Las Mujeres

Washington Office on Latin America (http://www.wola.org/) reports that "since 2001, thousands of young women and girls have been killed in Guatemala in an epidemic of unsolved murders. According to police statistics, the number of women slain has risen steadily from 383 in 2003, to 531 in 2004, to 665 in 2005. While there is debate over the final numbers for 2006, estimates place the number around 589. So far (as of Aug. 17) this year, more than 250 cases have been reported. The majority of the victims were young, poor women under the age of 40. Many were students, housewives, factory workers, domestic employees, or workers in the informal sector; some of the victims were professionals." (This clipping is from a different Guatemalan Newspaper)

Clearly, there was need to gather yesterday for the International Day against Violence toward Women. CEDEPCA (where I am currently teaching "Theologia desde Las Mujeres") hosted a celebration for which women arrived from all over Guatemala. They talked with one another and heard a speaker on the theme.

Violence against women takes many forms: physical, economic, social, political, legal- but really all are very interrelated in a system, society, and culture of violence toward women that has deep roots in the history of this country (and world more broadly, but we'll save that for another day).

Last week I asked the women in the class a question about what their communities are like today, and what they hoped their communities would one day be. The women told stories for over an hour and would have likely continued all day: one story after another of the violence, drugs, murders, and threats in their neighborhoods- their cousin, their niece, their daughter... and most of them have their own personal stories to share. Nearly every woman I talk to here tells me of an alcoholic father, or abusive husband--doesn't know their father, or would rather not--the tragic implications of a machismo culture cultivated by a colonial past and more recently a 40 year civil war. I do not presume to have any easy answers, rather I admit that there are none, but I do know impunity is a huge problem here- rule of law. One sign of hope is that the congress here just approved the presense of the International Commission to Combat Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG). For my part, I also believe the headline of the article above "When a study changes one's life" and hope that in some way the class with these women offers space for reflection, thinking, healing, discovery, and knowledge that is transformational in their lives and thier communities.

I pray that we together would growth in faith and hope that God is active here and that we are participants in that activity- that faith rather than fear would re-shape these communities.

Signs of Hope

She asked me to take her picture, suddenly became shy and then was off to play hide and seek with her friends. Children playing in this park are one simple sign of peace and hope in a city plagued by violence: I look forward to the day that this safety exists without security guards standing by with guns.

Family shades themselves from the intensity of the sun.

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Father and son stroll hand in hand.

Hideandseek is a constant favorite here!

Flying men and women...

We had the joy of trying to explain parachuters to a two year old!

Cultural billboards

These "kites" made of paper with bamboo frames are made for Dia de los Santos celebrations throughout Guatemala and were brought to this park near my house for a nation wide competition and festival on Sunday.

The patterns are intricate & beautiful! A magnificent view of Volcan Agua from the park.
"Fraternal equality and respect is the basis of cultural development, by the power of our people united among brothers and sisters, to fight to keep our customs and traditions alive."
Take-down: we arrived at the tail end of the festivities.
Several kites were made by groups of youth and had strong messages about violence against women, the value of Mayan culture & work of all forms. This one says "Violence against women grows greater each day, and we the youth, raise our voices to say that we've had enough of the violence, because to respect life is weave peace."

"Let us not lose our tradition and culture."




"We value the work of women" and "We care for nature as water does"
I went with Alejandro, Maria and Kalla, my friends from language school in Antigua who are also living in the city now. I enjoy all of them and their companionship very much!

Here's a squinting self-take to prove that I really am the one behind the camera- taking all these photos :).

Felize Cumpleanos...

I opted out of the race cars, but joined in for the miniature golf. Lucas, the older of the two brothers I live with, turned 15 in September, but we just celebrated his birthday this past weekend.

Lucas (in front) and Benjamin raced around the track for an hour, and the the whole family played mini-golf.

I won't say who won... :). This family has been wonderful to welcome me into their home and their life as one of the family. This was the never ending hole- there's always one!

November Sunsets

"Los cielos cuentan la gloria de Dios"

Salmos 19

The sunset tonight was gorgeous! An added grace to a beautiful day!

Hard Hand or The Other Hand...Re-election day.

Today is Election- or rather "Re-election" day. It's a runoff from the September elections in which two candidates (Perez and Colom) were the top two candidates. Most of the people I have talked to here are fairly ambivalent about the elections because they think both leaders are fairly corrupt and ineffective. I know several who are going to annul their votes, but others seem think that Colom will be somewhat better, and less violent that Perez. Perez is from the "Mano Duro" (hard hand) party which promises to rid Guatemala of gang violence "by force". That's a difficult task in a country where the government, military, police force and gangs are all intricately intertwined with the drug trade and other economic interests, and could lead to a blood bath akin to those Guatemala has seen several times throughout it's history.

Colom on the other hand, of the UNE doesn't promise much of anything- expect tag lines like the one here "You're hope is my promise." He does not indicate exactly who's hopes he intends to assure, or how he will achieve them. So we'll see what happens. These signs (that are now hanging on my bathroom door) are strung on literally every walkway, overpass, street sign, light post and really any other "adherable" object. It's quite the campaign strategy!

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Dia de los Santos

Hoy es el Dia de los Santos aqui. One of my students invited me to come have lunch with his family today, and eat a traditional meal called "fieambre." Fieambre consists of about 16 different kinds of meat (likely from 16 different parts of the different animals :)) so I went knowing I just couldn't think about that. But it was really amazing! It consists of about every vegetable under the sun, a plethora of meat, and all sorts of additions... followed by a rich dessert! This is a picture of "fiembre colorado" made with beets in the mix. I had "fiembre blanco" with my familia. The photo above is the frame of a huge kite that they decorate here with thin paper to celebrate Dia de los Santos. It stems from a Mayan belief and tradition- they attach letters to their ancestors that they float to the sky on the strings of the kite. Mayan and Catholic traditions often bled seamlessly.