Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Violence and Protection for Vulnerable Populations

Just last night while skimming through the newspaper, two major headlines screamed out to me:
  • "One young person dies every day in Guatemala because of violence.  From January to April of this year, 125 youth, the majority between the ages of 15-17, have been assassinated."
  • "At least 49 mutilated cadavers have been found  along a highway in northern Mexico, believed to be Central American migrants, victims of the drug cartel the Zetas."
taken from Prensa Libre; articles in Spanish here and here

This is the reality of violence here and in many parts of the world.  Violence; that word we hear and use so often without even really being able to humanize it.  Stark statements like these help us to start feeling more what this reality of violence means, but even more so, personal connections that many of you have had here with these same youth and these same Central American migrants.  Surely you have not forgotten your experiences in San Marcos working and sharing with a community where 70-80% of the male population has spent time migrating and working in either Mexico or the U.S.  Or your experiences of meeting the youth of La Linea in San Martin and the fact that they are forced in many ways to chose between participating in the local church or the gangs that thrive in their community, knowing that choosing the gang will lead them to either death or incarceration.  Because of these experiences and our new knowledge of these realities that people we have met and interacted with face EVERY DAY, I am convinced that issues like violence and the root causes of them are now our issues (and have been for a long time even if we were unaware of it before).  These types of revelations bring into the spotlight the great importance of educating ourselves more about these root causes and finding ways to combat them.  After last night's reading of the newspaper, it was more than appropriate that I would, today, find out about an International Arms Trade Treaty that is to be discussed at a UN conference that begins in 48 days; a treaty that is key to helping address this issue of violence that we are all connected to.  You can read more about this and MCC's support of the treaty at the Latin American Advocacy blog.  There you will also find out about an organization called "Control Arms" that is advocating for an "international legally-binding agreement that will stop transfers of arms and ammunitions that fuel conflict." Realizing that people (myself included) leave their experiences here feeling overwhelmed and useless in the face of so many complicated things, this is an exciting and active way that we can all really DO something that may help.  I firmly believe that once you are personally connected to an issue, like you are now connected to the families in San Marcos and the youth in La Linea, you are left with a responsibility to act; this is an opportunity to do just that.

   
Photo by Melissa Engle for MCC's  A Common Place; read about Gustavo's immigration story here

 Youth from the Iglesia Bautista Discipulos de Cristo in San Martin; click here to read and see more pictures on their blog

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

In the spotlight: San Marcos

As some of you may know, the programs in San Marcos were recently featured in MCC's magazine A Common Place.  This was an exciting opportunity to highlight the positive things that are happening there; things many of you have played a role in shaping in either big or small ways.*  We encourage you to take the time to read the stories and reconnect to this part of the world as expressed in A Common Place Spring edition!

The issue of gold mining is something that is easily associated with San Marcos, and again, something that many of you have been able to learn about first hand during your visits here.  News reports of the conflict that exists around these types of mega-projects abound in both Guatemala and other parts of the world (see here and here).  I was recently given a book entitled "Damned Nations" which I would highly recommend reading if you are interested in digging even deeper into these issues; see here for an analysis of this book by Canadian author Samantha Nutt.

It is our hope that as participants in Connecting Peoples service learning experiences, you continue to stay connected to your experience here once you return home.  It is always encouraging to read reflections like this one from Enlace 2011 participant, Emma Nussli, which serves as a reminder of  the long-term impact of these types of experiences.  One of the CP program goals for this year is to put together an advocacy tool-kit that will provide you with concrete information and tips on how to advocate around the complicated issues you were exposed to while here; please stay tuned for more on that in the coming months.  Also, in our desire to support friends' projects, another way you could stay connected to Guatemala and San Marcos is to consider returning for a longer visit and possibly studying Spanish at El Migrante Spanish School, a new language school right in the heart of San Marcos.  And, for one final reflection on San Marcos and the work of MCCer Nate Howard, watch "Guatemala:  Assisting farmers, empowering communities".

MCC photo Melissa Engle
http://acommonplace.mcc.org/acp/2012/04_06/cover_story.html

*The recent University of Saskatchewan group was the very first group to spend a night in the tourist cabaña in La Vega del Volcan, something many of you have supported the construction of.  Pictures coming soon of this exciting moment in the La Vega co-op's history!  Likewise, the local tourism management board in Sibinal, San Marcos has started a campaign to attract more tourist to the area, promoting visits to La Vega and the projects there.  Their website is under construction but is yet another sign of the positive development happening in the area.  

many thoughts

As you have probably realized, our "monthly" updates don't happen as monthly as we would hope, but we assure you we have good excuses for these delays!  Since March, we have been busy hosting groups from Rockway, the University of Saskatchewan, and Rosthern Junior College.  There are many thoughts, experiences, and reflections to share, but for now, a few images from Rockway's visit with more details to come VERY SOON!

 Rockway was the first group to start working on ANADESA's new land, where one day their community and education center will be built!  (Thank you to U of S and RJC for also helping clear coffee trees, rocks, and many, many bags of trash from the property!)


 Rockway also connected with a variety of youth initiatives in Cotzal near Nebaj, Quiche, one of which is working at starting a small chicken farm.  Looks like the chickens were happy with their new home and have already started using it!


Thank you to Lindsay, Toby, and Yasmin for sharing these pictures