absolutely horrifying and unimaginable. I remember talking to one women about her brother's disappearance, and hearing her talk of the pain of not knowing what ever happened to him. she can safely assume that he was murdered but confirmation of this will take years if it ever comes, especially with the recently elected president.

I also remember this same women telling us that the conditions of the country currently are set-up for another genocide. she talked of the fear she feels everyday just leaving her house, and of working for Famdegua, the non-profit that is a co-prosecutor in the genocide case being brought against former guatemalan generals.

we also went to the FAFG, which is the forensic anthropology non-profit that is doing the investigation into the genocide. right away when we walked into the office, it was overwhelming. it even get to the actual lab, you have to walk through a long hallway filled boxes. all of these boxes contain unidentified human remains. once you walk into the lab, there are tables with bones laid out, waiting to to be identified by the anthropologists, through things like location id's or machete cuts.

there are also struggles going on within the country in regards to land rights and extractive industries, with the government not following proper protocol on either of these things, and more often than not, helping the companies come in and take over land.

throughout this experience, I remember feeling so frustrated, and really pissed off. I felt like, and still currently feel, like no justice has been served. I got really discouraged, especially since I'm interested in pursuing human rights work as a career, but at the same time, I also remember one thing that remained constant throughout the trip; the resilience and the hope of the the guatemalan people is seriously awe-inspiring. despite everything, they still have hope for the future and are constantly talking about how they are fighting for their children's future. all they asked of us throughout the whole trip was to share their story, so that's what I'm attempting to do here. I know nothing I could possibly write could do their story justice, so if you ever just a chance, please do visit guatemala. the country is also absolutely gorgeous. (: