Announcing New Advocacy Guide

Many of you are aware of this new resource, but if you aren't or you haven't taken the time to read through it, we would like to share the MCC Guatemala/El Salvador Advocacy Guide with you.  This collaborative effort between various MCC team members has been in the works for many months, and referenced in a variety of past posts both here and here.  Out hope is that this guide serves as a learning and resource tool as you continue to be challenged by your experience in Guatemala and El Salvador.  We look forward to hearing your feedback and ways in which you are able to use this great resource.

Click here to view the guide:  MCC Guatemala/El Salvador Advocacy Guide

 MCC Photo/Melissa Engle

There are so many other great resources out there too once one starts looking; see the list below for more information on the issues mentioned in the Advocacy Guide:

• Very informative map and information about Canadian Mining in Latin America by the McGill Research group:  Canadian Mining in Guatemala
• Petition asking for justice in response to killings that took place in Totonicapan, Guatemala a couple of weeks ago:  Guatemala Human Rights Commission
• New article from MCCer Tobias Roberts asking us to challenge our thoughts on traditional Mayan lifestyle and our views of development:  Relocating Culture to Find a Solution to the Tragedy of the Commons
• General resources on organizations working on issues in Guatemala, educational films, literature, etc. through Global Exchange: Guatemala Resources

East Chestnut Mennonite Church

In July, a group of youth from East Chestnut Mennonite Church in Lancaster, PA visited Guatemala for the first time, spending much of their time and energy working with students from Bezaleel in Altaverapaz on a new soccer field for the school.  The group also participated in an exchange with a group of youth from the community of Sacsi Chitana who have been interested in learning new skills with hopes of starting a few income generating initiatives in the community.  Thank you to the staff at Bezaleel for sending the pictures of the soccer field project, and to Carlos from Sacsi Chitana for sharing the pictures of the youth working on their second batch of shampoo and the incubator doing it's job!

 Exchange in community of Sacsi Chitana

 

 

 Bezaleel soccer field project

 

 

everyman's right

I was recently reading about a friend's trip to Sweden where she shared the following:

"We roamed fields we didn't own and our host told us about an unwritten Swedish law allowing people to walk freely on the land.  And not just walk, but explore, hike, camp, and drink water from the springs.  They believe the farmland and wild open spaces should be shared and enjoyed by locals and visitors alike, the forests, fields, and waterways treasured and enjoyed.  They call it
"Allemansrätt" or for those if us who don't speak Swedish: everyman's right."

What a refreshing concept: an unwritten, cultural understanding that the earth and all it gives us should be treasured, enjoyed, and shared - a cultural understanding that is ever present in the indigenous traditions found in Guatemala.  As fellow MCCer Tobias Roberts shares here, the highlands of Guatemala, where many of these indigenous groups live, and their traditional lifestyle, "offer a life full of riches:  forested mountains, plentiful rain, fertile soil, abundant rivers, peaceful communities, and a vivacious cultural legacy."  Unfortunately, there are "visitors" who have come from the outside to take advantage of these resources.  Rather than treasuring and enjoying the forest, fields, and waterways, they have used the concept of "everyman's right" to turn these natural resources into money they can deposit into their bank accounts.  

picture of the Palo Viejo hydroelectric dam in Cotzal, Quiche

see more images here 

 picture of the Marlin Mine in San Miguel, San Marcos

MCC Photo/Melissa Engle 

The story is heard again and again across Latin America and the world; poverty ridden and often indigenous communities fighting to protect their rights to their land and its natural resources.  As the MCC Latin American Advocacy blog suggests, there comes a point when we have to ask ourselves what is this really leading to?  (see "Generating prosperity or conflict?: Mining in Latin America")  Rather than punishing these communities for wanting to protect their environment, when will we return to the concept of "allemansrätt" that my friend found so welcoming in Sweden?  Just what is holding us back from this natural and humane way of living? What are we afraid of?  

Forgoing excessive and harmful consumption? 
Having to change your attitudes?

The power of the politicians?

The work involved in achieving great self-sufficiency?

The disappointing looks of your neighbors?

What are you afraid of?

I was hungry and you fed your animals with my food.

I was hungry and your transnationals planted your winter tomatoes on our best land.

I was hungry and you wouldn’t give up your steak from South America.

I was hungry but they grew tea for you where rice might grow for my daily meal.

I was hungry but you turned our sugarcane and manioc into fuel for your cars.

I was hungry but the waste from your factories is poisoning the fishing grounds of the earth.

I was hungry but with your money, you bought up my food.

I was hungry while my land grows exotic fruits for your table.
I was hungry but you gave me no food.

Earth Keepers

What are you afraid of?